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Comment by YurgenJurgensen | Hacker News Reader

Stallman didn’t even conceive of this threat. Would it be any better if it was an open source dystopian mind-control machine?

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Open source, as in corporate outsourcing software maintenance to free labour? No. Free software, as in four freedoms? Yes, because you could install your own firmware that doesn't show advertisements.

That's what the whole GPLv3 debacle was about after all.

Stallman may have not imagined this specific scenario, but he absolutely did conceive of owner-hostile software that could not be replaced.

You could, but would most people? Most people voluntarily subject themselves to garbage adware-ridden SmartTVs even though this is a problem you can solve with a £12 dongle and no software installation at all. If the humble HDMI cable defeats the average person’s technical ability, what difference would it make if they could technically install their own firmware?

Fine, but I don't care about the average person. _I_ do not want this junk in my life. I don't deserve to be treated this way. If everyone else want to be manipulated by their fridge, thats one's on them, but count me out. It doesn't matter _if_ you install your own firmware, but _if you have the right to do so_. I don't own a gun, but I still believe that owning a firearm is a human right.

Theoretically, yes, but in practice almost everybody would just run their Ubuntu Fridge in a stock configuration.

Stallman conceived of the threat that if you let companies control your computer, they'll use it to their benefit and your detriment.

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