This is why I only use & support Free & Open Source Software in my personal life. This man is going to prison. Prison.
"A California man who built a sizable business out of recycling electronic waste is headed to federal prison for 15 months after a federal appeals court in Miami rejected his claim that the “restore disks” he made to extend the lives of computers had no financial value, instead ruling that he had infringed Microsoft’s products to the tune of $700,000."
“I don’t think anybody in that courtroom understood what a restore disk was,” Lundgren said.
This is key. Most folks don't understand tech. The whole "You wouldn't steal a car!" ad campaign is an example.
If that car was open sourced, and I could download it and print, yes... I'd "steal" a car. But that isn't stealing.
A jury of your peers means your average lay person. They think in a corporate mindset. Arbitrary "losses" equal prison time.
Another big thing...
We say that Lundgren should not have installed Windows. Perhaps he should have installed Linux....
Many of your devices, you don't own. You "lease." Even the act of wiping the original operating system and installing FOSS OS's is illegal.
Look at John Deer. Look at "rooting" cell phones.
We need FOSSH (Software & Hardware) solutions.
@tinker The GPL3 does say the software licensed under it must not be used for these user-hostile acts.
And I gather the FSF's position on free hardware is that yes there's more and more need for it. But in a world where hardware manufacturing requires super long and uber clean assembly lines will it really accomplish much?
