Comment by mrguyorama
7 hours ago
Government "micromanaging" technology is why you can actually plug things into the phone network. Things like modems. For the internet. Before the government slapped AT&T, you leased the phone and it was wired into the wall and they could take you to court for connecting anything "unauthorized" into the wall.
It's also why PC compatibles ever happened at all.
It's also why Apple phones finally have a standard port. Which you admit.
Interoperability is not natural, and IP laws make it trivial for companies to utterly block as we are dealing with today. Interoperability often requires regulation to force companies to allow people to interact with "their" standards.
The government can manage interfaces in a way that enables standardization and interoperability without limiting capabilities.
You are conflating so many things. I was speaking about the "government" (there are hundreds and hundreds if not thousands of them) regulating battery standards for power tools - you address none of that. Yes I made a broad statement about government micromanaging which I stick by even as a staunch pro-regulation power to the people type of person.
Even if the EU (a specific government entity) hadn't stepped in over the USB C thing it would have been figured out eventually we just didn't want to wait.
I don't see how you can use AT&T as an example for your point. AT&T was our US government forcing us under threat of state violence to use what technology they deemed was allowed.