diff options
Diffstat (limited to 'talermerchantdemos/blog/articles/en/keep-control-of-your-computing.html')
| -rw-r--r-- | talermerchantdemos/blog/articles/en/keep-control-of-your-computing.html | 165 |
1 files changed, 165 insertions, 0 deletions
diff --git a/talermerchantdemos/blog/articles/en/keep-control-of-your-computing.html b/talermerchantdemos/blog/articles/en/keep-control-of-your-computing.html new file mode 100644 index 0000000..5345c97 --- /dev/null +++ b/talermerchantdemos/blog/articles/en/keep-control-of-your-computing.html @@ -0,0 +1,165 @@ +<!--#include virtual="/server/header.html" --> +<!-- Parent-Version: 1.77 --> +<title>Keep control of your computing, so it doesn't control you! +- GNU Project - Free Software Foundation</title> +<!--#include virtual="/philosophy/po/keep-control-of-your-computing.translist" --> +<!--#include virtual="/server/banner.html" --> +<h2>Keep control of your computing, so it doesn't control you!</h2> + +<p>by Richard Stallman<br />First published in Der Spiegel Online</p> + +<p>The World Wide Web, developed by Tim Berners-Lee in 1990 as a system +for publishing and viewing information, is slowly being transformed +into a system of remote computing. It will store your data, and data +about you, often limiting your access to it but allowing FBI access at +any time. It will do your computing for you, but you cannot control +what it does. It provides various tempting attractions, but you must +resist them.</p> + +<p>In the 1980s, most people did not use computers; those who did, mostly +used personal computers or timesharing services. Both allowed you to +install software of your choice. Both allowed you full control over +your data, though it is not clear what access the timesharing services +gave to the FBI. In any case, the timesharing services mostly +faded away by the 90s.</p> + +<p>This does not mean that these users had control of their computing. +With software, either the users control the program (free software) or +the program controls the users (proprietary or nonfree software). +Those users were running proprietary software because that's all there +was at the time. The users could not change it, or even tell what it +really did.</p> + +<p>The abusiveness of proprietary software has intensified since then; +nowadays, it is likely to spy on you, intentionally restrict you, +and/or have back doors. (Windows is known to do all three; likewise +the iPhone and the Kindle.) But even absent such abuse, it wasn't +right for users to be controlled by their software.</p> + +<p>That's why I launched the free software movement in 1983. We decided +to develop an operating system and applications that would be entirely +free (libre, freie), so that the users would have control over them. +I gave this system the name GNU. (You have probably heard people call +it “Linux”, but that's an error.) People who switch to this system, +and insist on using only free software, are in a position to control +their computing. We have liberated only a small part of cyberspace, +as yet, but that is a foothold for freedom.</p> + +<p>Developments in the Web threaten to negate this achievement. The +first problem was the use of invisible references to sites whose +mission was surveillance (perhaps for advertising). Users who visited +sites A, B, X and Z did not realize that those pages contained +invisible references to iamwatchingyou.com, so each visit informed +that site too, and it recorded permanently that this user had visited +certain pages.</p> + +<p>JavaScript created a further problem. Initially used for harmless +things such as unusual-looking menus, its capabilities have been +extended to the point where it can do nontrivial computing. Services +such as Google Docs install large JavaScript programs into the user's +browser. Even though they run in your computer, you have no control +over what they do there.</p> + +<p>Then there is the issue of storing your data in companies' servers. +The largest such companies have little respect for users' privacy. +For instance, if you hand your data to Facebook, companies pay +Facebook (not you) for the use of it. They pay Facebook (not you) to +run ads using your face.</p> + +<p>The timesharing companies of the 1980s had usually treated their +users' data with respect, even though they could occasionally abuse +them, because their users were paying clients and could go elsewhere. +Facebook's users do not pay, so they are not its clients. They are +its merchandise, to be sold to other businesses. If the company is in +the US, or is a subsidiary of a US company, the FBI can collect this +data at whim without even a court order under an un-American US law, +named in purest blackwhiting the “Patriot Act”.</p> + +<p>Services also offer to operate on the users data. In effect, this +means that users do their computing on the servers, and the servers +take complete control of that computing.</p> + +<p>There is a systematic marketing campaign to drive users to entrusting +their computing and their data to companies they have absolutely no +reason to trust. Its buzzword is “cloud computing”, a term used for +so many different computing structures that its only real meaning is, +“Do it without thinking about what you're doing”.</p> + +<p>There is even a product, Google ChromeOS, designed so that it can only +store data remotely, and the user must do her computing remotely. +Ironically, it is free software, a version of GNU/Linux. Users will +have access to the source code, and could change it so as to support +local computing and local data storage—if the machine has enough +memory to store it, and if it permits users to install their own +versions of the software. If Android phones are any guide, most +ChromeOS devices will be designed to prevent users from doing that.</p> + +<p>This does not mean Internet users can't have privacy. This does not +mean that Internet users can't have control of their computing. It +does mean that you'll have to swim against the current to have them.</p> + +</div><!-- for id="content", starts in the include above --> +<!--#include virtual="/server/footer.html" --> +<div id="footer"> +<div class="unprintable"> + +<p>Please send general FSF & GNU inquiries to +<a href="mailto:gnu@gnu.org"><gnu@gnu.org></a>. +There are also <a href="/contact/">other ways to contact</a> +the FSF. Broken links and other corrections or suggestions can be sent +to <a href="mailto:webmasters@gnu.org"><webmasters@gnu.org></a>.</p> + +<p><!-- TRANSLATORS: Ignore the original text in this paragraph, + replace it with the translation of these two: + + We work hard and do our best to provide accurate, good quality + translations. However, we are not exempt from imperfection. + Please send your comments and general suggestions in this regard + to <a href="mailto:web-translators@gnu.org"> + <web-translators@gnu.org></a>.</p> + + <p>For information on coordinating and submitting translations of + our web pages, see <a + href="/server/standards/README.translations.html">Translations + README</a>. --> +Please see the <a +href="/server/standards/README.translations.html">Translations +README</a> for information on coordinating and submitting translations +of this article.</p> +</div> + +<!-- Regarding copyright, in general, standalone pages (as opposed to + files generated as part of manuals) on the GNU web server should + be under CC BY-ND 3.0 US. Please do NOT change or remove this + without talking with the webmasters or licensing team first. + Please make sure the copyright date is consistent with the + document. For web pages, it is ok to list just the latest year the + document was modified, or published. + + If you wish to list earlier years, that is ok too. + Either "2001, 2002, 2003" or "2001-2003" are ok for specifying + years, as long as each year in the range is in fact a copyrightable + year, i.e., a year in which the document was published (including + being publicly visible on the web or in a revision control system). + + There is more detail about copyright years in the GNU Maintainers + Information document, www.gnu.org/prep/maintain. --> + +<p>Copyright © 2011 Richard Stallman</p> + +<p>This page is licensed under a <a rel="license" +href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/3.0/us/">Creative +Commons Attribution-NoDerivs 3.0 United States License</a>.</p> + +<!--#include virtual="/server/bottom-notes.html" --> + +<p class="unprintable">Updated: +<!-- timestamp start --> +$Date: 2014/04/12 12:40:11 $ +<!-- timestamp end --> +</p> +</div> + +</div> +</body> +</html> |