The problem with a lot of right-to-hack pro-consumer tech ideology is that most people can barely replace a lightbulb. So for a high-end thing like say an open-architecture Linux smartphone, you’ll just replace Apple/Verizon with a sketchy local neckbeard. Agency <= knowledge.
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Fair point, but shopping around for decent local neckbeard can turn into a worse nightmare than being on hold with Comcast. I like oligopolies short of a monopoly for high tech. You get the right tradeoff between reliable QA and counterparty risk.
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Replying to @vgr
I'd think replacing Apple/Verizon with a SLN would be an advantage. Sure you're still beholden to someone, but that someone is a small local operator. If they piss you off, you can go find another. Can't do that with Apple/Verizon
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I'd think replacing Apple/Verizon with a SLN would be an advantage. Sure you're still beholden to someone, but that someone is a small local operator. If they piss you off, you can go find another. Can't do that with Apple/Verizon
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Well, you need to cooperate with some number of people to replace a lightbulb, the number usually depending on the profession of the people involved.
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True, but I feel like the popularity of guys like Louis Rossman suggests that some decent sized segment of the population enjoys or misses interacting with that sort of relatable, sketchy, knowledgeable neckbeard
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I think most of the "right to hack" stuff is about the *right*, not making everything work like Linux. There's zilch in Apple's business model that requires them to put legal thickets up around rooting. They don't need to make it easy, but it shouldn't be borderline illegal.
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