this post was submitted on 25 Apr 2025
218 points (94.7% liked)
Technology
69391 readers
2663 users here now
This is a most excellent place for technology news and articles.
Our Rules
- Follow the lemmy.world rules.
- Only tech related news or articles.
- Be excellent to each other!
- Mod approved content bots can post up to 10 articles per day.
- Threads asking for personal tech support may be deleted.
- Politics threads may be removed.
- No memes allowed as posts, OK to post as comments.
- Only approved bots from the list below, this includes using AI responses and summaries. To ask if your bot can be added please contact a mod.
- Check for duplicates before posting, duplicates may be removed
- Accounts 7 days and younger will have their posts automatically removed.
Approved Bots
founded 2 years ago
MODERATORS
you are viewing a single comment's thread
view the rest of the comments
view the rest of the comments
I feel like there should be a law to release the bits we need to support these efforts.
Too many times a product will die or a company will fold along with all its documentation.
Maybe release a final firmware opening up a product. Or at the very least a git repo with api documentation.
And if the company folding doesn't comply, gonna fine 'em or what?
Well it's two situations. Look at Google dropping the older Nests. There you can lay in a fine.
For the folding company could make it part of declaring bankruptcy. Standard paperwork.
Either release all your source or prep the needful. Once this is common and expected could even force companies to maintain a public branch to release on cue.
Owning IP is fine. Products ending up in a landfill due to software is not.
Hopefully the law also expands to actually owning all of a product you own. Not paying BMW to unlock the heated seats already in the car you fully paid for.
You're presuming they they had documentation
This is also the attitude taken by Ross Scott.