Quick bit about Gruber and Doctorow

scripting.com

10 pointsglower3 comments

If we really want to get idealogical about it any generic x86 machine isn't going to pass the freedom test. None of Intel's x86 chips are open designs. They probably ship with a closed source BIOS and maybe even with a closed source operating system by default. I suppose I could buy it and install Linux BIOS + Linux OS but ideologically I can't justify supporting these tyrannical companies. So clearly if you buy any x86 computer you are hurting children. To truly be free you must build your own computer from scratch.

It's not about being open all the way down; it's about being open enough to enable unpredictable innovation. As I said in another thread, even though Mac OS and Windows aren't open source, they are open enough to allow application innovation. Likewise, x86 machines are open enough to allow OS innovation (although there are non-technical reasons why it's hard for non-Windows OSes to take off).

(But speaking of BIOS, I wonder what people will think about Google Firmware once it is released...)

"If you must have an iPad, then buy (and use) something open to balance things out." -- This doesn't really solve the problem of Apple eating our seed corn.

Reply on news.ycombinator.com