Just like we have software developed by the community, for the community. Can we have the same ideology applied to hardware ?

  • @[email protected]
    64•1 year ago

    Open plans and schematics, interoperable, standardized. I should be able to unplug a component from my computer and plug it into another one. I should be able to replace broken parts. I should be able to, if feasible, make it myself with off the shelf components.

      • XhieronEnglish
        12•1 year ago

        I can’t believe I’d never read that before despite being a fan of Doctorow in general. Thank you. Exceptional work. Should be mandatory reading.

      • Bipta
        3•1 year ago

        Thank you. So, last year, the Lower Merion School District, in a middle-class, affluent suburb of Philadelphia found itself in a great deal of trouble, because it was caught distributing PCs to its students, equipped with rootkits that allowed for remote covert surveillance through the computer’s camera and network connection.

        That was THIRTEEN YEARS ago?!

      • @[email protected]
        1•1 year ago

        I admit I have only skimmed this yet, but that was 12 years ago. Back then, copyright was a major problem for a free and open society in which people could freely communicate.

        The world has changed since then. Those opposed to such a society are now more likely to talk about disinformation, radicalization, child porn, hate speech rather than copyright. Those pretexts aren’t really any better of course.

        • @[email protected]
          1•1 year ago

          I think the most compelling reason will be performance.

          In enterprise is already soldering ram directly onto the chip, it’s only a matter of time until the same goes for consumer tech. Fusing the chip to the board has benefits too. When most people don’t ever upgrade or repair their computer a 10% speed increase that makes upgrading impossible just makes good business sense.