When your laptop has been out of the country in the hands of a stranger for an extended period, it's very much out of your control what it does.

> When your laptop has been out of the country in the hands of a stranger for an extended period, it's very much out of your control what it does.

Yes.

I'd format it

But that was not an option (?) here

Apple products being bricks described as "functioning as intended and therefore a good thing" by Apple fanatics is laughable

It is a good thing. The most valuable bit of the computer is the data on it. Apple security:

* can prevent the data from falling into the wrong hands

* significantly reduces the value of a stolen machine, which acts as a theft deterrent

The data can easily be well encrypted while the enduser retains full control.

And if it's really just about the data it doesn't matter if the machine gets stolen if it's properly encrypted.

it's perfectly possible to just encrypt data and not completely destroy the machine. bricking the device for the actual owner because it might get stolen one day is Mutually-Assured Destruction levels of lunacy.

> I don't want my computer doing anything out of my control

So, you want Activation Lock, otherwise some random person can steal it and do whatever they want?

No, I'd want the ability to encrypt it fully, the rest doesn't really matter. I'd also want the ability to enter a (separate from my user password) decryption key on every bootup (which Macs did in fact have until recently!)

As this article shows, Apple is locking the legitimate user out. They care more about their brand perception than their customers.