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  3. The best advice I have for new nerds: Refuse to pay rent.

The best advice I have for new nerds: Refuse to pay rent.

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  • inlovewithpda@chaos.socialI inlovewithpda@chaos.social

    @trevorflowers good words. It is a huge pain, when you finally quit. I always knew, but never realized, that I don't own a single movie I "bought" in iTunes. I have to keep my apple account to watch them.

    ambulocetus@mefi.socialA This user is from outside of this forum
    ambulocetus@mefi.socialA This user is from outside of this forum
    ambulocetus@mefi.social
    wrote last edited by
    #16

    @inlovewithpda @trevorflowers A wise man said, "if buying isn't owning, then piracy isn't theft."

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    • trevorflowers@hachyderm.ioT trevorflowers@hachyderm.io

      The best advice I have for new nerds: Refuse to pay rent.

      Don't subscribe. Don't lease. Don't use their cloud. Don't slip down the freemium slope. Don't create accounts on their services.

      Buy it once. Run it local. Avoid commercial software.

      It'll be a huge pain and you'll be an outsider but it'll be endless, interesting, and hard fun that'll pay you back with a curious mind and an understanding of the fabric of our intellectual infrastructure that will make you light-years more capable, useful, and healthy than the "AI" zombies.

      venya@musicians.todayV This user is from outside of this forum
      venya@musicians.todayV This user is from outside of this forum
      venya@musicians.today
      wrote last edited by
      #17

      @trevorflowers

      Cosign in musician

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      • trevorflowers@hachyderm.ioT trevorflowers@hachyderm.io

        The best advice I have for new nerds: Refuse to pay rent.

        Don't subscribe. Don't lease. Don't use their cloud. Don't slip down the freemium slope. Don't create accounts on their services.

        Buy it once. Run it local. Avoid commercial software.

        It'll be a huge pain and you'll be an outsider but it'll be endless, interesting, and hard fun that'll pay you back with a curious mind and an understanding of the fabric of our intellectual infrastructure that will make you light-years more capable, useful, and healthy than the "AI" zombies.

        shapr@recurse.socialS This user is from outside of this forum
        shapr@recurse.socialS This user is from outside of this forum
        shapr@recurse.social
        wrote last edited by
        #18

        @trevorflowers landlord free! Cage free!

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        • trevorflowers@hachyderm.ioT trevorflowers@hachyderm.io

          The best advice I have for new nerds: Refuse to pay rent.

          Don't subscribe. Don't lease. Don't use their cloud. Don't slip down the freemium slope. Don't create accounts on their services.

          Buy it once. Run it local. Avoid commercial software.

          It'll be a huge pain and you'll be an outsider but it'll be endless, interesting, and hard fun that'll pay you back with a curious mind and an understanding of the fabric of our intellectual infrastructure that will make you light-years more capable, useful, and healthy than the "AI" zombies.

          quincy@chaos.socialQ This user is from outside of this forum
          quincy@chaos.socialQ This user is from outside of this forum
          quincy@chaos.social
          wrote last edited by
          #19

          @trevorflowers

          I genuinely don't understand those who'll happily sell their soul despite being under no real, direct pressure to do so.

          I have co-workers who do all the things you describe. Happily.

          I ask them why. Half of the things they subscribe to are actively trying to harm them (and those close to them). Or have free replacements of better quality.

          And - the root cause seems to be mere conformism. Not doing the "normal" thing is simply unthinkable.

          Conformism sells 😞

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          • trevorflowers@hachyderm.ioT trevorflowers@hachyderm.io

            The best advice I have for new nerds: Refuse to pay rent.

            Don't subscribe. Don't lease. Don't use their cloud. Don't slip down the freemium slope. Don't create accounts on their services.

            Buy it once. Run it local. Avoid commercial software.

            It'll be a huge pain and you'll be an outsider but it'll be endless, interesting, and hard fun that'll pay you back with a curious mind and an understanding of the fabric of our intellectual infrastructure that will make you light-years more capable, useful, and healthy than the "AI" zombies.

            happyborg@fosstodon.orgH This user is from outside of this forum
            happyborg@fosstodon.orgH This user is from outside of this forum
            happyborg@fosstodon.org
            wrote last edited by
            #20

            @trevorflowers I second this. It will also be a good filter, selecting for those with a good mix of curiosity and love of problem solving, attention to detail and ability to focus, that is being selected against. Qualities which need nurturing and exercise, and which will only grow in value, and in usefulness against life's challenges.

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            • dfx4509b@mas.toD dfx4509b@mas.to

              @trevorflowers If you refuse to pay rent as far as your home goes, you're eventually going to be evicted, though, or worse, you could get taken to court by the landlord over it.

              jadedtwin@corteximplant.comJ This user is from outside of this forum
              jadedtwin@corteximplant.comJ This user is from outside of this forum
              jadedtwin@corteximplant.com
              wrote last edited by
              #21

              @dfx4509b @trevorflowers I don't think OP was talking about housing

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              • trevorflowers@hachyderm.ioT trevorflowers@hachyderm.io

                The best advice I have for new nerds: Refuse to pay rent.

                Don't subscribe. Don't lease. Don't use their cloud. Don't slip down the freemium slope. Don't create accounts on their services.

                Buy it once. Run it local. Avoid commercial software.

                It'll be a huge pain and you'll be an outsider but it'll be endless, interesting, and hard fun that'll pay you back with a curious mind and an understanding of the fabric of our intellectual infrastructure that will make you light-years more capable, useful, and healthy than the "AI" zombies.

                albertcardona@mathstodon.xyzA This user is from outside of this forum
                albertcardona@mathstodon.xyzA This user is from outside of this forum
                albertcardona@mathstodon.xyz
                wrote last edited by
                #22

                @trevorflowers

                Forever confused why such an approach isn’t the default. Why would anyone pay rent for short-term convenience at the expense of long-term critical dependencies?

                1 Reply Last reply
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                • trevorflowers@hachyderm.ioT trevorflowers@hachyderm.io

                  The best advice I have for new nerds: Refuse to pay rent.

                  Don't subscribe. Don't lease. Don't use their cloud. Don't slip down the freemium slope. Don't create accounts on their services.

                  Buy it once. Run it local. Avoid commercial software.

                  It'll be a huge pain and you'll be an outsider but it'll be endless, interesting, and hard fun that'll pay you back with a curious mind and an understanding of the fabric of our intellectual infrastructure that will make you light-years more capable, useful, and healthy than the "AI" zombies.

                  flashmobofone@mastodon.artF This user is from outside of this forum
                  flashmobofone@mastodon.artF This user is from outside of this forum
                  flashmobofone@mastodon.art
                  wrote last edited by
                  #23

                  @trevorflowers Also, don't rent your tech.

                  Buy one that's a few generations old. Learn how to build, fix, or rent it yourself.

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                  • trevorflowers@hachyderm.ioT trevorflowers@hachyderm.io

                    The best advice I have for new nerds: Refuse to pay rent.

                    Don't subscribe. Don't lease. Don't use their cloud. Don't slip down the freemium slope. Don't create accounts on their services.

                    Buy it once. Run it local. Avoid commercial software.

                    It'll be a huge pain and you'll be an outsider but it'll be endless, interesting, and hard fun that'll pay you back with a curious mind and an understanding of the fabric of our intellectual infrastructure that will make you light-years more capable, useful, and healthy than the "AI" zombies.

                    braxa26@mindly.socialB This user is from outside of this forum
                    braxa26@mindly.socialB This user is from outside of this forum
                    braxa26@mindly.social
                    wrote last edited by
                    #24

                    @trevorflowers Thanks for the supportive message. As someone on the margins of nerd culture, the challenge is huge and daunting. Thankfully there are those like you who call us in with resources and encouragement. So far, I'm in the process of switching to LibreOffice on my desktop and have an idea of a tiny Linux distro that will fit on my old Asus notebook (my stars, I love that little machine). Once I figure that out, I hope to be able to convert my desktop machine too. Take heart, nerds everywhere, we're trying.

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                    • dfx4509b@mas.toD dfx4509b@mas.to

                      @trevorflowers If you refuse to pay rent as far as your home goes, you're eventually going to be evicted, though, or worse, you could get taken to court by the landlord over it.

                      leeloo@chaosfem.twL This user is from outside of this forum
                      leeloo@chaosfem.twL This user is from outside of this forum
                      leeloo@chaosfem.tw
                      wrote last edited by
                      #25

                      @dfx4509b @trevorflowers
                      If you read more than the headline, you would know that the point was to buy, not rent. If you buy a house, there is no landlord.

                      That being said, if you work a job where you don't expect to stay for decades, and jobs can be far between and commuting is not how you wish to spend a large chunk of your life, moving from one apartment to another is way easier than selling a house and buying one in a different city.

                      And that's without even getting into the price of buying your home.

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                      • nu@ko.she-a.euN nu@ko.she-a.eu

                        @trevorflowers@hachyderm.io 100% except if you dont have a good internet connection, then a vps is warranted, I've spent too many hours fighting my isp

                        pmdj@mstdn.socialP This user is from outside of this forum
                        pmdj@mstdn.socialP This user is from outside of this forum
                        pmdj@mstdn.social
                        wrote last edited by
                        #26

                        @nu @trevorflowers The thing with renting a VPS or a bare-metal machine in a data centre somewhere is that it's not difficult to move it to a different hosting provider. Or even to move it to a different country.
                        The harm isn't so much the fact that you're paying monthly. The danger of SaaS is that your data is entirely beholden to the SaaS operator; if you can export it, it's usually in a form you can't immediately continue using elsewhere. And there is no transparency in how they process it.

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                        • miss_rodent@girlcock.clubM miss_rodent@girlcock.club

                          @trevorflowers This might be harder to do now, but, considering I've stuck to this approach since the mid-2000's and continue to - it is still -possible-, at least. In spite of the best efforts of the tech industry & their pet governments.
                          Creates extra headaches (I spent multiple days to get lineageOS running on a phone they do not support, but I got for free and needed to degoogle, for example), but, those et easier to navigate the more of them you have to navigate.

                          kel@mastodon.onlineK This user is from outside of this forum
                          kel@mastodon.onlineK This user is from outside of this forum
                          kel@mastodon.online
                          wrote last edited by
                          #27

                          @miss_rodent @trevorflowers

                          Same here! Probably longer 🫣

                          I shared this photo the other day, it's not everything, far from it, eg. still have all my vinyl from the 80s and a record deck, but it is the result of ditching the iPhone hardware subscription almost 12 months now!

                          I already had most of this stuff, the Punkt was a gift, I recently repaired the iRiver, and the X4 is the only new (and very awesome) purchase.

                          The relief is astonishing! I am never going back to smart phones - nope!

                          ❤️

                          Link Preview Image
                          miss_rodent@girlcock.clubM jonathanharker@cloudisland.nzJ 2 Replies Last reply
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                          • kel@mastodon.onlineK kel@mastodon.online

                            @miss_rodent @trevorflowers

                            Same here! Probably longer 🫣

                            I shared this photo the other day, it's not everything, far from it, eg. still have all my vinyl from the 80s and a record deck, but it is the result of ditching the iPhone hardware subscription almost 12 months now!

                            I already had most of this stuff, the Punkt was a gift, I recently repaired the iRiver, and the X4 is the only new (and very awesome) purchase.

                            The relief is astonishing! I am never going back to smart phones - nope!

                            ❤️

                            Link Preview Image
                            miss_rodent@girlcock.clubM This user is from outside of this forum
                            miss_rodent@girlcock.clubM This user is from outside of this forum
                            miss_rodent@girlcock.club
                            wrote last edited by
                            #28

                            @kel I still use a smartphone, but ripped out the original OS to put an open degoogled OS on it, so, none of the usual spyware and uninstallable oem apps, none of google's nonsense, etc.

                            1 Reply Last reply
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                            • trevorflowers@hachyderm.ioT trevorflowers@hachyderm.io

                              The best advice I have for new nerds: Refuse to pay rent.

                              Don't subscribe. Don't lease. Don't use their cloud. Don't slip down the freemium slope. Don't create accounts on their services.

                              Buy it once. Run it local. Avoid commercial software.

                              It'll be a huge pain and you'll be an outsider but it'll be endless, interesting, and hard fun that'll pay you back with a curious mind and an understanding of the fabric of our intellectual infrastructure that will make you light-years more capable, useful, and healthy than the "AI" zombies.

                              karschsp@jawns.clubK This user is from outside of this forum
                              karschsp@jawns.clubK This user is from outside of this forum
                              karschsp@jawns.club
                              wrote last edited by
                              #29

                              @trevorflowers "hard fun" is a great phrase. Fun is not easy just like work is not easy. The only difference is: it's fun!

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                              • the_moep@mastodon.deT the_moep@mastodon.de

                                @trevorflowers I'm not sure my land lord is going to like that advice 😅

                                ktneely@infosec.exchangeK This user is from outside of this forum
                                ktneely@infosec.exchangeK This user is from outside of this forum
                                ktneely@infosec.exchange
                                wrote last edited by
                                #30

                                @the_moep @trevorflowers there's nothing your Spotify landlord can do about you buying music and cancelling your subscription except cry over the lost revenue.

                                the_moep@mastodon.deT 1 Reply Last reply
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                                • ktneely@infosec.exchangeK ktneely@infosec.exchange

                                  @the_moep @trevorflowers there's nothing your Spotify landlord can do about you buying music and cancelling your subscription except cry over the lost revenue.

                                  the_moep@mastodon.deT This user is from outside of this forum
                                  the_moep@mastodon.deT This user is from outside of this forum
                                  the_moep@mastodon.de
                                  wrote last edited by
                                  #31

                                  @ktneely I don't have (and never had) spotify. Bandcamp is bae ❤

                                  1 Reply Last reply
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                                  • ben@mastodon.lubar.meB ben@mastodon.lubar.me

                                    @trevorflowers the only "rent" I pay is to my ISP (monthly) and IANA (yearly)

                                    good advice

                                    calcifer@masto.hackers.townC This user is from outside of this forum
                                    calcifer@masto.hackers.townC This user is from outside of this forum
                                    calcifer@masto.hackers.town
                                    wrote last edited by
                                    #32

                                    @ben @trevorflowers I don’t consider paying for a genuine *service* to be rent. It’s only rent when there’s not really a good reason for it to be a service.

                                    colorfulceleste@bark.lgbtC 1 Reply Last reply
                                    0
                                    • calcifer@masto.hackers.townC calcifer@masto.hackers.town

                                      @ben @trevorflowers I don’t consider paying for a genuine *service* to be rent. It’s only rent when there’s not really a good reason for it to be a service.

                                      colorfulceleste@bark.lgbtC This user is from outside of this forum
                                      colorfulceleste@bark.lgbtC This user is from outside of this forum
                                      colorfulceleste@bark.lgbt
                                      wrote last edited by
                                      #33

                                      @calcifer @ben @trevorflowers Agree with this take. Obviously a lot of SaaS is bad (Adobe for example), but I seriously doubt something like a VPN falls under this.

                                      1 Reply Last reply
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                                      • trevorflowers@hachyderm.ioT trevorflowers@hachyderm.io

                                        The best advice I have for new nerds: Refuse to pay rent.

                                        Don't subscribe. Don't lease. Don't use their cloud. Don't slip down the freemium slope. Don't create accounts on their services.

                                        Buy it once. Run it local. Avoid commercial software.

                                        It'll be a huge pain and you'll be an outsider but it'll be endless, interesting, and hard fun that'll pay you back with a curious mind and an understanding of the fabric of our intellectual infrastructure that will make you light-years more capable, useful, and healthy than the "AI" zombies.

                                        R This user is from outside of this forum
                                        R This user is from outside of this forum
                                        risottobias@toot.risottobias.org
                                        wrote last edited by
                                        #34

                                        @trevorflowers I hope that nerds make things /easier to run/ locally.

                                        So many things seem "fine" for a sysadmin who likes the hobby of undocumented software constantly breaking or not being configured securely out of the gate.

                                        a dentist in a rural town does not have time to set this stuff up. it needs to be simpler, safer, and quicker than the /commercial competition/, because time is money

                                        sysop408@sfba.socialS 1 Reply Last reply
                                        0
                                        • kel@mastodon.onlineK kel@mastodon.online

                                          @miss_rodent @trevorflowers

                                          Same here! Probably longer 🫣

                                          I shared this photo the other day, it's not everything, far from it, eg. still have all my vinyl from the 80s and a record deck, but it is the result of ditching the iPhone hardware subscription almost 12 months now!

                                          I already had most of this stuff, the Punkt was a gift, I recently repaired the iRiver, and the X4 is the only new (and very awesome) purchase.

                                          The relief is astonishing! I am never going back to smart phones - nope!

                                          ❤️

                                          Link Preview Image
                                          jonathanharker@cloudisland.nzJ This user is from outside of this forum
                                          jonathanharker@cloudisland.nzJ This user is from outside of this forum
                                          jonathanharker@cloudisland.nz
                                          wrote last edited by
                                          #35

                                          @kel @miss_rodent @trevorflowers well hello, fellow iRiver H120 owner! I see you also installed Rockbox.

                                          1 Reply Last reply
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