• daniskarma@lemmy.world
    21·
    1 year ago

    I can’t wait to have to download a crack for my browser so a website thinks that my browser is using wei and no-adblock.

    • Psythik@lemm.ee
      3·
      1 year ago

      Just use Firefox. I don’t understand why people are so hell-bent on using a Chromium-based browser.

      EDIT: I see now that I was grossly misinformed on the issue. Thanks for the replies.

      • 1984@lemmy.today
        1·
        1 year ago

        A few of us sitting and using Firefox while Google is suggesting being able to control what computer you use, what software is installed, what plugins you are allowed to have?

        This is a very big threat not solved by using Firefox.

    • Obi@sopuli.xyz
      0·
      1 year ago

      Right. I mean there’s always going to be a way. Your open source browser can run a spoof of an “official” browser, present itself as a valid user, load the page with all the ads and tracking in a sandbox in between, strip all of it out and serve you the actual content.

      Or maybe people will eventually be fed up and we’ll start our own internet completely out of corporate control.

    • ghostBones@lemmy.world
      2·
      1 year ago

      Also sounds like you’re describing a Chromebook. Which, incidentally, schools seem to be abandoning because of the fact that they become useless on a predetermined date.

        • ghostBones@lemmy.world
          3·
          1 year ago

          EOL. End of life. All Chromebooks have an EOL date after which they will no longer receive updates and can no longer be considered secure. All the software on them, including Chrome which is the core application, become unviable. When you find an unbelievably cheap Chromebook on sale, it’s because it’s EOL is close.

            • ghostBones@lemmy.world
              3·
              1 year ago

              There are mod projects documented on YouTube videos and elsewhere that describe how to do just that. If I remember right, it depends a lot on the specific chromebook and the manufacturer. If I were to buy a Chromebook, I would first find out whether or not it could be wiped and have linux loaded on it effectively. I would probably opt for a lightweight flavor of Linux so as to keep the device running smoothly.

              • Tangent5280@lemmy.world
                2·
                1 year ago

                Yeah that makes sense. Further, you could just get a Chromebook past it’s update cycle for cheap and then just wipe it making the update cycle pointless in the first place. Seems like a way to get reasonable performance at cheap prices.

                I wonder why chromebooks were built with this expiration - was Google hoping that schools would just throw away the old ones and buy new ones once laptop were past it’s update cycle?

                • ghostBones@lemmy.world
                  3·
                  1 year ago

                  That totally sounds like something I would do for fun when I was younger and had less money. In those days, all my computers were hand built by me, often using spare parts from computers people didn’t want. I didn’t work much with laptops though. It’s a bit trickier, but with the right tools and with plenty of time watching YouTube videos, you can do almost anything nowadays, and save a bundle. Also, eBay is a good source of parts, tools and expired equipment. Chromebooks are creating huge amounts of e-waste because of expiration, so reclaiming and renewing them is something I consider very ethical.

  • duckCityComplex@lemmy.worldEnglish
    1·
    1 year ago

    Maybe the thing to do here, when web sites start enforcing this, is to swamp them with support requests. Don’t write a screed or manifesto with ethical or technical reasons why this is wrong. Pretend to be a non-technically-inclined user and tell them you’ve spent hours trying to get it to work and your browser keeps throwing up errors you don’t understand. They will ignore the principles, but if they think the technology is “too hard” for their “dumb users,” that might carry more weight.

  • tr35y7@lemmy.world
    1·
    1 year ago

    Not overly worried - the EU anticompetition laws will swat this down on this side of the atlantic - but not sure about the US