FSF Issues Their Rebuttal To Apple's New iPhone, Watch & Apple Pay

[curaga]

Which is fine. What you need to realize though is that free software isn't a way of life for most people. It is very much a service or enabling app that allows them to pursue whatever they are involved in. People choose Apple products for a number of reasons one of which is that they aren't prgrammers and need digital tools that just work.

It is a different perspective really that many in the FOSS world don't seem to grasp. A doctor might have zero interest in how his iPhone works but yet he expects it to work when he pulls it out of his pocket. FOSS means nothing in this case. In the case of Android phones it can be a big negative as he may not have the tinker time to deal with Android.

On the flip side you can find doctors that are very much interested in FOSS and might even be writing some open software. Neither approach is better than the other. I just think people need to be more open minded to the needs of others as many people don't give a damn about programming or software in general.

Everyone with IQ above their shoe size needs to only be burned once. Once that service or enabling app has burned them, they will very much start to care about the arguments FSF is making.

Try asking the people whose nudies leaked from iCloud.

[stiiixy]

Rich guys spending stuff on their car does not in any way save them from taxes at all.
As far as kids staring into tv's in the car, I absolutely agree... however, a good nav and BT can be useful, neither of which is handled well by the overpriced mainstream junk like kenwood or pioneer.

Australian tax laws, not US. And, yes it can. Although it may have changed in time. I've never worked a job where the car was my source of income like tradies. You spend money on your work-vehicle, you can get deductions. It boiled down to just how you go about justifying it when the tax department starts asking questions. Usually it's about entertaining contractors and clients, the same argument you use for buying cases of beer or wine. Your regular ground-pounder coulnd't get away with it. The benefits can add up when you work a lot of loopholes. And legally.

[deppman]

Polished in every possible way?

What the FSF is missing is that people will use FOSS software when: 1) Does the job 2) Is easy to use 3) Is polished in every possible way.


And most FOSS devs (mobile/desktop/whatever) are incapable of producing software with the above requirements.

Obviously, you must be referring the the turd called Apple Maps. Its been polished now for, what, two years? Or maybe Siri, which is so behind the (more open) competition that is literally comical.

The FSF provides a guideline for "Pure" free software. It isn't realistically obtainable, but it is a great point of reference. Accordingly, we are all sinners according to the Faith of the FSF. Continuing with the metaphor, we decide to commit venial or mortal sins according to their religion. Whether you see value in their Faith is your call. I certainly see a great deal of merit in more personal freedom vs. becoming the member of a cult.

There is a spectrum of options from 'completely closed and unmodifiable hw and sw and a life controlled by iTunes' to libreStack options from FSF. And yes the level of polish is roughly inversely proportional to the lock-in. But not always - look at the BlackPhone for example, or the One+. There are a lot better and more open phones on the market than the new iPhones. Recognize that the iPhone6 is matched or outclassed by the 2-year-old Nexus 4 in virtually all categories except battery life.

http://cdn.bgr.com/2014/09/iphone-6-nexus-4.jpg?w=624&h=424

I'm typing this on my 2560x1600 300PPI IGZO screen android tablet/convertable with 14hours of battery life. I've owned a Nexus 4 for two years. I don't feel like I'm sacrificing anything, but gaining a great deal from the openess and freedom.
'
BTW, as a SW developer, I use iOS multiple times a week for testing purposes. I always feel trapped, limited, and controlled in the environment. Maybe it's something you get used to.