{"id":5185,"date":"2019-12-16T08:57:49","date_gmt":"2019-12-16T14:57:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ramblindan.org\/?p=5185"},"modified":"2019-12-16T09:13:15","modified_gmt":"2019-12-16T15:13:15","slug":"big-brother-can-you-spare-a-dime","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ramblindan.org\/?p=5185","title":{"rendered":"Big Brother, can you spare a dime?"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

The MAC mini used here just did an OS upgrade to Catalina Version 10.15.2. Don\u2019t know if that is good or a possible problem. Nothing seems amiss, so I will assume it is good.<\/p>\n

I have a friend who is suspicious of upgrades these days. Sometimes they seem to cause as many issues as they claim to resolve. I don\u2019t pretend to be expert in personal computer OS developments. I do think both Apple and Windows are far too involved with managing my life as well as my computer.<\/p>\n

I don\u2019t see that type of lifestyle control in the versions of Linux OS that I also use for personal computing.<\/p>\n

The biggest concern for me is total lack of privacy when connected to the Internet. I believe without doubt there is built-in active reporting in Win10 and Mac OS and perhaps in some Linux versions. All major applications have some sort of built-in data reporting or tracking.<\/p>\n

Browsers of every flavor do it even when they claim they don\u2019t. There is NO SUCH THING as \u201cprivate\u201d use when connected to the Internet. This also includes anything with a phone connection.<\/p>\n

So, upgrades may be needed to keep such spying systems updated. I am aware even these keystrokes composing this article may be monitored in some fashion. Perhaps not content but activity. Someone wants the data.<\/p>\n

To avoid paranoia and anguish, I just assume all internet computing is unsecure, and act (behave) accordingly.<\/p>\n

I have some Linux OS software running machine tools. IT is CNC software. Interestingly, control software is very stable. I have spent most of my career developing and installing control systems. Both mechanical and digital (computer) controls.<\/p>\n

Once debugged and tested, control software (for machines) can run for decades without updates. I am not saying without failure, but it is the hardware that fails, not the code. One feature of machine code (excluding so-called fuzzy logic) is it doesn\u2019t change. It just executes its design functions.<\/p>\n

Humans get bored and demand change. Sometimes just for the sake of change. The goal of marketing (selling) is to make humans dissatisfied with current status and to seek change. The mantra of business marketing is, \u201cthe only good human is a consuming human\u201d. Yeah, that sounds harsh but it\u2019s true.<\/p>\n

Computer software, especially for the general public \u201cPersonal Computing\u201d as we know it today, is VERY big business. It\u2019s all about the profits and not simply the general welfare of the user. The user and user habits have become valuable data to be mined and sold for a profit.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s well passed 1984<\/a> and Big Brother has been watching us for decades.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The MAC mini used here just did an OS upgrade to Catalina Version 10.15.2. Don\u2019t know if that is good or a possible problem. Nothing seems amiss, so I will assume it is good. I have a friend who is suspicious of upgrades these days. Sometimes they seem to cause as many issues as they claim to resolve. I don\u2019t pretend to be expert in personal computer OS developments. I do think both Apple and...<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-5185","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-musing"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ramblindan.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5185","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ramblindan.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ramblindan.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ramblindan.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ramblindan.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=5185"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/ramblindan.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5185\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ramblindan.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=5185"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ramblindan.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=5185"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ramblindan.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=5185"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}