You won't be able to switch it off for long. See how many phones still have that option! [1]

In the end what matters is always money. Always.

What brings more money? TiVo or buyer-owned device? You think 5% of technically competent potential buyers would make a difference when the 95% illiterate users will just replace the product no questions asked?

It started as a fight against piracy and half-competent users that break their own systems (and the company's systems too, like you said). But slowly the industry sees that there's more money to be made if the same technology can provide a belivable argument in right to repair and planned obsolescence court cases.

[1] https://github.com/melontini/bootloader-unlock-wall-of-shame

> you're making a TiVo style product you want to harden against the device owners.

This sentence just makes me so sad

I'm surprised more huge corporations don't move towards a "Chromebook only" by default. Now you don't have to manage anything. We're all doing our work in browsers anyway.

> But when the user is the device owner? Doesn't do much.

A decent Secure Boot implementation together with a BIOS/EFI password at least makes the life of US CBP or similar thugs wanting to use my devices against me much more difficult.

And no, that's not an imaginary threat, certainly not under this administration which has come under fire multiple times for first detaining and then deporting random tourists.

You can't play many videogames if you do this, as anticheat won't let the game run unless secure boot is turned on

Even if you can, there might be dark patterns to discourage you, such as showing a "boot screen of shame" if its turned off.

Go in the BIOS and switch it off?

Certainly. Just one problem: Modern consumer BIOS interfaces are graphical and your GPU is off.

Bitlocker