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We've been heading in that direction for some time, but it's only because of the increasing complexity of our devices. Televisions, radios, cars, and home appl
by Splines 16y ago
We've been heading in that direction for some time, but it's only because of the increasing complexity of our devices.
Televisions, radios, cars, and home appliances are all devices that are harder to tinker with today than when they were first invented. Computer hardware, for the most part (outside of hobby kits) is all magic black boxes plugged into each other. Something wrong with your video card? There's not much you can do about it.
Luckily, the hobby/amateur market in computer hardware/software (and other hobbies, like cars) is still alive and kicking. IMO though, corporations seem to like taking steps to make that sort of work harder (e.g., utilizing encryption to ensure "blessed" hardware/software can only be used).
- jokermatt999 16y agoIMO though, corporations seem to like taking steps to make that sort of work harder (e.g., utilizing encryption to ensure "blessed" hardware/software can only be used). I've given some thought to this, and I don't think that it can mostly be blamed on the corporations. Sure, they're part of it, but I think the ever increasing complexity of technology is mostly what causes things to be harder to tinker on. There's far more to understand than in older technology, and it makes tinkering/hacking on things far more difficult. It's kind of like classic cars vs cars today. Older cars were much more tinkerable/hackable/etc, but newer ones have certainly benefited from the increased complexity in the form of better gas mileage, safety, etc at the cost of hackability.
- nitrogen 16y agoI don't think complexity is nearly the enemy of hackability that manufacturer lockdown is. Modern cars can still be hacked -- everything from OBD-2 interfaces to modified firmware for engine control units. FPGAs provide a way to tinker with hardware concepts. The demise of hackability is and will be due to DRM and the hardware equivalents (like impossible-to-find proprietary screwdrivers).