Software Ecosystems are bad, but Linux needs one
DOwnload Safing's Portmaster here: https://safing.io/portmaster/ Every company is talking about building their ecosystem. Apple, Samsung, Google, Microsoft, even Amazon, they all want to have the full experience, with hardware, software, services, all designed to lock the users in and keep them coming for more products, more data, all at the price of convenience. I don't like these walled gardens, but I still think we need a full open source ecosystem where the desktop works well with mobile, smartwatches, iot devices, and services. Let's see how that could work.
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As of today, there is no syncing between your Linux desktop, and a potential Linux phone. No interaction between your pinetime and your desktop or phone either. We have no "open source service suite" that a user can just start using on every device. And that's what I mean by ecosystem: a one stop shop, with a single account, that lets you access cloud storage, photo syncing, browser bookmarks and passwords, an email account and calendar, an office suite, text message syncing, basically an open source icloud or Microsoft account.
Ok, now, I think ecosystems are terrible. That's pretty paradoxical, I know, but that's because current ecosystems, that encompass hardware, software and services, are all proprietary, and designed as walled gardens, to lock you in and prevent you from switching.
Once you've bought a Mac, an iPhone, an Apple Watch, and iPad, and AirPods, the cost of switching to anything else becomes way too high. You've bought your apps, you're using Apple services, your hardware works beautifully together. If you just replace one piece of all of that, it all breaks down and the simplicity and ease of use is gone.
Because, yes, these ecosystems bring a lot to the table: everything tends to sync together super easily, you get your files, photos, settings, applications on every device, seamlessly. Stuff just connects together in the most simple way. That's appealing. But the cost is your freedom to decide that a superior product might be worth your money. Instead, you'll buy the product from the company you're beholden to, because anything else will just not work as well. It's a trap, but I think an open source ecosystem would solve that issue.
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