Richard Stallman explaining Why IPads and Cell
Phones are bad for freedom
It is a public secret that Mobile Phones which does us very good
and generally makes our daily lifes way easier are also a big enemy
to our natural ihnibited freedom. Life has become such that it is
almost inevitable to do any business or do a daily simple jobs
without using Mobile Phone. There is almost none practically today
that has wilfully rejected to use the mobile phone on any basis,
almost anyone except some strangers like Richard Stallman
and probably few others security freaks.
I've been shocked to find out the Father of Free Software
(Richard Mathew Stallman), well known in the hacker dome as
RMS does not own and didn't use any mobiles. The concerns he
pointed are very much logical and rightful. Owning a mobile is a
great security hole in personal privacy (mobile phones can be
easily sniffed by Mobile Operators) as well as anyone wearing a
mobile can be tracked up to 5 to 2 meters to the exact location
where he is based on the mobile phone cells to which the mobile is
connected.
Many people are not aware actually of the severeness of the issue
of constant tracking of people everywhere through this call
"goodies". Many mobile operators are already running a software
which is building place behaviour patterns of every user of their
mobile network. In other words, as we're used to bring and use the
mobile everywhere in automated program is creating a map for each
number assigned in some of the mobile operators. The gathered data
about our location going habits can then be easily used as a
indicator for predicting our future behaviour, bying habits (how
many times we go to super-market), how many times we go to cinema,
what kind of interests we hold etc. etc.
This combined with Google, account monitoring could possibly create
a system similar to the old movies Big Brother, where all
people goods and even attitudes or desires is monitored, influenced
and controlled ....
The severeness of the future implications of this constant
"personal surveillance and tracking device" as Stallman use to call
it is very dangerous for our freedoms.
I tried to live without a mobile phone, just like Stallman for
about months, and to tell you the truth the world around seems
completely different when you decide not to use 'em. The time I
lived wihtout a mobile, clearly show me we have come to the point
we cannot any more live without GSM. We fall the trap of
dependanding the little "talk box" communication for absolutely
everything, obviously sacrificing privacy and freedom for
convenience.
Mobiles are just one side of the coin, as the non-free software
which is ruling the software market and the use of computers puts
another treat and takes away many foundamential freedoms we used to
have in the less technological world.
Apple as a vendor of software and hardware also denies and breaks
our freedom very badly, as the company tracks everyone who owns
anything created by apple connected to the internet. Besides that
non-free software producers, could change the user software with a
press of a button giving them the opportunity to decide what is
good and bad for us, leaving us at a state of a helpless dependable
users.
The topic of technological little-by-little enslavement, we're
going through nowdays and the denying freedoms, we experience while
being convinced by companies that we became more free by each next
mambo-jambo gadget or by owning the latest smart-phone is very huge
and complex but unfortunately underseen in society. I don't
understand why, is it due to the low technical skills of mass users
is it due to a "not-care what will happen in future" attitude, but
obviously people openly discussing or protesting the
technologization taking away our freedom is almost zero ....
Here is the video I found in youtube in which Stallman is asked
few, questions on Ipads (IBADS) and Mobile Phone use. I believe his
short explanation synthesizes the problem quite well ;;;;
I just wonder after you check the video, Would you still accept
an Ipad as a birthday gift ? :)
Did you changed your opinion of cell-phones as being marketed as
safe and reliable ?