On Fri, Mar 27, 2020 at 12:19 PM Ben Koenig <[email protected]> wrote:
> On Fri, Mar 27, 2020 at 11:01 AM Michael Dexter <[email protected]> > wrote: > > > All, > > > > I'm here for the software and personal freedom. I see open source/free > > software as one of the best strategies (regardless of the specifics), to > > achieve more personal freedom for all individuals. If I were to have a > > smart home, it would HAVE to be based on open source software and I want > > to help everyone else benefit from my configs and discoveries. > > > > > So, just a quick word of caution regarding open source. The definition of > "open source" is pretty flexible these days. When talking about personal > freedom and individual liberty you have to keep in mind that simply putting > the source code up on github does not make the service secure. > > For voip and video chat services, note that there are 2 applications that > need to be open sourced. > - Client > - Server > > With the sudden increase in demand in remote access technologies, and the > misinformation floating around about open source software being more > secure, it is important to be wary of new services that you've never heard > of. For the foreseeable future, I recommend taking an extra paranoid > approach to your Web of Trust. It's times like these that scammers start to > crawl out of the woodwork to take advantage of the weak, the sick, and the > under-educated. > > Being a Linux user does not make any of us immune to identify theft through > the use of malicious web services. Nothing in this world is free. > Everything has a cost, so when you see someone offering a "free" > webservice, ask yourself the following question: > > How the hell do they pay for the server bandwidth required for a video > streaming service??? > > "FreeConferenceCall" ??? Really? This feels like a flashback to the 90's. > Gold Bond healing powder, and a magic pill to help your child focus in > school. I swear, do people not remember the stupidity of all those > FreeCreditReport.com ads? > -Ben > I don't care what service/software/application/OS/whatever, some people are going to piss and moan about it because it wasn't their choice or personal favorite, regardless of whether or not they even actually know anything about it. FCC does not do any advertising that I have found, which keeps costs down. With over 5000 customers, word of mouth is plenty. The basic service is forever free, but they offer upgrades and add-ons for reasonable fees. Providing enterprise class services for reasonable fees pays for the operation. Sure, there are many scams out there that say free, but charge you in the end for anything useful. FCC is not one of them. If you feel you can only trust something you pay for, then go for it. But, please don't trash me or the service I choose to use. Once you have actually personally used the service, hosted a couple meetings, and learned how it really works, then make your comments. Otherwise, please crawl back under your rock. There are actually a number of good companies out there that provide free services. The free services mostly cater to small users and are attractive to social and non-profit groups. If they do a good job, many people take them to their place of work and utilize the paid services for larger activities. Mailchimp is another example of this. Their newsletter service is outstanding and totally free. Similar to Constant Contact and others, but with an adequate free service. With Mailchimp, I have a fairly full featured online editor to produce some nice newsletters. I can send out up to 2000 newsletters per month on my free account. It is self-service, so people can subscribe and unsubscribe at will without my involvement. For additional fees, there are many features I can access, which would be a great enhancement if I were using it for business and had the need and budget for such items. But, for me and many others, it is a completely free service. Michael _______________________________________________ PLUG mailing list [email protected] http://lists.pdxlinux.org/mailman/listinfo/plug
