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> "Normal" customers > want Netflix, Hulu+, Kindle, and > the like, not hackable boot roms.

Which is precisely why this level of lockdown is completely ridiculous.

As you say, locking a boot loader has no effect on whether "Normal" customers can steal content -- they're not going to mod their device, they want something that just works, and if it provides an easy way to get the content they want affordably, they won't even care enough to pirate. Where's the win for the studios? And there's certainly no win for the customer.

In the meanwhile, such a lock down does reduce the value of devices for the hacker news audience. Loss for at least some ASUS customers, possibly even a loss for ASUS.