Richard Stallman Calls Ubuntu "Spyware"

[phoronix]

Phoronix: Richard Stallman Calls Ubuntu "Spyware"

In a post to the Free Software Foundation's web-site, Richard Stallman has called out Ubuntu as being "spyware" due to the Amazon search capabilities that have been integrated into Ubuntu's Unity desktop environment with the Dash...

http://www.phoronix.com/vr.php?view=MTI0NTY

[disi]

Mein Reden...

[energyman]

gentoo is not recommended because it makes it possible to install non-free software. FSF just hates user-choice. Why not go one step further? Ban the english language because it makes it easy to talk about non-free software.

Btw, Mr Stallmann, I am sure your words of wisdom were transported via routers and switches that run nonfree software - shouldn't you disconnect from the internet?

[deanjo]

Btw, Mr Stallmann, I am sure your words of wisdom were transported via routers and switches that run nonfree software - shouldn't you disconnect from the internet?

The guy doesn't even use a web browser on his computer.

http://lwn.net/Articles/262570/

For personal reasons, I do not browse the web from my computer.

[Loafers]

Stallman's views are questionable at times, but that doesn't change the fact that he's right in calling Ubuntu Spyware.

After all spyware is

software installed via the internet on a computer without the user's knowledge and used to send information about the user to another computer.

The first half of that definition might a point of contention, but overall it does accurately describe what Ubuntu does, does it not?

[curaga]

Jono's site is down. Clearly the FUDing supporters of the FSF must be DDOSing him.

Google cache link: http://webcache.googleusercontent.co...d=ivns&strip=1


Regardless of RMS's stance, it is quite sad that Jono wants this privacy violation to be excused in the name of creating beautiful user interfaces and bringing free software to the masses.

He did not try to defend it - he said it should be accepted to advance these two greater goals. As if it's somehow good for either of them!

[jakubo]

Jono's site is down. Clearly the FUDing supporters of the FSF must be DDOSing him.

Google cache link: http://webcache.googleusercontent.co...d=ivns&strip=1


Regardless of RMS's stance, it is quite sad that Jono wants this privacy violation to be excused in the name of creating beautiful user interfaces and bringing free software to the masses.

He did not try to defend it - he said it should be accepted to advance these two greater goals. As if it's somehow good for either of them!

They can do more harm than good when they allow themselves to make ONE mistake in security. removing of synaptic and having surveillance over the installed packages in favour of the so called "software center" was a 2nd step.

Zeitgeist probably the 1st.... does anyone use it? i mean knowingly?

what comes next? agreeing to eulas before downloading?

besides talking crap and spreading doubts is quite a difference isnt it?

[Fazer]

I can't stand his opinions, he is the reason people hate closed software and think their developers are evil. The world doesn't work like that. There are no good or evil people.

[TemplarGR]

Stallman may be extreme, but he IS right about Ubuntu. Ubuntu spies the user and sends the information directly to Amazon. It may be acceptable by Ubuntu users, but it is still spyware...

[pairofslacks]

The guy doesn't even use a web browser on his computer.

http://lwn.net/Articles/262570/

If you'd take the time to read his website instead of parroting this everytime he comes up, he does use a web browser when he can't just open it up with emacs and see the document clearly. He doesn't have an internet connection a vast majority of the time and has a system in use where he can queue documents and e-mails to be downloaded when he has the chance. Please don't devolve the debate into unnecessary character assasination because of this and other quirks.

I believe Richard is correct in calling it 'spyware' as of right now, much like how Google Chrome is spyware. They can say the data is anonymized and 'scrubbed', but as we learned with the AOL search data blunder it's very hard to anonymize and scrub datasets like this. A good middle ground is to include in the installer a description of what it does and the ability to not install it, although this certainly wouldn't excuse it in the eyes of rms I could accept that as a good compromise in Unity.

Perhaps they should start fixing the problem of Unity being slow as a dog on anything but 'good' hardware and not removing things like unity 2d before they make even more people upset by shoving Amazon search results in their main lens?