I've worked on firmware for mass-market consumer products and one point the article doesn't raise is that firmware often supports company intellectual property

I've worked on firmware for mass-market consumer products and one point the article doesn't raise is that firmware often supports company intellectual property such as specialized hardware, ASICs and other custom circuitry. I'm all for separating out the upper levels and allowing users or enthusiasts to add their code. However, the explosion of cool gadgets in our pockets didn't happen because of tinkerers, it happened because massive piles of money could be made. Let's not disincentivize hardware development that requires billions of dollars in up-front investments.