Thread: Neo900 - finally a successor of N900
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javispedro is offline javispedro
2013-12-17 , 09:45
Posts: 2,355 | Thanked: 5,249 times | Joined on Jan 2009 @ Barcelona
#1520
Originally Posted by wicket View Post
it should make a good excuse for another Slashdot submission, "FSF criticised for promoting user restrictions".
The fact that submission already happened with another Openmoko-related device is just icing...

Originally Posted by joerg_rw View Post
I wholeheartedly agree with every word you wrote :-)
The problem is in FSF's definition of own "territory". In my book it's not their call to judge about peripherals, no matter how closely integrated or remotely attached those peripherals are mechanically.
The fact is, when you talk about "the Neo900", you're including this "peripheral." If the Neo900 had no such peripheral, and you/another company was shipping privative peripherals for it, I'm sure they'd see no problem in endorsing the Neo900 (it would be like the PC & Printer case you described). Albeit they may have problems endorsing you/that other company then

Originally Posted by dos1 View Post
We believe that it's better for user freedom to give him/her the ability to upgrade the firmware. We're convinced that any effort to make sure that "nothing can alter the radio modem's own software" is futile, because it would need us to trust the manufacturer anyway - and if we would trust the manufacturer, we wouldn't have to block it at all. We're proposing tight monitoring of what modem does instead. More about that in the article
False dichotomy. You could give the option to upgrade the firmware AND be endorsed by the FSF: create and ship a free firmware for the modem.

The position of the FSF is clear cut here. In their view, "Upgradable firmware" is just a weasel word for "software", and all software must be free. Period. They must draw the line somewhere.

Personally, I do see their point. Despite the clear chicken and egg problem here (because the FSF and even the FOSS movement in general have solved much more problematic chicken and egg problems). Obviously, we're all here to solve this chicken and egg problem, in our own ways....
Last edited by javispedro; 2013-12-17 at 09:47.
 

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