Indeed, without competition and regulation the free market doesn’t work, and never has.
The manufacturers are in Trusts, secretly cooperating on not competing and maximizing profit at the expense of consumers and product and service quality.
That said, we still shouldn’t buy their shit when possible, and to disable problematic things when possible, (which is a federal crime, introduced in the 90’s at the behest of CD companies/record companies, whereby any type of digital lock cannot be broken without suffering 4 years in federal prison.
I think most of us here know this, but the dmca broke the free market. Anyone who isn’t or has folks that aren’t (read time, 3 hours, including rabbit holes):
This impacts the ability to fix or modify your own stuff, see Fulu, extend or enhance tools you already own, and repurpose items for things they can do but are not in the best interest of the company that sold them. Making it illegal to use a computer is akin to making it illegal to use a screwdriver.
This is why every car has a screen now. They were able to lock out any unauthorized customization, repair, replacement, etc because there was a “digital lock” somewhere in the process and use that to force first-party parts, service and software and get a reliable post-market revenue stream. Don’t want your car advertising to you on startup? Too bad - disabling that is a crime.
Especially as we head into an election moment in the US - reach out to candidates and ensure they are aware and know we are aware.
I’d also say we need more old school hackers and restorers, that is to say folks who can work on hardware. It may be illegal to crack some code but physically gutting something to spoof, hotwire, or bypass their shit software through entirely physical means works as a better long term method. Restoration and maintenance of old tech is a lot easier, half the time something is broken it’s either just a wire or the power being bad.
Removed by mod
They know this, and that’s why they wait to do things like this until they know you have relatively little choice.
Not that you shouldn’t care, but it’s worth remembering the guiding hand of the market is not an all powerful weapon.
Indeed, without competition and regulation the free market doesn’t work, and never has.
The manufacturers are in Trusts, secretly cooperating on not competing and maximizing profit at the expense of consumers and product and service quality.
That said, we still shouldn’t buy their shit when possible, and to disable problematic things when possible, (which is a federal crime, introduced in the 90’s at the behest of CD companies/record companies, whereby any type of digital lock cannot be broken without suffering 4 years in federal prison.
I think most of us here know this, but the dmca broke the free market. Anyone who isn’t or has folks that aren’t (read time, 3 hours, including rabbit holes):
https://www.eff.org/pages/unintended-consequences-fifteen-years-under-dmca
This impacts the ability to fix or modify your own stuff, see Fulu, extend or enhance tools you already own, and repurpose items for things they can do but are not in the best interest of the company that sold them. Making it illegal to use a computer is akin to making it illegal to use a screwdriver.
This is why every car has a screen now. They were able to lock out any unauthorized customization, repair, replacement, etc because there was a “digital lock” somewhere in the process and use that to force first-party parts, service and software and get a reliable post-market revenue stream. Don’t want your car advertising to you on startup? Too bad - disabling that is a crime.
Especially as we head into an election moment in the US - reach out to candidates and ensure they are aware and know we are aware.
I’d also say we need more old school hackers and restorers, that is to say folks who can work on hardware. It may be illegal to crack some code but physically gutting something to spoof, hotwire, or bypass their shit software through entirely physical means works as a better long term method. Restoration and maintenance of old tech is a lot easier, half the time something is broken it’s either just a wire or the power being bad.