What's the big deal! This is _NOT_ complicated. The pricing is analogous to a cell phone. If you agree to a two year contract, the phone is *FREE*. a.k.a. Sign up for i-opener service and the box is $99. --or-- If you pay $199 fro this neat phone, we won't lock you into any long commitments. a.k.a. You can buy this no-strings-attachedf i-opener for (what's a fair price?) 300? 400? 500? Then you can pay for i-opener service month-to-month or not at all. Think about how little cell phone companies care what you actually do with the phones as long as you fulfill your contractual obligation. As long as you have a rational pricing model, all of these "oh my gods the nerd are opening them up" worries vanish. I just don;'t get it.
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Alright, ha ha ha ha. you got me.
I meant that Bell Atlantic would not care if I opened up my cell phone and started running NetBSD on it.
OTOH, if you started using the phone to "open up" the phone network, I'm sure they would come charging after you with big hairy handed lawyers.
Point taken though.
What's the big deal! This is _NOT_ complicated. The pricing is analogous to a cell phone. If you agree to a two year contract, the phone is *FREE*. a.k.a. Sign up for i-opener service and the box is $99. --or-- If you pay $199 fro this neat phone, we won't lock you into any long commitments. a.k.a. You can buy this no-strings-attachedf i-opener for (what's a fair price?) 300? 400? 500? Then you can pay for i-opener service month-to-month or not at all. Think about how little cell phone companies care what you actually do with the phones as long as you fulfill your contractual obligation. As long as you have a rational pricing model, all of these "oh my gods the nerd are opening them up" worries vanish. I just don;'t get it.