I don't think the job is done. I don't think it can be - FOSS is a tool which for some problems can remain in the box without lessening the benefits which come when a particular problem is solved.
The problem of appliances locked down with spyware is an example. I believe it is a problem whose first order implications are more serious than those which FOSS (and even GNUism) are intended to address. The implications include threats to physical safety and political liberty.
I understand that there are different opinions. I acknowledge that it might be the case that the best possible solution adheres to GNUist principles. I just think that an unwavering GNUist approach is likely to an impediment to achieving a good and practical solution
I use "GNUist" because FOSS doesn't prevent lockdown - and "Stallmanist" sounds too much like "Stalinist". And like "pragmaticism" is too ugly to be co-opted for other purposes.
My Symbian Phone would load open source code written in Java, but only after it was signed. I was granted the means of self-signing, but only by Nokia's grace. And that turtle goes all the way down. The OS could have been FOSS and the device still constructed so as to require code signing for the OS.
The problem of appliances locked down with spyware is an example. I believe it is a problem whose first order implications are more serious than those which FOSS (and even GNUism) are intended to address. The implications include threats to physical safety and political liberty.
I understand that there are different opinions. I acknowledge that it might be the case that the best possible solution adheres to GNUist principles. I just think that an unwavering GNUist approach is likely to an impediment to achieving a good and practical solution
I use "GNUist" because FOSS doesn't prevent lockdown - and "Stallmanist" sounds too much like "Stalinist". And like "pragmaticism" is too ugly to be co-opted for other purposes.
My Symbian Phone would load open source code written in Java, but only after it was signed. I was granted the means of self-signing, but only by Nokia's grace. And that turtle goes all the way down. The OS could have been FOSS and the device still constructed so as to require code signing for the OS.