lakechfoma

Again I think you're right that it won't help sway peoples thoughts on the subject _alone_ but in aggregate if all the rhetoric from one side became harder to target by the opposing pundits then maybe that would help at least slow down conversion or heel digging.

I don't know if I agree with the GP that this article would be considered fluff, or that it could be an easy target for pundits, but I definitely see that pattern pop up a lot. ACLU/EFF frequently disappoint me with completely valid points steeped in FUD and bad methodologies that make them easy to rebut. The opposition finds the errors, turns around, gets their base hype on some key emotional rebuttals or mocking while ignoring the real valid points, and all we end up with is stronger division between sides.

One day it was returning only German results for me despite my region being set to US and language to English. Every search, didn't matter what the keywords were.

I was in my office (my geoIP was still US) where dozens, maybe hundreds, of Germans work. I wonder if that had anything to do with it but I'm not sure how.

Probably not but I think GPs point is that if the rhetoric of the article was different and better data included then stuff like this would be harder to tear up and dismiss. This happens on both sides on all issues.

> The regular users I know don't even know what syncing is, what the cloud is, what integration is.

And that's fine! That's exactly my point, this stuff should have a low barrier to entry so that all users can enjoy these great features. I think it's wrong to look at users who only know email/search and relegate them to that for eternity when they might be very happy sharing family photos through some service that Linux doesn't integrate with.

I've never heard of these complaints? This sounds much more like typical Linux Desktop issues in my mind.

Though at this point Windows 10 constantly loses windows on monitors that no longer exist...sometimes even the password prompt on my work laptop lock screen ceases to exist but I found plugging it into an external monitor brings it back on the laptop monitor...

I don't think there's even an argument that it can compete when it comes to integrations with mobile, other in-home devices, and other peoples data/devices. Yeah it's an issue that there are basically two walled gardens people get into, but Linux isn't even in the neighborhood. It can certainly compete on "a web browser exists and works" but my point is people actually do want more than that.

And it does break. I mean even if the drivers and necessary software is all great, at some point something weird happens and doesn't unhappen. My Fedora install has software I downloaded in the software GUI that won't update. It sends me (garbage) messages about SELinux constantly. The toast doesn't autohide and toast pops up for too many things. It's still usable, nothing is "broken", but it's death by a thousand cuts. No one wants all this confusing crap that isn't "just working". I don't get that feeling in macOS or Windows 10.

If we're trading anecdotes about a really specific subset of users here, I know a bunch of "retired people" who also almost exclusively do email, but you know they also like things to be easy, intuitive, familiar, functional and still kind of pretty like they're actually part of the future. They absolutely can not have it break. And you know what? They do want more features that they can use, it isn't that they only want email because it is all they can use, it's just the rest is not easy/intuitive/familiar or is providing no greater value to their now limited time. What value does linux desktop bring to them? It's a liability with no advantages.

So now a bunch have started using things like amazon photos which has encouraged them to become more interested in their android devices, branching out into other fun photo apps and home IoT crap. Another bunch (quite the dividing line here) has gotten more involved in iCloud shared albums and thus again more interested in the Apple ecosystem. They went from cheap "PC" buyers to MBP because they thought the UX was that much better, because facetime and iMessage and other cool things.

Linux Desktop can't compete even in that easiest of user segments.

Ehhhh... I don't know if it's the marketing doing its job or what but sifting through DDG and startpage meta pages I just get a better feeling from DDG. It's a little more modern, seems a little more transparent, I like the total break from Google, I like that DDG has other projects and a living community behind it. Frankly even the name DDG, while kind of dorky, is a lot easier to sell friends/family on than some generic term. Somehow I just don't trust them?

If I had to guess why startpage hasn't felt the ban-hammer yet, I would say it simply isn't big enough for Google to care.

That was a lot of hand waving.

Anyway, I will continue to use !g over !s because personally I'm not _that_ paranoid (yet?) and between 1) not being signed into Google, 2) uBlock/privacy badger/decentraleyes I'm not at all concerned about them doing a good job of tracking me. My trust for Google is still greater than startpage.

I also switched my personal phone from ~8 years of android to the iPhone after getting an iPhone 6s for work. What a wake up call.

> I still use the google bang over 80% of the time, but hopefully that goes down over time

I've been using DDG since ~2011 and have found myself using the google bang more today than years ago. Maybe my searches today are harder for DDG? For sure though, DDG has changed. It used to respect weirder search terms much more than Google which made it more appealing to me as a programmer, but now it over zealously corrects keywords, and completely common keywords get left out. Doesn't seem to care as much about keyword order/distance in the results either. It's like they amped the fuzziness beyond what is helpful. I'm proactively quoting half of my search terms today.

> google maps, truly a superior product

I tried a few times to switch to Apple maps over the last 3 years and each time was disappointed. But about a month ago I tried again and have decided that they are really neck and neck. I don't know if it got better but my partner uses Google still and we compare options and sometimes Apple finds something better sometimes Google does but for the most part they get the same results. Some traffic data exists, including construction/accidents (I have no idea how). You lose streetview and I think the dependence on Yelp is annoying but makes sense. After using it consistently for a month I find the UI/UX is actually a lot better too. It has quirks but so does Google Maps. All that said, it's only getting better and the network effect will help! Give it another try!

What do you think of choices like aggregating GPS tracks from Apple Maps to augment their map data like Google but with the key difference of removing the start and end points client side? Really going for the "we want the capability without the liability" angle here. Doesn't seem too phony to me.

Incredible technical work mechanically, electronically, photographically. Amazing artistic talent and personal drive.

3:19 and 4:22 remind me a lot of a tumblr page with animations like these. It's exciting how trippy they are. His direction and animation is beautiful, knowing that it's real light is something else.

Seems to me like that's more of a new defining feature of OSM, which may incidentally attract more contributors, but that in and of itself is not lowering the barrier to entry for prospective contributors.

I'm excited about this direction! I do minor contributions and poking around my area I'm surprised by how much of it is done by very few people. How useful it is yet how lacking it is. There's a neighboring town that is absurdly well documented, it seems a group of people got together over a month and mapped the place out meticulously, including drawing all buildings etc. This town would work very well for these vector maps, my town probably not so much.

I wonder how to get more people involved, and excited, about OSM? How do we make it the Wikipedia of digital maps?

And does Strava/Mapbox give back? When Strava identifies common bike routes, or perhaps trails, and when Mapbox determines that roads have changed is that given back to OSM in some capacity?

This looks great! Coworkers don't work in the shell at all though so there's that, but I might use it at times.

They're lookin for that syntax highlighted and interactive experience you know.

>>we don't believe the administrative hassle of moving the site would be worth the benefit

this is so short sighted, especially for software used to admin productive systems