I just spent a week tinkering with Ubuntu, an attractive version of the Linux operating system that offers a free and very solid alternative to Windows and Mac OS X. Then I learned that it tracks my internet use and sells the info to Amazon.
Ummmmm, No! This isn’t the kind of behaviour I expect from open source software. I don’t like the spyware built into the big pay systems either, but Microsoft and Apple are commercial, profit-seeking companies. You know they’ll sell you for a buck.
I was slow to find Richard Stallman’s take on this, but I agree with him. 6-minute YouTube video, next.
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I value Mr Stallman’s views because he reminds us of the trade-offs we accept when we spend our privacy in exchange for conveniences. He also reminds us that we are often giving out more than we realize… that our information may be taken and used by organizations we’ve never heard of, and used in ways we never dreamed of.
Personally, I accept a lot of these trade-offs. I just like to know what kind of a deal I am making. Ubuntu’s offence, IMO, is not collecting data for Amazon, it is in making the collection automatic by default. It is possible to opt out, which is a good thing, but Ubuntu should really make its Amazon relationship opt-in, not opt-out.