switching.software
switching.software
Ethical, easy-to-use and privacy-conscious alternatives to well-known software

A great resource that makes it quick and easy to find alternatives to Google, Amazon, Microsoft, Adobe and many more.

  • esaru@beehaw.org
    6·
    5 months ago

    They promote Ubuntu-based distros, which cannot be trusted anymore, and they forget to mention Fedora as a better alternative.

    Here is why you shouldn’t use Ubuntu:

    Canonical’s Ubuntu is not recommended because it contains Amazon ads and data leaks by default. GNU/Linux distributions based on Ubuntu are also currently not recommended due to several other reasons.

    Source: https://prism-break.org/en/subcategories/gnu-linux-operating-systems/

    • Vodulas [they/them]@beehaw.org
      6·
      5 months ago

      Is that still true? The article/github thread cited on Prism Break are from 2012 and 2013 respectively. It seems only to be true of Ubuntu 12.10. The only thing I can from from current Ubuntu versions is the ad in the command line when doing an apt upgrade, and that is from 2022. It does not appear to exist in other Ubuntu based distros since it is an ad for Ubuntu Pro. Not saying it is great, but it seems like non-Canonical distros should be OK.

      • esaru@beehaw.org
        4·
        5 months ago

        The problem with Ubuntu is that trust in a package manager is a basic criteria when evaluating a distribution. Once Canonical had violated that trust and shown its attitude with privacy violations, data collection, and default opt-in, you should stay away from anything that comes from Canonical. They didn’t get away with what they did, but the mindset behind their actions is part of how that company is run and what they might do in the future without letting you know. They were trying to establish an income channel by knowingly sacrificing the user’s privacy and security. That’s a no-go in my opinion.

        • Vodulas [they/them]@beehaw.org
          3·
          5 months ago

          That’s fair. I guess I give just a little bit of room for fucking up and fixing it. I am also not particularly loyal and will ditch companies at the drop of a hat.

          • esaru@beehaw.org
            3·
            5 months ago

            Distributions based on Ubuntu like Linux Mint take pro-active steps to prevent their users from being affected by Canonical’s decisions (the company that controls Ubuntu). So as long as they detect all malicious implementations from Canonical, you are safe. But I personally prefer a purely community based distribution like Fedora in which things like that won’t happen in the first place. In contrast to Fedora, Ubuntu is under control of Canonical, a private company, which apparently plays a too significant role in strategic decisions that go against its users, and you never know if the Linux Mint team can respond to everything that Canonical is doing. Currently, Mint is removing Ubuntu’s online search integration, privacy violations, and replace some of Ubuntu’s Snap packages as they oppose Ubuntu’s decision and centralized control that comes with Snap packages. As I said above, for me it feels more right though to have a distribution that doesn’t need to work around questionable implementations of its mother distribution.

    • freedomPusher@sopuli.xyz
      2·
      5 months ago

      Also worth noting that #Ubuntu and #Mint both moved substantial amounts of documentation into Cloudflare (the antithisis of the values swiso claims to support). I have been moving people off those platforms.

      BTW, prism-break is a disasterous project too. You know they don’t have a clue when they moved their repo from Github.com to Gitlab.com, an access-restricted Cloudflare site. There are tens if not hundreds of decent forges to choose from and PRISM Break moved from the 2nd worst to the one that most defeats the purpose of their constitution.

      It might be useful to find dirt on various tech at prism-break, but none of these sites can be trusted for endorsements.

      The prism-break website is timing out for me right now. I would not be surprised if they were dropping Tor packets since they have a history of hypocrisy.

      • esaru@beehaw.org
        2·
        5 months ago

        It’s true, as for recommendations from websites, you should never trust them blindly but do your own research as well.

        For Linux distributions though, as there’s no other practical way than trusting them with the packages they provide, one needs to make sure the people behind the project persue the right values. The project itself needs to earn your trust or at least not have a record of violating it.