The importance of open

I’ve been enjoying my rooted android incredible immensely. Right now I’m very excited about RMK’s Virtuous ROM. It’s a great, “almost stock” ROM that features just the right number of enhancements.  Basically, everything that I would want to do with my rooted droid, done for me. Best of all, the ROM is very stable, which is essential for someone, like me, who relies on their phone for work.

All of the great features and possibilities that rooting opens up has gotten me thinking about the importance of being “open.” Of course recent comments by a certain Apple CEO also got me thinking.

There are many post out there about why being open is good – money savings, transparency, etc. For me though, open comes down to ownership. Once I’ve purchased a device, I believe it’s mine to do with as I please. This is the fundamental concept of ownership.

But, more and more, I’ve been seeing a trend – especially in technology – of loss of owner rights. Devices that will delete installed software or downloads if they violate a ULA. remotely disabling a device that has been “jailbroken.”

It seems that companies like Apple and Amazon, that set out to be better than the traditional businesses, have ended up inventing some new ways to rip off the customer.

If I buy something, it’s mine. If you take it from me, or fundamentally change how it works or what I can do with it… well, I call that theft.

I definitely don’t call it open.