> You say that non-free software (i.e., software for which you don't have the key) should be illegal.
I don't think I'm saying that.
I'm saying that hardware sold to me should be usable by me without company approval. I should be able to unlock any bootloader/bios/flash that the vendor does as a part of normal repair or operation. Basically - if it has RAM, I should be able to write to it. If it has ROM the company flashes from outside the device - I should be able to flash it from outside the device.
In many cases you could simplify this to - I should have root access on any computing hardware that supports software with the concept of root access (and it's a surprisingly large amount these days)
I don't mind the company not sharing tooling or documentation. I certainly am not asking for non-binary source code. I think you should be able to sell software as a service just fine (I don't own that hardware, you do) - but I'm opposed to a company being able to intentionally sell a product that contains a cryptographic software lock that prevents the owner from later taking advantage of that hardware.
basically - I'm much softer on the requirements, but I'd prefer they be enforced.
I don't think I'm saying that.
I'm saying that hardware sold to me should be usable by me without company approval. I should be able to unlock any bootloader/bios/flash that the vendor does as a part of normal repair or operation. Basically - if it has RAM, I should be able to write to it. If it has ROM the company flashes from outside the device - I should be able to flash it from outside the device.
In many cases you could simplify this to - I should have root access on any computing hardware that supports software with the concept of root access (and it's a surprisingly large amount these days)
I don't mind the company not sharing tooling or documentation. I certainly am not asking for non-binary source code. I think you should be able to sell software as a service just fine (I don't own that hardware, you do) - but I'm opposed to a company being able to intentionally sell a product that contains a cryptographic software lock that prevents the owner from later taking advantage of that hardware.
basically - I'm much softer on the requirements, but I'd prefer they be enforced.