It's really only the hardware firmware that necessarily needs to be open (from a FOSS perspective). There's no reason I can think of that FOSS software must run on non-proprietary hardware to be aligned with the FOSS ethos. It's the firmware that's the issue. Alas, open hardware is being worked on in various ways and I think we all will benefit. It's okay that we are all doing what we need to in the interim. I don't see the value in shitting on each other anymore. I've done it. Most have. It just isn't worth it if we are all trying to go in the same general direction.
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That's like vegans being ok with mass murdering of crickets so they can have affordable beans.
Just don't eat the cows bro.
No, FOSS is amazing, we are blessed by it. Many most who write important FOSS understand how complicated things get once you go down the stack.
The problem is the retards that don't understand and just like to wear a FOSS T-shirt. Like "gays for Che Guevara"
I don't understand how your analogy relates to what I said. Being able to know what your hardware is doing with the software/firmware is the concern of FOSS (because it doesn't matter if your CPU is a spy), not owning the patents to hardware (unless I'm misunderstanding you). It wouldn't be hypocritical to use FOSS on proprietary hardware if the proprietary hardware maker made the firmware or whatever open. There's no violation of the general ethos there if you're going by someone like Stallman, who is pretty much the founder of the perspective.
The only problem I see is if a company claims to care about the FOSS ethos without making their stuff FOSS. That would be hypothetical and weird, but I've never really seen that. Most companies either do or don't. But even huge companies can't control every component right now, so it's nearly impossible to be totally open in the current state of things. Hardware is absolutely hard as fuck. I haven't built hardware, but it is obviously a completely different animal from software and has challenges that are completely different. I'm more in favor of us all working together to keep moving toward a better world. I love FOSS and use it heavily...on a ThinkPad lol. But like I said, some great people are working on open hardware. It's exciting.
I was never really sure why firmware is always so guarded, other than maybe out of embarrassment? (hardware people tend to write shitty software)