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Comment by babypuncher | Hacker News Reader

I think this is a bad take. The idea that the device manufacturer is owed a cut of all third party software sold for it is a new one. Apple never would have asked for a cut of all Apple II software sold in the '80s because that would have been preposterous.

If I buy a piece of hardware, I can do with it what I want. It's mine, I own it, and everything on it. Nonsensical "terms of service" be damned.

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It’s completely different when you have networked hardware. IMHO it’s the equivalent of road taxes to make sure there aren’t any giant potholes swallowing up 18-wheelers and bicycles alike and that your bridges are still standing when you drive across the water.

It’s a never-ending uphill battle against entropy and unless you do it, you’re guaranteeing major problems.

They're free to charge for their networked services if they want to. Doesn't change the fact that the end-user bought & owns the device & they should be free to use it as they wish, potentially without using those networked services and instead opting for an alternative. Their choice. Not yours.

There’s no equivalent to coloured diesel for electronic devices, unfortunately. So everyone has to pay the tax even if you’re not going to use the roads, to complete the metaphor.

Like I said: they’re not buying a simple rearrangement of atoms. Heck they’re free to dunk those atoms they paid for into baby oil. Nobody cares.

Nobody is entitled to dictate what _software_ should be on the device. If end-users have the right to _software_ then that right cannot be selectively applied in the case of phone or laptops: it should fairly applied in all cases: including your refrigerator. Why doesn’t the government compel Samsung to enable Spotify & third party App Stores on those devices?

You own the hardware - not everything on it.

Should you have control of everything on your own hardware? I think yes, but that’s a different thing.

Yes you do. You bought it. It's your property.

The wall socket in your house is completely your property too. Yet, you don’t have a right to demand the socket company to put a semiconductor chip in it, along with the installation of an OS, along with an App Store and tools that allow you to download Netflix directly from their own App Store.

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