this post was submitted on 26 Jul 2024
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Technology
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This isn't a software problem. It's a capitalism problem.
It should be straight up illegal to remove pre-existing functionality from a device, regardless of whether that is present in software or hardware. If you release it on a stable channel, if you advertise it as a feature of a device, you support it for the life of the device. You can test beta features via an entirely separate beta app, but once the feature becomes stable you don't have a choice anymore. Once you stop supporting the hardware or software, you are required to open source everything required for consumers — as well as any competitor — to pickup where you left off and continue development.
(Photo of IoT dev living in your proposed world, colorized 2024)
Except companies would be more careful about what they develop, more focused with their resources, and restructure their hardware and software to be easily open sourced without leaking legitimately-proprietary IP — instead of closed sourcing everything because it's easy, vendor lock-in, planned obsolescence, and fuck-you-pay-me!
Obviously all of this depends on whether you have a government by the people, for the people, instead of a corporate oligarchy masquerading as a democracy... So we're all fucked and I'm daydreaming in some star trek fantasy socialist utopia!
I appreciate the notion, but I fear it would probably just result in management saying “just NERD HARDER”. The flip side of being more careful and focused is being less flexible. Not gonna replace that ancient foundational framework that was deprecated in 2015 if it risks legal liability.