Hacker News

points by akoboldfrying 23 hours ago | 0 comments

> I feel like it's a fundamental to human happiness. Software that takes that away contributes to the general malaise and hopelessness that many are feeling today.

I would like to see a full-featured Linux on Apple hardware too, but I think over 99% of people don't feel anywhere near this strongly. Do you feel this strongly about being able to replace the engine in your car with one you made yourself? I don't, and I think most people view computers the same way.

[–] anonymous908213 22 hours ago

> Do you feel this strongly about being able to replace the engine in your car with one you made yourself?

I am not one of those people, as I do not do cars, but I would hazard a guess that most car people over a certain age do in fact feel very strongly about what modern cars have become. The ones who grew up without knowing what ownership feels like less so, which reflects the exact same dynamic with younger generations who are growing up without ever knowing what it feels like to own the hardware they use.

[–] tonyedgecombe 21 hours ago

As a person over a certain age I mostly like the fact that cars are so much more reliable than they were when I started driving.

I like the creature comforts on a long journey. I would have given my right arm for satnav when I was driving for work.

I’m much the same when it comes to technology. A phone that doesn’t break is much more valuable to me than a repairable device that fails.

[–] throwaway132448 21 hours ago

I think it would be disingenuous not to point out that this was also true of new cars 20 years ago - which is much more pertinent to the point of the people you're replying to.

[–] jasonvorhe 19 hours ago

Considering how easy it was to replace engines of most cars before the integration of electronics I'd say it used to be quite common. Just as most hardware vendors used to ship full specs for their components up until the 80s or even 90s.

So, yeah, yes, definitely. I wouldn't be working with computers on a daily basis if I had to use Windows.

I'm not gonna overly generalize this though. I don't think it'll be the same for most people but I tend to not care about what most people do 99% of the time anyways.

[–] no-name-here 18 hours ago

If it was as cheap and easy to install a new engine as it is for an OS, I imagine swapping engines would be even more popular than new OSs. (And I think far fewer would clamor to replace their OS if it cost $x,xxx for each OS swap and took many hours of manual labor - I.e. I think whether someone wants something can be heavily influenced by whether it is ~free vs cost $x,xxx, etc.)

[–] Danox 2 hours ago

If it was easy, someone would’ve done something. with Darwin or many the other abandon/obsolete OS’s from the past…

[–] eptcyka 22 hours ago

I am looking forward to swapping the engine in my MX5, if I ever manage to kill it.