Post AY3KGuYGvQcGuiTWJE by drq@mastodon.ml
(DIR) More posts by drq@mastodon.ml
(DIR) Post #AY2AEaqq0VCcXDSIE4 by mcc@mastodon.social
2023-07-24T22:31:22Z
5 likes, 15 repeats
"With a software death date baked into each model, older versions of these inexpensive computers are set to expire three to six years after their release. Despite having fully functioning hardware, an expired Chromebook will no longer receive the software updates it needs, blocking basic websites and applications from use…[Pictured] A pile of Chromebooks with expired software sit in a classroom at Montera Middle School in Oakland, Calif"https://www.mercurynews.com/2023/07/24/built-in-software-death-dates-are-sending-thousands-of-schools-chromebooks-to-the-recycling-bin/
(DIR) Post #AY2Dsd5xNqAawKJFQG by greyknight33@noagendasocial.com
2023-07-24T23:39:10Z
0 likes, 0 repeats
@mcc but lets ban plastic straws
(DIR) Post #AY2dyyeGl76eKf2vfk by futuresprog@mastodon.nzoss.nz
2023-07-25T00:23:02Z
2 likes, 0 repeats
@mcc This is starting to bite at the local library where I teach Code Club (Scratch for kids). Most of the Chromebooks were purchased about 3 years ago and they’re showing “final update” alerts. Now websites are no longer validating because the Let’s Encrypt certificates are signed by an expired root and they don’t have the new root. Perfectly serviceable laptops but Google just needed to kill something and so they killed working Chromebooks.
(DIR) Post #AY2giquO4HvfYXaW0G by mhoye@mastodon.social
2023-07-24T22:33:39Z
0 likes, 0 repeats
@mcc this should be illegal.
(DIR) Post #AY2gisLii9O41bNrFI by glyph@mastodon.social
2023-07-24T23:04:05Z
0 likes, 0 repeats
@mhoye @mcc it’s irresponsible to allow children’s information to be stored on network-connected devices that are years out of date on security patches. while one could argue that we should mandate longer lifespans, that the software should be maintained for 10 years instead of 3, the idea that we should allow arbitrarily decrepit computing devices to be used indefinitely is intuitive but also dangerous.
(DIR) Post #AY2git1CDwZ26EmytU by glyph@mastodon.social
2023-07-24T23:13:25Z
1 likes, 0 repeats
@mhoye @mcc while searching the web for examples of RAT attacks on kids by way of example of the severity of the risk here, all I can find is lawsuits and enforcement actions against *school districts* violating students’ 4th amendment rights by secretly recording their webcams and screens with “legitimate” MDM access, so, just, fuck all of this, maybe the conclusion I should actually come to is that schools should not be allowed to have computers, just give kids cash to buy their own devices
(DIR) Post #AY2jSmtHXRLsKA6P2m by niclas@angrytoday.com
2023-07-25T05:33:03Z
0 likes, 0 repeats
@mcc The peril of relying on updates from a commercial company and (effectively) proprietary software.
(DIR) Post #AY3EPqpfWXU4G9UZFo by drq@mastodon.ml
2023-07-25T11:19:51Z
0 likes, 0 repeats
@mcc > Kimathi Bradford, a 16-year-old Oakland tech repair intern, has looked into whether there was a way to replace the outdated Chromebook software with a non-Google brand, but it ended up being a lot of work, Kimathi said, and the open-source replacement wasn’t up to par.> “It’s like the Fritos of software,” he said. “No one really wants to use it.”*blink-blink* I beg your pardon?If I have to choose between "not up to par" and "absolutely unacceptable" like sending thousands of laptops to e-waste, I will always choose the former any day.
(DIR) Post #AY3KGuYGvQcGuiTWJE by drq@mastodon.ml
2023-07-25T12:25:27Z
0 likes, 0 repeats
@mcc > But like many on his team, he wonders why the software life on older models can’t just be extended.Oh, they can. They perfectly can.They just ain't gonna.I hate being this guy again, but sorry. The trap has sprung. And you've marched into it. And of course it will be way more expensive to get out of the trap than to stay in it forever. This is how traps work.
(DIR) Post #AYHJIGn3kuGzt97R3Y by ailepet@peoplemaking.games
2023-07-24T22:50:54Z
0 likes, 0 repeats
@mcc "the open-source replacement wasn’t up to par. “It’s like the Fritos of software,” he said. “No one really wants to use it.”" Is any Linux distro with Chrome really so much worse than ChromeOS?
(DIR) Post #AYHJInln8droAlmOA4 by dulanyw@techhub.social
2023-07-24T22:52:42Z
0 likes, 0 repeats
@mcc These convert to Linux laptops very nicely. How much would schools save by converting them instead of buying new hardware?
(DIR) Post #AYHQC7gXOXw3ah5IGG by cereal@shitposter.club
2023-08-01T07:37:49.072999Z
0 likes, 0 repeats
@greyknight33 @mcc why not both?
(DIR) Post #AYJdgXQtuvCJr0WX1U by kravietz@agora.echelon.pl
2023-08-02T09:17:13.181074Z
0 likes, 0 repeats
@mcc Software lifecycle, including decommissioning, is an entirely valid policy from security point of view. Software uses hardware features, including security features in CPU, trusted computing modules etc, so it’s also somewhat justified to encourage users to upgrade their hardware. What is definitely not OK in this particular case is the Google vendor lockdown which forces users to upgrade when software could be replaced with FOSS equivalents, possibly with less optimal hardware security features but still maintained and patched on the software level. This is precisely what FOSS Android projects like LineageOS are doing, extending life of smartphones many ears after their original OS is obsoleted, but Chromebooks seem to be specifically protected against it - and this should be illegal.
(DIR) Post #AZ1zsbcWOwLGBjq1uS by moralrecordings@digipres.club
2023-07-25T03:06:50Z
1 likes, 0 repeats
@mcc real frustrating to hear people miss the main point. In the context of a school district, they've bought into GSuite, they need hardware that can be MDMed through GSuite, Google decided they're fine with forcing them to buy new hardware. Nothing about the hardware has changed enough to warrant this, they just want the money. Being flashable to open firmware is insurance against regulation; school districts can't do it because there's no MDM and the whole point is MDM!
(DIR) Post #AZ1zw0gNg1nkmoGaie by meetar@mastodon.xyz
2023-07-24T23:43:49Z
1 likes, 0 repeats
@mcc “It’s like the Fritos of software,” he said. “No one really wants to use it.” ☠️ rip foss
(DIR) Post #AZ202tChsemTcQfQFU by tshirtman@mas.to
2023-07-24T23:46:43Z
1 likes, 0 repeats
@dulanyw @mcc the article says that some of them tried, but users don't seem to like the result, they are used to the software it came with, and feel like the free software replacement is a cheap spin off. 😦