Free software advocate Benjamin Mako Hill's lecture on "Antifeatures" for the Free Technology Academy is a fascinating look at the ubiquitous "antifeature" — that is, a deliberately designed product feature that none of the product's users desire. Examples include cameras that block saving images as RAW files, phones that are designed to identify and drain third-party batteries, and, of course, printers that are designed to reject third-party ink.
Mako makes a compelling case that these sorts of features are endemic to proprietary technology, and that free and open technology are the antidote to them.
Antifeatures at the Free Technology Academy
