Ask HN: Will you switch to FOSS following Trump's reelection?

The problem is that I don’t know what’s happening behind the scenes at American tech companies or how secure their systems truly are from their own state agencies. Can I safely upload furry porn and torrented anime to my (by Apple encrypted) iCloud Drive without worrying that it might be used against me in the future? How much does the Trump administration seek to tighten control over people compared to the Biden administration? At what point is it wiser to sacrifice convenience, time, and appealing design for (presumably) safer but more labor-intensive software?

Also, thank you for complimenting my blog. I love hearing (or in this case reading) comments like that because it’s exactly what I aim for: writing as a human for other humans who might find something of interest in my thoughts on both important and (mostly) less important things.

The problem with dictatorships is that you often don’t realize you’re in one until it’s too late.

Too true. This is all of modern society.

I would argue that Apple had an easier time defending its system against government surveillance under the Biden administration than it might under the next one, depending on how far Trump’s team extends their vision of control.

I already have this activated, but the issue is that you still essentially have to trust Apple that their encryption is as robust as advertised and that there’s no secret backdoor the next government could misuse.

Right-wing groups like the Republicans in the U.S. or the AfD in Germany promise concrete solutions to the problems and fears of the majority of voters. Even if people know they’re being lied to, the slim chance these groups might fix some issues often feels more appealing than the vague promises of their opponents. It’s also clear that endorsements from random wealthy individuals don’t sway voters.

I hope this election is the final wake-up call the EU needs to truly advance its own technological portfolio. A good start would be to significantly increase funding for FOSS projects, as the alternative, investing in closed startups, hasn’t proven effective over the past decades.

I'm honestly curious: you think people didn't vote for Harris because she was a black woman? What would you estimate the split is between people for whom that is their legitimate reason, and people who just found her to be a bad candidate?

Also curious: you use celebrity endorsements as a goalpost for what should make people care enough to vote. Why? Given the wacky things they often get up to I'd almost see their endorsement as a negative.

I don't understand why you think a celebrity endorsement would matter-- at all. One endorsement that mattered was Dick Cheney, the man behind the US's illegal and immoral torture campaigns, and who shared responsibility for the US killing of over a million innocent civilians in the US illegal war of aggression against Iraq. Harris welcomed the endorsement and talked up her war hawk credentials.

She promised to give even more money to the military (it is a zero sum game-- a contributing factor to why Americans can't have nice things that Europeans enjoy, like medical care). She promised to continue to enable genocide of the indigenous Palestinian population by the Israeli settler state. She is reprehensible.

Her center-right to right party attacked left parties, like the Greens (our Green party is anti-war and pro human rights, unlike the European Greens, and is not affiliated with the European Greens). The so-called Democratic party sued to have the Greens removed from the ballot in several states. The Democratic party should be called the anti-democracy party.

So, many people on the actual left couldn't hold their noses and vote for her due to POLICIES of her and her party. In states where good candidates like Dr. Jill Stein, or Dr. Cornell West were on the ballot, they may have voted for these, or they may have withheld their votes entirely. This includes a sizable number of young people disgusted by the current administration's complicity in genocide, and the extreme suppression of protest whether they identify as on the left, or not.

People where specific policy was not a deciding factor in their votes, may have voted against the Democrats because they, rightly or wrongly, blame the insane increases in costs of living on the party that was in charge when rent/house prices/loan interest rates, food, and energy prices went through the roof.

Also, the endorsements of several establishment Republicans for Harris cemented her as the candidate of the establishment. And, the majority of folks in the lower income tiers don't have anything good to say about the establishment that keeps making their lives harder. Trump won decisively in under $100K/yr. earning males. A significant number of people want to see the whole damn corrupt system burn.

It is concerning that the far-right controls all federal branches of government. Hopefully there will be in-fighting, so they do not do too much damage. But, realistically, with the ever rightward movement of the Democrats, eventually, we would have reached the same point.

On-topic: there are multiple examples of US companies (and a US owned Swiss one too), installing back-doors in equipment, encryption, etc. I don't think the political party controlling the executive branch matters a bit for this.

I do think Apple would comply with either administration, but Trump might change the laws enough to make it harder for Apple to protect its system integrity.

> all it takes is one low level schmuck with access and enough police record to be subject to "pressure".

This isn't the case with advanced data security, the true E2EE mode. OTOH, then it's you that gets the rubber hose.

https://xkcd.com/538/