I am not worried about this.
Related wiki chapter:
Freedom vs Tyrant Security
Hypothetical user quote:
Due to lack of <insert cool security feature> by proprietary tyrant, I switched from Debian/Kicksecure to Google Android/iOS.
That user doesn’t exist or is a minority infeasible to chase.
In any case, we obviously cannot directly compete with proprietary tyrant companies with billions of USD in funding. That’s mission impossible.
We can only compete on values.
Such values include (non-exhausive list):
Users that don’t prioritize these values, won’t be interested in Kicksecure.
Other potential higher priority values many users will prefer (non-exhausive list):
- usability
- compatibility
- fashion / status symbol
- performance / speed
1 Like
Scenario of how to overcome values, China products as an example:
- Cheapness: China will produce cheap laptop with lets say 500/1k dollar which is worth like 3k dollar specs if bought from EU/US market. Due to the financial difficulties in the west and the world in general, users will look for cheap options with high/equal specs.
- Advertisement + REAL Advanced Implementation: Not just its cheaper but also the advertisement going to be like we are using the next-generation of OS builds and security with advanced xyz…, and when examining this ad you cant criticize it with lying/deceiving ad so you can push the users away or so, because it is real as they say. So yeah we have good values just not the best implementation of these values (security, design, modernness…).
- Engulfing with Cross compatibility: If the chines OS gonna tell the user that dont worry, you can run all of your beloved apps as well on our system, because it supports running android, linux or even windows apps (lets say they implemented ApV design or Qubes design OS-per-VM). Thats gonna be another blowup because user doesnt even need to consider to have xyz systems, rather everything he can just do on this system (why bother having multiple systems…).
So if the user is willing to put double or triple the price + good values, he want to get at least the same level or better security/privacy/modernness…, otherwise we are on a weak spot in the near future.
They might be able to produce a secure os but not a trustworthy os. So far, they’re only competing in the realm of tyrant security, not freedom security.
Their system will be at best only secure from unauthorized third-parties but not from the vendor itself.
They don’t seem to be interested in competing in the realm of freedom security. That might be due to lack of market demand and therefore low profitability.
Freedom security is the only niche we can operate in.
If users don’t care about freedom values, then nothing can be done about this.
There are many scenarios in which we might loose in a few decades.
Amongst them is the War on General Purpose Computing.
But this fatalism isn’t productive.