Can't we just mirror a regular Linux distro model ? Or possibly a Enterprise Linux model where you pay a subscription and obtain bug fixes, stability gurantees & support.
Then they wouldn't be able to move closer to a world where general-purpose computing is not the norm.
That's the real issue with computing nowadays, this desire to lock everything down. You see it with DRM, you see it with walled gardens, you see it with almost everything nowadays.
I fear that a world like the one described in "The Right to Read" [0] is closer than ever.
0: https://www.gnu.org/philosophy/right-to-read.en.html (yes, I know it's Stallman, but even he was right on a few things, as disgusting as he was in a lot of other things. Stopped clock right twice a day, etc)
But the problem with general purpose computing is that it's probably one of the most powerful, equalizing things humanity has ever created. This is probably the first time in history the power to create, acquire knowledge, and become self sustainable has been so cheaply and readily available to the average person. It gives a lot of power to them where historically this hasn't been the case. This is less than ideal for those in power and I think it's just taken a while for them to really catch on to what the average person with a general purpose computer can actually accomplish. It makes me worry that this has just been a brief historical anomaly. But, it could still go either way at this point.
That's the real issue with computing nowadays, this desire to lock everything down. You see it with DRM, you see it with walled gardens, you see it with almost everything nowadays.
I fear that a world like the one described in "The Right to Read" [0] is closer than ever.
0: https://www.gnu.org/philosophy/right-to-read.en.html (yes, I know it's Stallman, but even he was right on a few things, as disgusting as he was in a lot of other things. Stopped clock right twice a day, etc)