The hypocrisy of John Deer is amazing. On one hand, they forbid modifying the software because it "can endanger machine performance" and on the other hand they accept no responsibility for "crop loss, lost profits, loss of goodwill, loss of use of equipment... arising from the performance or non-performance of any aspect of the software".
So what's the point of not hacking their software if the farmers get no benefit from it, not even the guarantee that John Deer will take responsibility in case of malfunction.
Farmers are an independent group. They are used to relying on their own skills and hard work to make a living, and they are not going to tolerate this. I think it is an overreach for John Deere and other manufacturers to control what I do with my (my!) devices. I really hope this law gets passed to prevent companies from doing this. Farmers can really help, because everyone knows we depend on them for our food, so an…
I think you are right, however it kinda seems they already put up with a lot more from companies selling them their 'patented' seeds and the constraints that come with those seeds. I once saw a doc mentioning a farmer that got 'fined' by a seed company because he had some seeds he did not pay for in his crop, these few plants that grew because the neighboring farmer was using them and the wind blew some on the side o…
How is this practice even legal? Could auto manafuctirers do the same thing? I'm sure they discourage aftermarket programming and whatnot, but using DRM to prevent DIY repairs is bringing things to a whole new level.
Your expectations based on consumer law may not apply in this case as the "farmer" purchasing the equipment is operating as a business not a private individual.
Farmers are an independent group. They are used to relying on their own skills and hard work to make a living, and they are not going to tolerate this. I think it is an overreach for John Deere and other manufacturers to control what I do with my (my!) devices. I really hope this law gets passed to prevent companies from doing this. Farmers can really help, because everyone knows we depend on them for our food, so an…
Lol no offence but farmers are a major recipient of state welfare you don't get farmer palmer in Viz form no where
I have a friend that services and repairs combine harvesters for a living. He tells me that he rarely has to do any welding or heavy lifting any more because the reliability and mechanics of the machines have become very reliable. He's spends most of his time diagnosing on-board electronics. Which he says is the root of the discord with farmers. They think of their tractor like a hoe, you plonk it in the ground and g…
Renting/Leasing doesn't help, because the real cost of failures that can't be fixed is time. Crops need to be harvested in a small window of time, and if your tractor is broken due to a software bug that you're not allowed to fix yourself, and that you're not allowed to hire a third party repair shop that's "unauthorized" by the manufacturer, and the wait for an authorized repair service is weeks, you've lost your entire season's revenue. As expensive as these tractors are, the cost is insignificant compared to the revenue they generate when they're operating.
>> they do it to avoid legal liability and fraudulent warrantee claims. That is simply false... Both can be done with out locking out owner They do this to Appease their Dealer Network, and to make sure their Dealers make money.... This has very very little to do with Legal Liability. Sorry you bought the corporate PR bullshit
Wasn't from the PR department, but engineering management.
How is this practice even legal? Could auto manafuctirers do the same thing? I'm sure they discourage aftermarket programming and whatnot, but using DRM to prevent DIY repairs is bringing things to a whole new level.
Former John Deere employee here. The company isn't being spiteful or doing this to corner the repair market; they do it to avoid legal liability and fraudulent warrantee claims. They're an extremely risk-averse company. EDIT: By the way, I favor owner's rights (my family farms with Deere equipment, and I think there's tons of mutual advantage in open sourcing software in this case specifically and in general), but as…
In that case, just write the license contract to say "If you change the firmware, John Deere accepts no liability". Make people sign that if they want the unlock key. Presumably John Deere aren't liable for other kinds of misuse - e.g. if you crash it.
If you think the capital costs for Tesla are bad try getting into a smaller market where tractors start at ~$150k. Kubota has been trying to go upmarket but it's not something that can be done overnight. I'd be more curious if some of the other players(NH, Case IH, Claas, etc) could use this to their advantage. You see similar things in the CUT(Compact Utility Tractor) segment where LS/Kioti/Mahindra generally offer…
> Mahindra I had no idea Mahindraactually had a presence in the US. Can you tell me how they are generally regarded?