"Whoa there buddy, you made your own gravy for that chicken? I don't think so, you have to buy our gravy for your delicious dinner."

But what if that gravy you made is so healthy and flavorful that it gives you the energy to go on a murder rampage? Clearly being able to make your own gravy is facilitating crime, and must be prohibited.

Replace 'hardware' with 'anything' and I'd probably still agree with you.

Yes. But if you want to continue "support" or receive official updates then you're subject to the whims of the manufacturer/provider. And don't expect them to make it easy for you to do what you will.

That's not true for lots of consumer products available for sale.

It's also not true for most hardware, but that doesn't mean it shouldn't be true. I can be hopelessly optimistic with my blanket statements.