this post was submitted on 07 Nov 2023
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Technology
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Nope. Ease to use will always triumph over open source
We've got all these devs volunteering time to these FOSS projects but rarely do we have people whose role is to figure out what users want. Devs tend to design from the perspective of "what features do "I" care about" which isn't always aligned with what users care about.
What's not easy about Signal, though? :c
Signal needs automatic cloud backups so badly. They're encrypted anyways, why not allow it as an option?
I've used it for years now and it's great and I managed to get all my friends to install it. But manual backups are basically impossible for the average user. Also it'd be nice if we could bulk export pictures more easily.
You know what's funny, Snapchat is and always was a confusing mess of a service. Didn't stop it.
It's not ease of use that closed-source brings, it's a brand image. Companies like Apple, MS, Amazon, spend millions annually on shaping their brand. That image makes people feel at ease. It provides context, trust and a sense of familiarity and security because "why would Apple ever spy on me, they are a publicly traded company used by billions?" is more favourable than "oh some geeks made this thing in their basement and can watch me??"
FWIW, I don't think the last sentence is quite right. I think it's more like, "oh, some geeks made this thing in their basement? ok, but I have this already made by a rich company."
Privacy isn't on the radar, ease of use, design, and how it makes you look to other people are.
I dont think so, Apple Google Meta and Microsoft have to grow their revenue so they will have to make their service either more expensive or crappier. And I think, at some point, this will drive people to open source alternatives. Or atleast I hope so