Tivoization
Tivoisation ( TiVo, hard drive set-top box) describes the process that free software on equipment that is used, on which the manufacturer only signed software can be run. The user then has indeed to change the license in accordance with the right to obtain the source code and according to his ideas, but not the technical possibility that aufzuspielen altered by him software to the device by the manufacturer. The device would refuse to serve, or at least no longer function properly.
For the first time this problem has been observed in the hard disk recorder TiVo. The manufacturer gave the device with an integrated GNU / Linux system and said technical limitation. Although the manufacturers published the source code and thus met the terms of the GPL; the source code is useless for the user, since this is prevented by technical means from installing a modified version. However, the copyleft of the GPL version 2 does not preclude this, since this case was not considered in advance.
Has been controversially discussed this fact in the design phase of version 3 of the GPL. The FSF met in this new version measures in place to prevent tivoisation. Linux kernel initiator Linus Torvalds criticized this fact and argued that tivoisation should be allowed.