I saw this post and wanted to ask the opposite. What are some items that really aren’t worth paying the expensive version for? Preferably more extreme or unexpected examples.

    • otp@sh.itjust.works
      22·
      10 months ago

      When it comes to hardware, isn’t the situation usually…

      • American company is spying on customers through hardware it sold
      • American government is actively trying to spy on citizens through hardware (American-made or not), but the company blocks them unless they have a warrant
      • Chinese company freely shares data back and forth through the Chinese government using their hardware thanks to “backdoors”
    • GreyEyedGhost@lemmy.ca
      44·
      10 months ago

      This is classic whataboutism. You should try to avoid it because it’s an incredibly poor defense if nothing else.

      I’ve been bitching about the PATRIOT Act since less than a week after 9/11 happened. The Act’s continued existence doesn’t excuse China’s well-documented bad behavior.

        • GreyEyedGhost@lemmy.ca
          14·
          10 months ago

          If you spent any time reading the articles, you would see Australian sources for incidents dating back to 2012, Lithuanians reporting in 2018, and various private security companies also weighing in.

          If the only defence you have for bad behavior is that other people do it, then I guess slavery, mass murder, torture, and theft are all okay. I don’t accept when people do those things, and not because I haven’t done them but because I believe they are damaging to society no matter who does them. That applies to various acts on the national level, as well.