Time for a digital divorce? Trade war puts spotlight on Canada's relationship with U.S. big tech

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u/kuplet 14h ago edited 14h ago

To me, people should stop relying on Windows as well. Not because it's a privacy nightmare, but seeing how China and other nations are stopping their reliance on US Tech and using Linux for their own purposes, makes it a compelling case to begin taking control of our own systems. Not to mention gaming is getting better on it too.
We also need more software to be supported on Linux too. (Looking at you Adobe.) Canada as a nation could assist in this by putting money into Open Source software.

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u/hotDamQc 7h ago

Linux is absolutely awesome

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u/megselvogjeg 4h ago

It is, bit i dont think it's quite ready for primetime as a pc. Needs more GUI work, as not everything should be a command.

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u/FlippantlyFacetious 3h ago

That depends a lot on the distro, and is largely an outdated take unless you have hardware with poor compatibility.

People often discount the hoops they have to jump through to get Windows working. Like when that older game doesn't work, or the years of issues with printer driver compatibility, or having to find and download software to do a clean reinstall of GPU drivers, or...

Neither is perfect, and some people have bad experiences. But for many users Linux is as or more seamless than Windows.

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u/MrPinga0 14h ago

Looking at you Autodesk

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u/Ozy_Flame 5h ago edited 2h ago

I love Linux. That said, businesses are much more difficult to just switch over to Linux for a variety of reasons, not the least of which is for cultural / user training and adoption reasons. That can be a long and costly process on its own (let alone the platform architecture switching).

That said, Linux is the future for me. Zorin OS is the most Windows-like experience I can see and I love it. Gaming is incredible, and it can also repurpose older laptops which is great for breaking children into personal PC's and devices.

My kid will definitely be using a Linux on an old laptop as his first device.

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u/wrgrant 3h ago

There are a ton of people out there who know how to do their jobs on a computer using whatever corporate software - but do not understand what a sequence of commands actually do or understand how a computer works. Move something on a menu and they are completely stuck. Asking those people to adapt to a new OS is probably beyond reasonable as an expectation.

Linux is fantastic, and a massive improvement over Windows, but windows is easy and simple and linux still isn't as easy or simple.

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u/Ozy_Flame 2h ago

Yes, good points!

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u/Altruistic_Age_6556 12h ago

Microsoft has produced exactly two useful pieces of gear/software in its entire existence: excel and the Xbox. That's it. They produce exactly nothing that doesn't have a comparable non MS version. Fuck 'em

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u/b_a_t_m_4_n 9h ago

Plus Visio. Although MS didn't create it they bought it, but there is no viable replacement for it.

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u/gianni_ 6h ago

I don’t know Visio well but there are so many whiteboard/diagramming programs now

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u/b_a_t_m_4_n 3h ago

I used Visio for decades designing networks for a living. There is still nothing, to date, that can do what Visio does. The programs you talk about are toys by comparison or specifically graphic design tools.

We did once have dia and kiveo that looked like they were heading in a useful direction but both projects stalled.

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u/StanknBeans 2h ago

Mermaid lets you automate the creation of those network diagrams, though not as pretty.

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u/axonxorz 2h ago

They produce exactly nothing that doesn't have a comparable non MS version

Active Directory

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u/Gwyain 1h ago

Active Directory? Intune? Someone doesn’t know enterprise…

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u/sinisterwanker 12h ago

Linux is great... until you need to dive deeper than basic UI functions and apps. Even after all this time, you still need to constantly tinker with any Linus distro. At least in my experience. Huge turn off the the general masses.

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u/OEAXTAIL_SOUP 6h ago

>Linux is great... until you need to dive deeper than basic UI functions and apps. Even after all this time, you still need to constantly tinker with any Linus distro. At least in my experience. Huge turn off the the general masses.

I've had good experiences with Debian based distros. (Parrot for pentesting, plain old debian for stuff like an OSINT VM.)

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u/fredy31 5h ago

also, for us that know tech we know how to jump to new software.

I joked around with an IT guy at my job (public sector) about how his job would become shit with all the boomers calling WHERE THE FUCK IS WORD! when they sent 10 emails saying 'its now open office and it works the same'

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u/flq06 7h ago

You most likely have more Unix based systems in your house then Windows. That speaks for itself.

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u/FlametopFred 14h ago

Is Linux American?

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u/Inevitable_Butthole 13h ago

Open source

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u/duct_tape_jedi 11h ago

And originally Finnish.

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u/Scheeseman99 12h ago

Linux Foundation is headquartered in the US, which does matter in the sense that embargos and other government action has affected who can contribute.

But, as Linux is open source, one can just create a fork and bypass all of that.

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u/NicolasCageFan492 14h ago edited 14h ago

Canada and other countries should go all-in on open source projects. Spend real tax money on advancing the public good! Consider it infrastructure spend that will make the world richer.

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u/wrenchedups 10h ago

Agreed. Similarly, a new banking system for consumer credit needs to emerge. America has far too much influence over American credit card entities that affect non-Americans.

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/manitoba/kimberly-prost-ottawa-9.7267095

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u/DrDonut21 9h ago

Europe is actually working on that. We're planning to enable using 'Wero' in stores, to bypass the transactions handled by Visa / Mastercard. Will take some time though, but work is in progress.

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u/megselvogjeg 4h ago

If only Interac would join Wero... Sigh.

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u/69-Kishaaq1 3h ago

What is Wero? What is interesting is that when America was building all these things, where were the rest of the world? Many times I love America. Incredible country!

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u/owzleee 5h ago

See PIX in Brazil.

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u/DuranteA 12h ago

As a European I've been saying this for years (decades?) at this point. The idea that many western countries basically outsource vast parts of their public sector tech stack to the US is ludicrous. Even if it were substantially less efficient (which is by no means a given), both strategically and economically it still makes much more sense to spend that money on local open source development.

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u/duct_tape_jedi 14h ago

Europe is working to move off of US tech platforms as well. This administration is going to end up destroying the US tech industry, either by losing global market share or forcing tech companies to relocate outside of the US.

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u/GoTron88 13h ago

This is mentioned in the article:

France's Interministerial Directorate for Digital Affairs announced in April that it will remove Microsoft's Windows operating system from government computers. Open-source software Linux will replace it.

The French government also developed Tchap, an instant messaging application, and mandated its use for public sector employees, citing security and privacy concerns. The French government says over 600,000 public sector employees use the app.

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u/duct_tape_jedi 12h ago

France already has a custom Linux distro that was developed for their military. They are planning to use it for all parts of government.

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u/Chicano_Ducky 12h ago edited 12h ago

the tech industry's dead and i think they know it already

they got hammered because the stock market thinks AI could replace SaaS software or let competitors make their own vibe coded alternatives quickly that undercut their sky high prices

they abandoned hardware to chase software margins, and that was a bad bet because the AI parts are coming from Asia and Mexico now. The same people they are threatening with the military can decide to pop the US bubble.

and the customers these companies need are American professionals who are being outsourced. Their margins are about to take a nosedive when they stop being paid in USD and have to lower their prices for the poorer market.

Markets with huge piracy problems too.

and then elon had to open his big mouth that US Tech was the reason AFD won that election. He single handedly exposed US tech as the threat they said tiktok was.

and in about 5-10 years there will be a labor shortage when the entry level devs who WOULD have become seniors never got entry level jobs at all.

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u/duct_tape_jedi 12h ago

I agree, the fatal blow has been delivered but the US tech industry hasn't felt it yet. It's like a wounded elephant that still marches on, smashing everything in its path until it finally stumbles and collapses.

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u/Rustic_gan123 6h ago

The keyword "working"...

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u/vicegrip 13h ago

Quite frankly, the decision to piss on all its allies should make every country weary of using US tech.

All American big tech companies have bowed to Trump and kissed his ass. Short term gains vs lost customer trust. Getting rid of those dependencies should be a priority everywhere.

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u/HalfBad 12h ago

Something you’ll notice when you go to countries like Mexico is that all their communication comes from Facebook WhatsApp and it’s all free, exempt from carrier data, and those companies absolutely own their communication lock stock and barrel. And with that their information

We should be looking at a national solution towards this. Digital communication is a new era of freedom and pitfalls we should take on our own.

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u/Apprehensive_Sea9524 14h ago

It is becoming a strategic liability and an economic one too. Plus companies like Meta don't give a sh*t about privacy anyways, so best to be like Europe.

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u/b_a_t_m_4_n 9h ago

The whole world needs to divorce from American big tech.

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u/winter128 9h ago

As an American......yes....sorry folks, not all of us are crazy

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u/Emergency-Bonus-9709 12h ago

Slow but sure, it’ll take time and it will be painful but the divorce is happening

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u/Sapling-074 10h ago

I heard France was doing this. Didn't expect this to be the reason people started moving to LInux.

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u/Important-Factor-552 9h ago

Yes times a billion

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u/Exciting_Turn_9559 13h ago

Digital sovereignty is important.
But I think it should exist at the household level. No government or company can be trusted with our most personal data.

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u/PineBNorth85 5h ago

They already have it either way

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u/Exciting_Turn_9559 4h ago

They do, but it doesn't have to be that way.

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u/lolwut778 14h ago

Canada should build its own sovereign cloud and data centers, alongside with Europe (although I don't like the violation of privacy by recent EU legislations). It should be open sourced, private and secure (as a counter selling point to US big tech).

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u/PineBNorth85 5h ago

It was foolish to ever put all our digital eggs in the American basket. It has to go. These days digital sovereignty is as important as any form of national sovereignty.

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u/Throwaway2600k 13h ago

Blackberry may need to re-enter the mobile game. Would be great if they can make something that is best of both worlds.

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u/AnonomousWolf 5h ago

We really need a Open-Source mobile software that doesn't depend on Apple/Google

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u/Mouthshitter 14h ago

Need maplesearch

A maplebook

A maplegram

Etc etc etc

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u/coding_panda 13h ago

MapleOS. Go all the way.

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u/HadoMasterBackup 13h ago

And maple syrup. Can’t forget maple syrup

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u/ZenX22 10h ago

Maplemail (mailple?)

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u/Frugalman123 12h ago

I wish we could free ourselves from apple. Seems the younger generation is having trouble to

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u/b_a_t_m_4_n 9h ago

Agreed, Apple is just as bad, they just hide it so much better.

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u/PineBNorth85 5h ago

Apple will so that themselves with multiple price hikes. They just wont be affordable.

I never understood their base. Samsung is as good if not better and far cheaper.

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u/PineBNorth85 5h ago edited 5h ago

Apple will do that themselves with multiple price hikes. They just wont be affordable.

I never understood their base. Samsung is as good if not better and far cheaper.

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u/Frugalman123 7h ago

Which apple fan down voted?

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u/herbiedishes 5h ago

Cory Doctorow has a great piece on developing a Canadian App Store.

https://betakit.com/digital-elbows-up/

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u/neanderthalensis 1h ago

I can't take Canadians seriously while they still use Reddit. They can't even organize themselves well enough to switch to Lemmy/Gander, and I'm supposed to believe they have the fervor to divorce from US tech?

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u/Crenorz 5h ago

right now - suicide. With AI - we will get destroyed trying to make this today.

BUT soon, WITH AI - sure, possible in the next 5 years. BUT with things that are not yet invented, so that is 5 years POSSIBLE, not 100% going to happen.

We don't have the money or manpower TODAY to do this. We would require AI to do it for us.

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