Unfortunately it seems that nearly all software platforms with a dominant market share, end up degenerating to serve only one purpose: to shove advertisements and subscriptions onto you.
My mother's new Windows 11 laptop's out-of-the-box configuration had me clicking through half a dozen things attempting to manipulate me or her into spending more money. There are (I can only assume paid-placement) news and adfotainment in the start menu! Repeat pop-up reminders from Lenovo to subscribe to their protection package. Emotionally-manipulative reminders to subscribe to virus protection services. To Microsoft Office. Etc. etc.
It's been the same thing in the mobile market, where the move to "apps" means you are running their software on your device all the time, so they can optimally surveil you, and target the advertisements and behaviourally-modifying nudges. Quite a few messaging services now actively mess with delivery of notifications, spacing them out, delaying them, according to research that shows what maximizes engagement.
I saw the trend 20 years ago and switched to free software around that time -- I liked Linux anyway, but it was partly on principle. Still, the new laptop was eye-opening. The degree of intrusion, the degree to which even desktop computers have turned into user-hostile advertising terminals serving the purposes of their manufacturer, rather than a computer for the user to accomplish their work, is quite shocking.
Everything networked is becoming like that - twisting the user's hardware, turning it into nothing more than a terminal, an extension of the corporation, serving their interests at all times. Even smart TVs now have ads built-in to their menus and such.
>to shove advertisements and subscriptions onto you.
There is no other end state in capitalism. If you want tools and products that serve you instead of an owner, you must do it outside capitalism like with truly open source stuff.
My mother's new Windows 11 laptop's out-of-the-box configuration had me clicking through half a dozen things attempting to manipulate me or her into spending more money. There are (I can only assume paid-placement) news and adfotainment in the start menu! Repeat pop-up reminders from Lenovo to subscribe to their protection package. Emotionally-manipulative reminders to subscribe to virus protection services. To Microsoft Office. Etc. etc.
It's been the same thing in the mobile market, where the move to "apps" means you are running their software on your device all the time, so they can optimally surveil you, and target the advertisements and behaviourally-modifying nudges. Quite a few messaging services now actively mess with delivery of notifications, spacing them out, delaying them, according to research that shows what maximizes engagement.
I saw the trend 20 years ago and switched to free software around that time -- I liked Linux anyway, but it was partly on principle. Still, the new laptop was eye-opening. The degree of intrusion, the degree to which even desktop computers have turned into user-hostile advertising terminals serving the purposes of their manufacturer, rather than a computer for the user to accomplish their work, is quite shocking.
Everything networked is becoming like that - twisting the user's hardware, turning it into nothing more than a terminal, an extension of the corporation, serving their interests at all times. Even smart TVs now have ads built-in to their menus and such.