3 ms·

> Why the hell would they do this? Is the basis to half of the software industry. e.g. The cost of developing and installing the full Enterprise version of Wi

> Why the hell would they do this? Is the basis to half of the software industry. e.g. The cost of developing and installing the full Enterprise version of Windows is the same that to develop and install the Home version. Still, Microsoft took the time and effort to create the different versions, to test them, etc. For some reason, it seems more outrageous when it applies to hardware. I have no answer if this is an ethical move or not. But, it seems a moral paradox that requires some extra though even if market segmentation makes monetary sense.

hiq 7y ago
Exactly this. If you think that proprietary software should exist and that companies are free to license their software under a proprietary license, why wouldn't a "hardware company" be allowed to do the same with their firmwares? When you buy a certain model (gopro or something else), you also buy the corresponding license. Changing the firmware to another one is probably illegal without having a proper "license" to the latter (just like you can't install Windows "Corporate Edition" on your Windows "Starter Edition" legally without paying). Of course one can disagree that this model should exist at all, but let's not pretend it's any different from proprietary software companies, there's nothing specific to hardware companies here.