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0 pointssnowwrestler9y ago0 comments

I don't think voting with dollars will do much on its own, for two reasons.

1) Goods powered by software are frequently much better than goods without. I mean, compare a phone with software vs. without. Compare a car with software vs. without. Which one would you rather have?

2) Entire industries are converting to software-based capability. Speaking of phones and cars, try to find a new one these days without software in it.

I think we have to adjust, as a society.

0 comments

takeda9y ago

This is whole reason GNU and Open Source was started. When you have source, you are getting back control of your hardware.

snowwrestlerOP9y ago

I think access to source code is a key enabler. Even if it was limited in some ways, that would be a good start.

Imagine if Consumer Reports could access the code and do a code review when testing a car. We know from lawsuits that Toyota software is absolutely horrible, for instance. I'd think that insurance companies and consumers would benefit from knowing that up front.

Or imagine if repair shops could get certified for access to the software to modify it. Mod shops already do this on the sly--they're just hoping to fly under the law. Maybe they have to carry a bond, like home contractors.

On an Android device or Chromebook there is a user-adjustable setting that permits root powers. If there was a liability standard about this capability, then maybe more companies would feel comfortable offering it.

The ideal would be full source access to everything, but I think there probably will have to be some intermediate steps or limits, as a means of compromise.

anexprogrammer9y ago

It's not a matter of whether there is software or not. If it were you'd be going back to the 80s to find anything before fuel injection and third party chips. Now we can't modify playstations etc - because of IP laws not software.

It's an issue of patent, copyright and rent seeking. We are so far down that rabbit hole globally, and governments have given far too much for it to be recoverable. Who do I vote for to get wholesale scaling back of IP law? What do I do knowing there's unlikely to be candidates promoting this stance?

tremon9y ago

I think we have to adjust, as a society.

Or, we start demanding that software, when purchased as part of a physical device, does not reduce the rights customers have to their physical device.

jmcdiesel9y ago

"Speaking of phones and cars, try to find a new one these days without software in it."

Im not saying its hard to find them yet, but at this point 2 out of 3 toasters at my local grocery store have software in them - simple software, not connected, but software nonetheless, in a device that needs none, a device that has worked mechanically for decades with no issue... Everything is going that way though, becuase its easier to design something with software rather than figuring out how to make a piece of machinery make a decision mechanically - it easier to just use sensors and software...

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