Comment by tern
1 month ago
Not to mention, it's an authoritarian attitude, talking about forcing companies to support arbitrary software stacks
1 month ago
Not to mention, it's an authoritarian attitude, talking about forcing companies to support arbitrary software stacks
That's not what they wrote at all.
> It should be possible to run Android on an iPhone and manufacturers should be required by law to provide enough technical support and documentation to make the development of new operating systems possible
I was writing in reference to this quote ^
It would have been more accurate for me to say "support the development of arbitrary software stacks," but where do you draw the line between "supporting the development of" and "supporting"?
Because the documentation is already written, it just isn't opened up. All you need to do is open it up. The big stumbling block when writing drivers for new hardware is simply to know what goes where.
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Op here: The point I'm trying to make in the piece is that this is less authoritarian than the common suggestion that Apple and Google be forced to change how iOS and Android works. The piece is meant to be a juxtaposition to that idea.
Is it authoritarian to stop other people from being authoritarians?
If I make a product and I don't specifically help you do certain things with it, is that authoritarian?
Regardless, we're talking about products here—"authoritarian" is a word reserved to situations where the threat of force is involved.
In this specific example, forcing a company to do something is authoritarian (because they will be fined or jailed if they do not comply with the rules). Corporations are not, as a rule, authoritarian—they may, however, do things that are not to your benefit or liking.
> If I make a product and I don't specifically help you do certain things with it, is that authoritarian?
If were referring to products necessary to function in society, YES! Obviously yes, a big exclaiming yes, yes with no room for debate.
A car, but you can't drive anywhere but to work. Electricity, but you can't use it to listen to radio that criticizes our dear leader. A TV, but you can't use it to watch anything other than military parades.
A phone, but you can only use it to perform government approved actions on government approved software.
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