Re:Ask HN: Right to Repair for Software?
by solarkraft on Friday January 27, 2023 @08:38AM
(#34545813)
Software doesn't wear out?! The landscape changes constantly and updates are often necessitated by changes in the security landscape.
I don't expect the manufacturer to do the maintenance work indefinitely, but don't understand why perfectly good hardware should be turned into e-waste after a short number of years despite there being people who are willing to do all the work.
I can imagine a future in which a company has to guarantee a certain time frame for security updates and, once that time span ends, allow third party access. This would at the very least involve unlocking the bootloader so that reimplantations can be installed.
Often times the hardware is obsolete and has security issues by the time the software is. I don't see any real benefits. What hardware gets turned into waste due solely to software standing in the way?
You repair physical stuff because parts wear out. Software doesn't wear out.
In my opinion, it would be better to set a support window where a company must provide updates to fix flaws or security issues based on the type of device. OSes could be 5 years, safety recalls for vehicles are already covered. I'm not sure any action is really necessary on this.