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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
Replying to
This can definitely happen, especially for small markets where there just isn't enough demand to support a thriving system. It's tough to have stable oligopolies that don't eventually form into a monopoly (even an implicit one) though.