>Illegal? You wish to use the power of the legal system to prohibit a closed protocol for telescope control? Of course not. I wish to use the power the legal s

>Illegal? You wish to use the power of the legal system to prohibit a closed protocol for telescope control? Of course not. I wish to use the power the legal system to establish broader laws prohibiting the distribution of proprietary firmwares. Think farmers unable to repair their tractors without spending thousands of dollars bringing them to the manufacturer. Same umbrella of problems. >Let me propose a compromise in the spirit of YCombinator's startup-focus: As you feel so strongly about this, and AFAIK such an open-protocol system does not exist, that tells me you have a perfect opportunity for you to invent this stuff, market it and sell it. Why not go tackle this gaping hole in the marketplace? Capitalist incentives don't work here, which is why I suggest a legislative approach.