this post was submitted on 21 May 2024
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[–] [email protected] 70 points 4 months ago (1 children)

I think it’s a cool idea in principle. I just don’t trust the company with my data even if they claim it is stored locally, but then again that’s why I don’t use their OS.

[–] [email protected] 33 points 4 months ago* (last edited 4 months ago) (2 children)

Yeah, I'd totally use whatever FOSS equivalent eventually makes it to the Linux desktop once it's actually usable.

[–] [email protected] 14 points 4 months ago* (last edited 4 months ago) (2 children)

Gpt4all is avalible on linux, it is an open source software that can run LLMs locally.

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[–] [email protected] 12 points 4 months ago

It might not be long if the idea works. We already have good local LLMs.

[–] [email protected] 60 points 4 months ago (1 children)

Well at least this surely will be easily disabled and then not keep re-enabling itself when Windows forgets its own settings every couple weeks(!)

[–] [email protected] 28 points 4 months ago (3 children)

It won't on... wait for it... Linux!

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[–] [email protected] 53 points 4 months ago (2 children)

I'm not even going to install Windows 11

[–] [email protected] 29 points 4 months ago (5 children)

Yeah, I've been trying for over a decade to switch to Linux, but the pain points have been too much for me. This is it though, MS is making it impossible to continue with their spyware crap. I have to find a way to make the switch before 10 reaches end of life.

[–] [email protected] 25 points 4 months ago (1 children)

I tried the switch a while back and gave up. I tried a few months ago again with Mint and I haven't looked back. Now I'm looking to change to another distro. Mint is the perfect Linux entry drug. Just install it on another drive if you have one kicking around so you don't commit to destroying your windows install just yet.

[–] [email protected] 9 points 4 months ago

I've tried Mint and Ubuntu and other flavours I can't always remember, various different frontends, I've used Raspbian, octopi, I've installed alternative Android OSes, and none of them have alleviated the pain of installing an OS that fucks up basic things on a regular basis.

Hell, just yesterday I was following a tutorial on how to install an audio amplifier on a retropie and it just failed. The audio test keeps going wrong in different ways each time I try. Every piece of hardware and software involved was known to the tutorial and matched to mine exactly, and still something unknown went wrong and I'll have to hunt down the reason. Something to do with GPIONext.service not starting properly. It's going to be a painful couple of hours mashing my face against this issue until I can figure it out, at the very least.

Like, nice pitch but I've heard too many times "this flavour of Linux is the perfect beginner distro!" only to find that no, this platform has more rough edge than surface and a fresh coat of paint hasn't changed that.

All I'm saying is that if a ubiquitous AI spy is the future of Windows then I guess I am forced to deal with that pain if the only alternative I can envision is to walk into the sea and never return.

[–] [email protected] 7 points 4 months ago* (last edited 4 months ago) (1 children)

Same, Linux has always been a cool Idea but not worth going through the trouble of installing, now Microsoft is making the alternative way more trouble.

[–] [email protected] 12 points 4 months ago

I went to Linux because a colleague next to me handed me a Fedora DVD after having issues with company Windows.

I installed Linux many times on various hardware configurations since then.

I don't think I've ever had a pain installing it, perhaps once when Ubuntu had messed up installer with custom LUKS setup.

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[–] [email protected] 12 points 4 months ago (1 children)

All this fuckery convinced me to start experimenting with Linux, just keeping windows on a backup PC for the couple of games that may not work...

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[–] [email protected] 45 points 4 months ago (1 children)

Even if this data wasn’t stolen by Microsoft (it will be) and sold to every advertiser everywhere (it WILL BE)

Having screenshots taken of your PC every few seconds and then stored on your hard drive is going to nuke your storage in a matter of days, maybe weeks at the most

[–] [email protected] 19 points 4 months ago (1 children)

According to available information that I've come across, everything is processed on-device and encrypted and 25gb can store months of rewind data depending on how much and how you use your device. At that rate, a terabyte should store about a decade of history (I can't think of anything you would need to go that far back for though).

If security researchers don't find sussy behavior where Recall sends back some sort of data beyond basic telemetry, there's not really any higher of a privacy risk compared to using your computer as you currently do. Also you can disable it for certain applications and delete history when you want to (or disable the feature altogether). People are being really weird about this for reasons that have already been addressed.

[–] [email protected] 35 points 4 months ago (1 children)

Here’s the issue, though. It’s a corporation saying they pinky promise not to steal even more of your data, and I don’t trust them any more than I can purchase their company

That is to say, not even a fraction of a fraction of a fraction of a thousandth of a percent

[–] [email protected] 14 points 4 months ago

Just like Apple gives you the optiom to disallow tracking but their definition of tracking leaves a lot of room for data to be collected and shared with 3rd party

[–] [email protected] 18 points 4 months ago

So happy Windows is protecting us from spyware and malware.

Now, we have to protect ourselves from Microsoft.

[–] [email protected] 14 points 4 months ago

For somebody who's last windows experience was windows 7: what did they come up now again?

[–] [email protected] 12 points 4 months ago

Now introducing Microsoft dildonics. We will tell you when to put it in your holes.

[–] [email protected] 11 points 4 months ago

I'll use it at work because I don't give a fuck about that machine but not for my personal machine.

[–] [email protected] 10 points 4 months ago

I don't expect MS will give you the choice. Not as far as the whole spying on you part is concerned, at least.

[–] [email protected] 10 points 4 months ago

I predict GNUL desktop at 5%

[–] [email protected] 10 points 4 months ago

Like the F in "Oh, what a bleak, horrible future we live in!"

[–] [email protected] 9 points 4 months ago

Quaid, start the reactor.

[–] [email protected] 8 points 4 months ago (4 children)

I don't get the hate for this. It's just browser history but for your whole PC. The number of times this would have saved people from losing important documents or unfucking things they did wrong up to this point makes me wonder how they never thought of this before now.

[–] [email protected] 101 points 4 months ago* (last edited 4 months ago) (3 children)

The whole PC isn’t a browser, there are things that I don’t want saved every few seconds, with potentially sensitive details. Bank or medical info is a bit different than having a link to a webpage. And no, I don’t believe all this will stay local. Even if not straight away, it will eventually be sold to advertisers one way or another

[–] [email protected] 75 points 4 months ago (2 children)

I definitely don't want Microsoft reading my Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy erotica fanfiction, that's shit is between me, not God, and kinky Marvin.

[–] [email protected] 25 points 4 months ago (1 children)

"For as massive as it was, even Marvin with his planet sized mind couldn't pinpoint the exact moment the pain in the diodes down his left side turned to pleasure. The safe word remained well behind his moist lips"...

[–] [email protected] 11 points 4 months ago (1 children)
[–] [email protected] 14 points 4 months ago (2 children)

I've been seeing that comic for so long, and I've just realised I got the narrative backwards. I always thought the person handing the item over in the first panel was the plagiarist, and the person receiving it was saying "you made this?" in confusion, then waiting a moment and acknowledging that yes, they have just been given back the thing they made and told someone else made it.

Now I realise it's probably meant to be read that the original maker is on the left, and the plagiarist on the right is just waiting till they're gone to take credit for it.

[–] [email protected] 6 points 4 months ago (1 children)

I think that says a lot about your character though. You'd be sad someone took it from you, but you'd move on. Whereas someone else may see the world as a darker place where everyone is trying to steal what little they've created.

I think your interpretation tells me you're an amazing person.

[–] [email protected] 6 points 4 months ago* (last edited 4 months ago) (2 children)

I'm torn between saying, "I think that's a bit of a stretch," and saying, "Why thank you, you're absolutely right, and very insightful too."

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[–] [email protected] 18 points 4 months ago (1 children)

If files on your hard drive are sold to advertisers, they don't need to bother with uploading screenshots.

[–] [email protected] 13 points 4 months ago (1 children)

I think this is key. There’s many ways Microsoft can provide your data without literally providing it. For example, they can build a profile about you and sell that instead.

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[–] [email protected] 17 points 4 months ago

Are you sure I shouldn't just ask Microsoft to pretty please keylog everything I do on any computer ever? I mean that seems reasonable to me that seems like what a reasonable corporation would do. \s

[–] [email protected] 28 points 4 months ago (8 children)

OK but my whole browser history doesn't get sent to Microsoft to be processed by an AI.

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[–] [email protected] 24 points 4 months ago* (last edited 4 months ago) (1 children)

They have thought of it before. Autosaving, backup, restore functions that regularly took snapshots of your drive and saved it just in case some shit happened, etc. This is just another thing they can slap AI on and claim is innovating when it really isn't.

[–] [email protected] 8 points 4 months ago (2 children)

So is this like that Time Capsule thing that apple used to do (maybe still does)? I think I'm OOTL.

[–] [email protected] 16 points 4 months ago (3 children)

Like that, but filtered through an AI.

Features: questions like "Hey, where's that file I worked on last week", "What was that recipe I found the other day" or "hey can you pull up a copy of this document from 3 days ago so I can compare them" all work. Its nice to be able to just do that, and you can apply all the normal AI editing things to them, too. They're all available.

Downside: a black box AI system the user doesn't have full control over has the right to record literally everything you do on your computer. They promise its local, for now, but not only is Microsoft not trustworthy in that regard, even if they're honest we don't know if or when they'll change that policy. I would not be surprised if the next step was "A small amount of none identifiable information is transmitted to our servers" snuck in, and they used that permission to have Microsoft Recall answer queries for advertisers directly, technically without ever identifying you. Advertisers could directly ask your own computer for all the info they'll ever need.

And, yes, Mac still has Time Machine. Linux has its own version, too. Both are very handy and I've used them each personally. In my personal opinion, a basic search with time machine does enough of Microsoft recall's job that I'm not going near it, but honestly at least you're getting functionality out of them selling your data, so it could be worse.

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[–] wander1236 10 points 4 months ago

Time Machine (which is an excellent feature on macOS btw and isn't advertised nearly enough by Apple), but Recall sounds more like an automatic clipboard history that saves more than just text and copied images, not something that lets you roll back to a previous state.

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[–] [email protected] 7 points 4 months ago (1 children)

Sorry to ask, but what is a "Microsoft Recall"?

[–] [email protected] 13 points 4 months ago (4 children)

From the MS website:

Recall utilizes Windows Copilot Runtime to help you find anything you’ve seen on your PC. Search using any clues you remember or use the timeline to scroll through your past activity, including apps, documents, and websites.

A "feature" coming to Windows 11. Essentially a keylogger on steroids... Powered by AI of course, because what isn't these days.

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