It seems to me that every thing is becoming a closed system these days, trying to recreate the elusive magic of Apple. Browsers, word processors, what not, its all now under lock and key, working via some unknown mechanism, locked to all who would tinker with it. Microsoft's early fears that Linux based systems would over take it's dominance seem more and more unfounded, as it itself becomes a closed system with Windows 8.

BITS 16

start:
	mov ax, 07C0h		; Set up 4K stack space after this bootloader
	add ax, 288		; (4096 + 512) / 16 bytes per paragraph
	mov ss, ax
	mov sp, 4096

	mov ax, 07C0h		; Set data segment to where we're loaded
	mov ds, ax


	mov si, text_string	; Put string position into SI
	call print_string	; Call our string-printing routine

	jmp $			; Jump here - infinite loop!


	text_string db 'This is my cool new OS!', 0


print_string:			; Routine: output string in SI to screen
	mov ah, 0Eh		; int 10h 'print char' function

.repeat:
	lodsb			; Get character from string
	cmp al, 0
	je .done		; If char is zero, end of string
	int 10h			; Otherwise, print it
	jmp .repeat

.done:
	ret


	times 510-($-$$) db 0	; Pad remainder of boot sector with 0s
	dw 0xAA55		; The standard PC boot signature

The above is the boot code for the individually made Mike OS. Simple though it may be, a user can easily obtain a copy of the source, and make material for the platform, without having to pass the approval of a board or of an algorithm. You just hit run, and run it does. The jagged simplicity of this retro -technological system might bring back memories of the Commodore line, but it is this method of leaving everything in user's hands that made Microsoft great in the first place, paving the road for it's domination of everything.

As I am sure the case of Hotz v. Sony will tell you, this trend is only set to continue onward indefinitely.