Firmware is a big deal in my business as it presents a lot of safety issues. That Mars Lander crashed because of a bad calculation put into the firmware. A lot of time and money goes into safety analyses and testing of firmware. Contracts try to ensure vendors provide disclosure to changes. Parts obsolescence is a huge money driver in acquisition. By time systems get fielded, they are already dealing with parts obsolesence. This results in many lifetime buys or added design efforts to allow for more plug-and-play, which raises a lot of concerns for safety. Maybe not a big deal for a TV, but for an anti-ship missile self-defense system it can mean the difference betwen the system working and savng the ship and personnel, or failing and either damaging the ship, killing personnel, or damaging the environment if it fails unsafe or not performing at all and allowing the ASM to hit the ship. We have conferences on this shit.