Writing userspace USB drivers for abandoned devices

Re:Writing userspace USB drivers for abandoned devices by k_sze on Monday November 18, 2019 @08:54AM (#21564278)

Isn't that just planned obsolescence? Isn't the EU very much opposed to that kind of business strategy? Shouldn't there be some law in the EU prohibiting that?

I mean, I wouldn't force the manufacturers to keep supporting the hardware after a decade, but shouldn't there be a law compelling them to open source the drivers and firmware upon end-of-life? If a product reaches end-of-life, surely the manufacturer already has a demonstrably better, upgraded version of the product to attract new sales?

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Re:Writing userspace USB drivers for abandoned devices by snagglegaggle on Monday November 18, 2019 @03:55PM (#21568060)

You'd think so, but what we are wrestling with now is that vendors can create products (microelectronics) that are too difficult to reverse engineer that its operation is effectively a secret to all consumers.

We're probably going to see more of this in the coming years around SecureBoot/TrustZone on ARM.

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Re:Writing userspace USB drivers for abandoned devices by StillBored on Monday November 18, 2019 @05:57PM (#21569041)

This *100, and apply it to copyright too. If you can't buy the product at a reasonable price, the copyright should be revoked.

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