Are your gadgets working against you?

There has been an increasing trend in the technical hardware industry to produce products that are specifically designed to restrict functionality of the product. For example: Apple iPod, Apple iPad, Microsoft Xbox, Sony Playstation and the Nintendo Wii.

This restricted functionality can be everything from only allowing applications accepted by the vendor, preventing certain formats to be played or the famous example of DVD players that only play movies from the allowed region. Why should you, the consumer be buying a product that helps the media companies to monopolize and fix prices?

• iPod, iPhone and iPad will only run software approved by Apple inc.
• Game consoles, such as the Xbox, the Wii and the Playstation have similar restrictions
• Mobile phones are another example of a hardware that is created to serve the carriers, not the consumers.
• Gadgets and computers are being equipped with DRM to restrict what media you can play.

As I see it, the problem exists in two places. These huge companies have invested interest in two areas (consumer products and media) and are abusing these two areas to uphold monopolies. Ideally, this would be solved by governments by forbidding cross-ownership to be abused in this way.

However, I am not so naive to think that this will happen in the close future. What has to happen is the consumer must wake up and ask itself a couple of questions before buying a consumer product.

• Am I getting everything I could be getting for my money?
• Is the product limited by the software, the producer sells with it?
• Is it possible to run other software on it?
• Will it work everywhere?
• Will it work on all my purchased media?

Honestly, I do not feel that this is too much to ask. These anti-features actually take time, money and effort to create and the consumer ends up paying more for the end-product to inflate other sales.

We are talking about your property. You bought it with your money and it should serve you! It would be different if they were giving these things away or simply loaning them to us... It just seems like they are having their cake and eating it too!

Where's my cake?

Great story, bro. But now I can't buy any cool gadgets!

I am not preaching a blissful open world where every gadget comes with a Linux sticker and a kiss from Richard Stallman. I am simply talking about not allowing vendors to specifically restrict your access to your hardware.

I will conclude this rant with a list of open (or at least semi-open) gadgets...

1. Open Pandora: A handheld gaming device running Linux
2. Nokia N900: A handheld mobile computer/phone running Linux
3. Android: Google's mobile phone platform
4. Symbian: Recently Open Sourced, one of the most widely used smartphone operating system

Feel free to comment if you feel anything is missing from this list.