[acdha]

> I have the discipline and skill.

This might even be true but that just means you aren’t the target market. Nobody is stopping you from running a full open source stack but I don’t think it should come as a surprise that 99% of the people using computers pick something easier and safer to use when it’s not your job or hobby. My Linux desktop experience goes back to 1994 and while it’s a lot better now I still have zero trouble understanding that trade off.

> I installed GNU/Linux for my relatives, and they never did that in years.

Again, think mainstream. Where that’s happened historically was most server-side stuff because Linux has much greater share there, but most of the business compromising users is focused on Windows, Android, iOS, and maybe macOS because that’s where almost all of the people they’ll make money from are. If desktop Linux became more popular, attackers would spend time on it and would have comparable success rates – likely even higher due to how far behind the Linux world is compared to macOS on sandboxing and code signing. Free software is a great thing but it doesn’t have magic pixie dust obviating the need to spend time on security like everyone else.

[fsflover]

> Nobody is stopping you from running a full open source stack

Where are the instructions how to do it on an iPhone? No, even on Android it's impossible due to closed drivers and specs, making a lot of e-waste and, conveniently for corporations, a lot of sales of new devices every time the support is ended.

It seems to me that the duopoly removed any freedom to run what I want from me.

[acdha]

> It seems to me that the duopoly removed any freedom to run what I want from me.

They put a block on your credit card preventing you from buying a Purism or PinePhone? That sure is devious – or perhaps an indication that the market is behaving rationally and the real problem you’re encountering is that the 90th percentile buyer values different characteristics than you do.

> a lot of sales of new devices every time the support is ended.

If this is your concern, you should be pushing for laws regarding recycling to cover the majority of devices which are discarded after something fails. People routinely use old devices until they break, and the thing forcing upgrades is something like their bank not supporting an OS which no longer receives security updates, which won’t be resolved by flashing a completely unsupported OS.

[fsflover]

I do use the Purism phone as a daily driver. The heavy weight of the duopoly made open specs and drivers impossible in the mobile ecosystem l, as every single manufacturer refuses to release their firmware and drivers. A lot of such projects failed in the past despite a significant demand (proved by many sold Pinephones). My phone is based on the motherboard from a completely different industry (automotive). That made this phone very expensive and simultaneously very slow, heavy and inefficient, compared with all modern smartphones. More details: https://puri.sm/posts/breaking-ground. Making this phone almost killed Purism the company; even today they can't provide all promised refunds.

> and the thing forcing upgrades is something like their bank not supporting an OS which no longer receives security updates, which won’t be resolved by flashing a completely unsupported OS.

Why wouldn't it be resolved by installing a secure, supported GNU/Linux? Only because banks force you into the duopoly. More alternatives would push the change.

> If this is your concern, you should be pushing for laws regarding recycling

This is exactly why I support forcing Apple to provide a way to run what I want. Not because of the egoism. I don't even have an iPhone.