4 ms·
> There are hundreds (or depending on how you count them, thousands) of products where exactly this is the case. Try installing an alternative web rendering eng
by anoncake 5y ago
> There are hundreds (or depending on how you count them, thousands) of products where exactly this is the case. Try installing an alternative web rendering engine on your LG smart TV, or your Toyota, or your Playstation.
Sure, and that's problematic, but let's focus on the bigger fish for now.
- simondotau 5y agoIt's not problematic. Just because Toyota happens to sell a product that contains a multi-purpose computer with a display, Toyota is not suddenly obligated to release free tools and libraries to allow third parties to port Firefox to their cars' head units. Having such a requirement would be insane, not to mention impossible given the existence of copyright laws[0]. Toyota's software is proprietary; if they don't want to release tools and libraries, that's their prerogative. [0] And before you start arguing in opposition to intellectual property rights, remember that copyright law is necessary to enforce the GPL. Without the protection of copyright, GPL software cannot exist—everything becomes de-facto public domain, with none of the benefits of copyleft rules.
- anoncake 5y ago> Toyota is not suddenly obligated to release free tools and libraries to allow third parties to port Firefox to their cars' head units. Who argued for that? No one, it's a strawman. > And before you start arguing in opposition to intellectual property rights, remember that copyright law is necessary to enforce the GPL. Ordering companies not to lock down the customer's hardware does not require abolishing copyright.