5 ms·

> if I own the device, I should have total control over the device. I agree (mostly) with you, but I still want to prod at this because I think it's interestin

by GuiA 12y ago

> if I own the device, I should have total control over the device. I agree (mostly) with you, but I still want to prod at this because I think it's interesting. I'm guessing you probably own a (recent) car, a microwave, etc. Do you have total control over these devices? If not, does it bother you as much as not having total control over the Chromecast? How are they different (or not) from a Chromecast? A phone? A computer?

petercooper 12y ago
It's only a part answer, but people who are into cars certainly do screw around in a similar way, whether just to read diagnostics codes out or going full out and remapping the ECU for extra performance/efficiency/whatever they want. There are even hacks to change throttle response now. My microwave, on the other hand, I'm not sure there's much else I want it to do that I'd consider reprogramming it for ;-)
- drdaeman 12y ago
  Microwave... Just a wild idea off the top of my head: coupled with hardware hacks, like, some sort of IR pyrometer it could actually adapt output to maintain the food heated at specified level or just turn off when a certain temperature is reached.
JetSpiegel 12y ago
My microwave is not a general purpose computing device. Unless you work on a microwave research institute, probably.
deleted 12y ago
[deleted]
mixologic 12y ago
I've completely disassembled and re-assembled my (not recent) winnebago diesel, including rebuilding the engine. Almost every part on that RV has been redone by me, because I wanted to, and I didn't have to resort to any sort of safecracking tactics to be able to do that. If microwaves were built on top of a general purpose computing platform, then yes, I would want root access to them. The only reason that total control is not granted by default is that companies fear that they will no longer control their customer. I can understand in instances where safety or device damage may be an issue (like, no, I dont want root access to a tesla for example), but for consumer devices, I should not be forced to use apples store to add software to my phone. I should not be forced to use googles software to use their hardware either.
kybernetyk 12y ago
A computer is a general purpose device. Your Chromecast is a computer that would be capable of much more than just streaming videos if it wasn't for the artificial limitation in its software. Your car on the other hand has a pretty narrow application field. Your microwave too. Those are tools that perform their intended task as good as they can. Now if there was a firmware switch limiting your microwave from performing its intended task to its fullest capabilities you probably would want to 'root' it too.

by GuiA 12y ago

petercooper 12y ago

It's only a part answer, but people who are into cars certainly do screw around in a similar way, whether just to read diagnostics codes out or going full out and remapping the ECU for extra performance/efficiency/whatever they want. There are even hacks to change throttle response now. My microwave, on the other hand, I'm not sure there's much else I want it to do that I'd consider reprogramming it for ;-)

drdaeman 12y ago
Microwave... Just a wild idea off the top of my head: coupled with hardware hacks, like, some sort of IR pyrometer it could actually adapt output to maintain the food heated at specified level or just turn off when a certain temperature is reached.

JetSpiegel 12y ago

My microwave is not a general purpose computing device. Unless you work on a microwave research institute, probably.

deleted 12y ago

[deleted]

mixologic 12y ago

I've completely disassembled and re-assembled my (not recent) winnebago diesel, including rebuilding the engine. Almost every part on that RV has been redone by me, because I wanted to, and I didn't have to resort to any sort of safecracking tactics to be able to do that. If microwaves were built on top of a general purpose computing platform, then yes, I would want root access to them. The only reason that total control is not granted by default is that companies fear that they will no longer control their customer. I can understand in instances where safety or device damage may be an issue (like, no, I dont want root access to a tesla for example), but for consumer devices, I should not be forced to use apples store to add software to my phone. I should not be forced to use googles software to use their hardware either.

kybernetyk 12y ago

A computer is a general purpose device. Your Chromecast is a computer that would be capable of much more than just streaming videos if it wasn't for the artificial limitation in its software. Your car on the other hand has a pretty narrow application field. Your microwave too. Those are tools that perform their intended task as good as they can. Now if there was a firmware switch limiting your microwave from performing its intended task to its fullest capabilities you probably would want to 'root' it too.