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1. lnxw48a1 (lnxw48a1@nu.federati.net)'s status on Saturday, 18-Dec-2021 09:29:22 EST lnxw48a1
   https://ar.al/2021/12/18/the-three-laws-of-personal-devices/
   
   I agree with this with one reservation: He says these three laws are sufficient. I believe they may be sufficient, but only time will tell if and how they may need to be extended. Experience with free software tells us that highly resourced exploiters can find ways to misuse FOSS to inflict harm on end-users, and thus Aral’s devices three laws may still be found vulnerable to such exploiters’ misuse.
   
   (NOTE: I’ve been planning to write an article expounding very similar ideas, as I’ve found myself fighting against the systems built into and around the devices and software I use in an attempt to defend my own interests (particularly the longer term interests) and privacy against organizations whose purposes are in direct opposition to said interests and privacy.)
   1. lnxw48a1 (lnxw48a1@nu.federati.net)'s status on Saturday, 18-Dec-2021 09:41:44 EST lnxw48a1

      in reply to
      Just as an example of where I think Aral’s three laws are insufficient, I bought an iPad years ago (specifically because I wanted to be able to communicate with my grandson #A1). Over the years, I’ve never been thrilled with it. For one thing, everything goes through and is controlled by Apple. You cannot even get a decent browser for it, because every browser is merely a facade over the Safari engine.
      
      But if you own an iDevice, your only hope to displace Apple’s control is to “jailbreak” it, which is _by design_ not easy.
      
      Following Aral’s laws, iOS / iPadOS would be designed to obey me, not Apple, but what if I want to replace their software with my own? If it is my device, the choice of what software runs on it (with limited exceptions, such as the Wi-Fi drivers and embedded OS that keep the device in compliance with FCC rules about transmitting frequencies and power) must be mine alone, and subject to some means of ensuring that some intruder cannot easily simulate my approval to switch to their operating system, the switch should be easily performed by a normal individual who is willing to learn a little about the system and how it works.
      1. GeniusMusing (geniusmusing@nu.federati.net)'s status on Saturday, 18-Dec-2021 11:09:08 EST GeniusMusing

         in reply to
         I would have to say that these days that even if you "bought" the hardware, you don't really "own" it due to the "agreements" you "agree" to just to be able to get beyond the "agreement" and try to use it.
         
         About the only exception to this issue that I can think of is if you build something yourself like a computer/Pi/etc. I am not sure about things like Pine Phone/other Linux phone(s) could meet this not because of the hardware but that it connects to a cell provider for use.
         
         It does look like you can get Firefox on ios, if the version being run is over 13.
         
         https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/install-firefox-your-ipad-iphone-or-ipod