Attic #42: The Era of Black Boxes

February 18 2010, 10:52am

Thus a modern Windows computer or a Mac is a legally locked black box that you pay for and somehow agree to own without owning it in full. Even with Linux you still don't know what your hardware is doing. It's like buying a bonbonniere and agreeing to eat only one candy, even though you paid for the entire box. The rest shouldn't be eaten, the agreement says, or else you will face criminal charges. Why? Nobody can really explain why, except that it's an agreement and it's binding. Don't like it? Don't buy it.

Should I mention all kinds of routers, then mobile phones, media centers, cameras, and so on? Try to count the number of black boxes that you own now.

Saved By: Ryan Price | View Details | Give Thanks

Tags: makers, licensing, source_code

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