Project SAFE OS necessary?

1

Can the end user experience be stable without a Project SAFE specific OS? We know cloud models can be stable without worrying about the OS but what about Project SAFE? Response by @happybeing to a question about the stability of end user experience seemed to suggest that an actual Project SAFE OS may be needed for a water tight end users experience. A water tight experience would seem to be a precondition of trusting the system and its spreading.

Imagine:
Julian Assange, whose advice was to avoid using computers and phones of any sort to communicate, relents and starts to use Project SAFE. 5 minutes into his typing a pop up McDonald’s ad blocks his view of the text editor. He closes it. A few minutes later its another ad, this time a McDonald’s ad and an US Army ad “be all you can be ad.” It was just a bad dream Project SAFE isn’t even out yet. Wonders if the ad nets can be converted to showing useful content like the US gunships being order to hunt and kill EU journalists in Iraq.

I understand that if SAFE doesn’t make an attempt to address developer concerns to some extent there will be no content, bit I wonder if this is actually a serious confusion. A stake holder model seems like it could be a mistake. Seems much clearer to focus on nothing else but what end users need and what is in their best interests. We are all end users and that may be the best way to think about each and every one of us. To serve each and everyone one of us. This may also be ultimately the best way to take care of other interests, to the extent that they exist.

2

It would be nice, but we need to eat this elephant one bite at a time :smiley: Securing the data away from centralised control is step one. It is very hard to monitor all desktop machines so the snooping job is harder. This is a journey and one we can make. I wish everyone was on debian or some solid secure and free distro, but alas! The security in OS at the moment is far away from the simple fast end user experience. Its an area that bothers me. Thats why even looking at docker containers etc. to boot an OS inside a corrupt one may help a little more, but essentially the task is mammoth. We need OS designers and then you need the apps which make or break it.

Never one to shy away from such things though, it can be done (ios/android ?) it will need a sea change. The best chances though may be non Western, I see many countries now looking and not wanting corrupt OS’s and looking to linux and others to help. Maybe the launch of a SAFE OS in Africa/Asia etc. may be a nice route to this. I do agree it must happen, the current state is deplorable.

4 Likes
3

Thank you. One chunk at time it is then.