We must end private software, and here's how

7 points by jrh206 2 years ago | 12 comments
  • jleyank 2 years ago
    I think this argument is incorrect, or at least incomplete, if it does not stress locally-hosted software. If any work relies on whomever provides the internet connection and whomever provides the remote server, how is that “free”? Tech failures or business decisions will override user preferences.

    To be free to do what I want, I have to be able to do it where (and how) I want. Modern machines are more than capable, so why are we relying on two intermediaries?

    • jrh206 2 years ago
      Locally-hosted software is definitely important in the short term, but I think that distributed software will be enough in the long term. When everything is public, then there won't be the same risks associated with using networked software. In the long term, I expect the intermediaries to be public too.

      But locally-hosted software should always still be possible. I included something similar as one of the core tenets in the repo where I outline an idea for how we get things going: "After cloning this repository, it should be possible to start a development instance of bartok with a single command." Based on your feedback I think we should tweak this to emphasise local use, because there's a distinction between using software locally for development and using it locally because you're using it locally. (https://gitlab.com/bartokio/bartok)

    • jalalks 2 years ago
      The point about OpenAI stealing content created by others is even more apparent if you use their GPT-3 text models - with the right prompts, it will sometimes spit out the exact source text verbatim.
      • jrh206 2 years ago
        Using Google Docs isn't ideal, and I didn't want to. However, I believe that the time has come that "ordinary people" (i.e. not HN readers) need to get interested in open source. I needed a solution that would be familiar and would definitely scale if the presentation got traffic.

        The presentation is public domain.

        • seydor 2 years ago
          Let's start by using google docs
          • jrh206 2 years ago
            Let's build a better open source alternative.
            • raxxorraxor 2 years ago
              I always thought that artists would survive the longest. Silly me.

              Word processing is hard and a lot of work. Better to improve existing solutions and maybe bring them to the browser as a service.

              • necovek 2 years ago
                What alternatives did you try?
                • Arnt 2 years ago
                  Nah.

                  He chose to use a service, something that contains software but is significantly more. He used a SaaS offering. That's not exactly unique, there's quite a movement towards using services instead of software.

                  I'm going to use an hour later today on using a SaaS which is basically open source hosted by the maintainers. Anyone can self-host that, hardly anyone does, because… because… I wish the presentation would go into those issues instead of rehashing the lost fights of the nineties.

              • bariskaya 2 years ago
                exactly my thoughts!
              • vanniv 2 years ago
                I'd rather end articles about how "we must" do any given silly thing.
                • jrh206 2 years ago
                  Which part of the argument do you disagree with?