Re: Tech sucks? Really?
2 min read
I understand the argument that if you don’t like what Big Tech is doing, you should vote with your wallet. It’s a simple equation after all.
Stop buying Apple products, de-Google your life, and delete your Meta accounts. And if you can —trickier for us knowledge workers— move away from Microsoft. Alternatives abound and, if enough people do it, the companies will get the message.
Except I’m not entirely convinced it works like that.
— Gordon McLean, Tech sucks? Really? (opens in a new tab)
Oh man, I've been writing passionately about this topic for over five years now. I 100% agree with Gordon when he says "Big Tech isn’t just selling us products anymore, it provides infrastructure and networks that many of us can’t easily escape."
These tech giants have effectively created a cartel, which severely reduces consumer choice. I personally think they've won. The "war" has been fought and lost, and no one really acknowledges it. Whatever we're doing to vote with our dollars is choice theater. We should vote with our dollars; I just don't think it moves the needle until everyone is doing it and there are actual viable alternatives.
I think I would seriously consider buying my mom a Linux laptop. Mine works so well that I barely notice I'm on Linux. I'm just using my computer and it works and I don't think about it.
But what other viable choices are there? Does it matter if Pixelfed has feature parity and maybe even is cooler and better if your friends and family will never join you there? Does it matter that your XMPP server is federated and the clients are more private if your main chat groups stubbornly refuse to leave iMessage behind? Most people just don't give a shit about privacy, vendor lock-in, or federation.
I would love to have a Linux phone. The problem in my mind right now when thinking about phone choice isn't Apple vs Android, or Apple vs Samsung, Pixel, Motorola, whatever. It's the App Store vs the Google Play Store. Are the people who make my Litter Robots going to publish their app to whatever repo/Linux store that my not-yet-invented Linux phone will use? How about the folks that make my connected pet door? Or my bank app?? Or the dumb parking app my city uses?
/rant
Also on Mastodon (opens in a new tab) Bluesky (opens in a new tab)
@michaelharley (opens in a new tab) I found this to be a rather thoughtful response to the original post and hope you find it interesting as well
https://unattributed.cc/2026/08/12/tech-sucks-victim-in-denial/ (opens in a new tab)