Tivo sucks
Posted Oct 20, 2006 10:52 UTC (Fri) by
blujay (guest, #39961)
In reply to:
Tivo sucks by man_ls
Parent article:
Busy busy busybox
I know this is an old thread, but...
The answer is: Don't buy the Tivo! You keep using an argument
of, "Imagine if *your* Tivo...." If that was an issue for me, I would
simply not buy the Tivo! Vote with your wallet and give your money to
those that make better (and perhaps more open) products.
Imagine a situation where Linux went GPLv3. Can you force Tivo to start
using Linux/GPLv3? Or will they A) continue using Linux/GPLv2, or B)
switch to something not licensed under GPLvx, perhaps even a BSD?
I read a comment earlier that basically said, "I think we're important
enough now that we should flex our muscle." That strikes me as a bit
arrogant. Those that feel this way about GPL-ed software may be in for a
surprise when they find out that these device manufacturers they're
trying to coerce don't really care about Free Software at all; they're
interested in practicality, much like the kernel devs, and will quickly
ignore any GPLv3 software, and even switch to proprietary software. Then
what have you accomplished? Well, "your" Tivo will be no more hackable
than it is now, and probably less so. Free Software will become less
relevant in these industries (which I'm not sure matters anyway; again,
vote with your wallet). Microsoft will probably be happy and you might
even see some "Powered by Windows Vista technology" stickers on "your"
Tivo.
Linux and Free Software are getting some pull in enterprise systems, it
seems, but I think some people overestimate their value in these kinds of
embedded systems.
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