Roku’s Ultimatum: Surrender Jury Trial Rights or Lose Access to Your TVs

caleb@programming.dev to Technology@lemmy.world – 1495 points –

Did your Roku TV decide to strong arm you into giving up your rights or lose your FULLY FUNCTIONING WORKING TV? Because mine did.

It doesn't matter if you only use it as a dumb panel for an Apple TV, Fire stick, or just to play your gaming console. You either agree or get bent.

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The GPL ensures user software freedom for us to remove this crap by requiring them to share their source code. Using Linux doesn’t mean they have to follow the GPL unless they make modifications to it.

That's not quite the issue.

First of all, the GPL requires you to make the source available if you distribute the software, whether you modify it or not. And in fact TV manufacturers do provide source code, if you dig through their websites to find the disused basement lavatory with the sign saying "beware of the leopard."

Second, the issue is that the source code isn't actually going to work if you try to compile it and install it on the device, because they have DRM to prevent anything other than what the manufacturer has cryptographically signed from being allowed to run. See also: Tivoization.

That's correct. My response was intended to point out proprietary software can run on Linux and GPL doesn't apply.

I have read arguments in favor of GPL v2 over v3 and found them unconvincing.

Linux will never go to GPLv3 because Linus is pussywhipped by the Foundation and it's sponsors