Transcript
Screenshot of Octopi Package Manager installed on CachyOS (previously the default before being replaced by Shelly). OP has searched for microsoft-edge. No results are returned.
OP has drawn a circle around a button in the image of an alien head with an arrow pointing to it. Under the arrow is “????”.
Caption at the bottom of the image reads: “Microsoft edge and google chrome don’t show up in neither of cachyos’ software stores out of the box. On octopi you can make it show up by pressing the weird alien head icon. “Mysteriously” firefox shows up on both stores immediately without clicking any obscure buttons. This is either extremely terrible i design or a deliberate sabotage attempt against microsoft and google from loonix devs, possibly sponsored by mozilla.”
Context:
OP is an idiot because these browsers would not be available due to restrictions required by Microsoft and Google to share their software, which is why nothing shows up when searching the installed repositories. Note that Chromium, the base for Edge and Chrome is available on the default repository.
The alien head icon searches the AUR (Arch User Repository) a place for users to add packages, often mirrored from GitHub, which would show Edge and Chrome as a user has ported it over unofficially. Because the AUR consists of unofficial packages, it is not part of the default repositories, and requires additional confirmation before installation.
Note that when installing from the AUR, it is always important to read what you are compiling as packages are not checked for malicious code. See recent news regarding compromised packages that weren’t maintained.
I agree, however when I hear this kind of sentiment, I think about how hard big tech has been fighting to make people computer illiterate and how we need to fight harder than ever to get people to understand the machines they use even just a tiny bit more.
I've been contemplating... trying to start some kind of "PC Computing Club" or something. With the goal being to outreach and educate people toward computer literacy.
It would have to be something that's "cool" to be a part of, because nobody actually seems to show up to "computer classes" even though they all clamor for them. Especially old people. They think they want to "learn computers" and then just drop out if they show up at all.
There's gotta be a way around that. 90's computer users were passionate and would be staging riots at what's been done to the Internet, privacy laws, and on and on...
This "deliteracy" campaign is entirely intentional. They want to create an idiot cow-sumer class, which only exists to labor and pay subscriptions, without understanding anything.
It... sort of exists. Different ones exist with slightly different goals, but they are all paid for by companies to promote their stuff. Like forcing everyone to use GitHub because they are the main sponsor. Not like OOP (Original Original Poster) where it's speculated, I mean usually it's just public and people don't care. Shameless self plug (apart from that one there's "Code Club" and also a few a dozen initiatives that die out quickly).