I like to compile and install my own OS images on the hardware I purchase.  Of course the smartphone industry does not make that easy, if at all possible.<p>Hence I am forced to choose other form factors.<p>It would be nice to flash my own choice of BIOS.  As far as I can tell this is still not too common.  That is a project to which I am willing to devote large amounts of time should the information needed ever become public.<p>It seems the newer the hardware the more complicated and difficult this becomes.  By my estimation, there is certain value in older hardware because it is not as complicated and can be easier to control.<p>Here is an idea that stays with me year after year: another open source OS project that chooses a <i>single item</i> of hardware and supports <i>only that item</i>.<p>Silly fantasy: Perhaps a deal is struck with one or more factories that can produce it.  Perhaps the terms could be public.  Maybe user-developers become faithful and loyal buyers of the hardware, because they like the control.  Perhaps they directly pay the costs of production through donations.  I have no idea what would happen.  That&#x27;s the point of trying it.<p>Building this sort of symbiotic relationship between open source user-developers and a single hardware manufacturer based on a single item, one could reason it is in the best interest of the manufacturer to open the specs to the developers, if not the public.<p>I leave it to you to list all the many reasons this is not worth doing.  Then sit back and enjoy the status quo.<p>But for those of you who are avid users of an open source OS,  I ask you to consider:<p>Do you ever get tired of watching the project trying to keep pace with new hardware?  How do you feel about when the manufacturers will not disclose the specs?  Are you OK with binary blobs in your &quot;open&quot; system?  How about not knowing whether your OS of choice is going to work with your new hardware?  What if there was one item of hardware that you could be absolutely sure was always going to work with your preferred open source OS, and to its maximum capacity?<p>OK, you may now return to chasing the new (locked-down) hardware. Thank you for your time.