EOL.

When hardware products reach end-of-life (EOL), companies should be forced to open-source the software.

I think we've made strides in this area with the "Right to Repair"-movement, but let's go one step further. Preferably with the power of the European Commission: enforce that when something goes end-of-life, companies need to open-source the software.

I have a "smart" weight scale. It still connects via Bluetooth just fine (meaning: I see it connect on my phone) but because the app is no longer in development, it's essentially useless. A perfect piece of hardware, "dead" because the company behind it stopped supporting it. (I'm exaggerating a bit; it shows the weight on its display, but the app used to store data for up to 5 users to keep track over time. I miss that!) It's infuriating that we allow this to happen with all the wasteful electronics already lying around. We deserve better.

I thought of this while reading this article. It's great that Bose does this, but it's rare. When Spotify killed off its $200 Car Thing at the end of 2024, we just accepted it and moved on, even though that's $200 of hardware turned into e-waste overnight. Out of sustainability concerns, but also just out of doing what's right: this should not be able to happen.

Now, I'm not asking companies to open-source their entire codebase. That's unrealistic when an app is tied to a larger platform. What I am asking for: publish a basic GitHub repo with the hardware specs and connection protocols. Let the community build their own apps on top of it.

And here's the thing: with vibe-coding making development more accessible than ever, this isn't just for hardcore developers anymore. Regular users can actually tinker with this stuff now.

The worst you can do is break the software. But the hardware was bricked already anyway :-)