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Hackers of yesterday: "let's do what we want with that stuff, whether we have the right or not". Tinkerers of today: "let's petition those in power for the rig

• commoner 4y ago
  This open letter targets locked-down hardware such as iPhones and game consoles. Users should have the right to install anything they want on their hardware, but restrictions imposed by some manufacturers make installing software not approved by the manufacturers either impossible or extremely burdensome. Considering the difference in power and resources between manufacturers and users, regulation is the best solution to protect the users' right to choose the software they install on the hardware they own.
• squarefoot 4y ago
  If by yesterday you mean decades ago, then yes, hackers could do what they wanted because software protection was minimal both in software and hardware; time and skills were what they needed most. Today every piece of software and hardware that doesn't come explicitly as FOSS is a black box that would require all the above, in addition to more expensive gear for reverse engineering or brute force attacks on encryption, therefore being a very talented techie might not be enough anymore, hence the need to ask to those in power for a change.