Nebraska farmers vote overwhelmingly for Right to Repair • Hacker News Board

Re: Nebraska farmers vote overwhelmingly for Right to Repair

#11

Post by OnlineGladiator » Mon, Dec 16, 2019, 7:30 PM UTC

korabas wrote: post #8

Honest question: what would be the rationale to prevent farmers from repairing their machinery themselves instead of through the manufacturer (in this case, Deere)? To my mind, from the point of view of the "user" (i.e. the farmer), that can be seen as somewhat monopolistic. I tried to find similarities between this situation and that of Apple not letting users tamper with their hardware, but it could be argued that…

It's not complicated. John Deere wants to milk their customers for more money.

Re: Nebraska farmers vote overwhelmingly for Right to Repair

#12

Post by korabas » Mon, Dec 16, 2019, 7:31 PM UTC

taurath wrote: post #10

korabas wrote: post #8

Honest question: what would be the rationale to prevent farmers from repairing their machinery themselves instead of through the manufacturer (in this case, Deere)? To my mind, from the point of view of the "user" (i.e. the farmer), that can be seen as somewhat monopolistic. I tried to find similarities between this situation and that of Apple not letting users tamper with their hardware, but it could be argued that…

Money. You’re not buying a tractor, you’re buying a “platform”.

Right, that makes sense, at least from the point of view of the manufacturer, in that you're also "buying" support, etc.

It's still a bit sad that there's no opt-in into such deal, ad that farmers don't seem to have another alternative.

Re: Nebraska farmers vote overwhelmingly for Right to Repair

#13

Post by pg_is_a_butt » Mon, Dec 16, 2019, 7:31 PM UTC

This is a big deal, not only for the farmers no longer offered machinery to buy from manufacturers like Deere, but for the rest of society who may now have some precedent to starve.

Re: Nebraska farmers vote overwhelmingly for Right to Repair

#14

Post by ISL » Mon, Dec 16, 2019, 7:31 PM UTC

Right to repair is increasingly hitting people outside of agrarian/industrial contexts.

This month, Google shipped the last update for my Pixel phone. The hardware is functional and in great shape, but I don't think there are any truly viable ways for me to keep it secure. I have a tablet that long-ago met the same fate. This is in the same world where I can 'apt-get update' my seven-year old desktop and work with aplomb. It is my understanding that the primary blocker to serious open-source kernel development on phones is closed-source drivers for the phone hardware.

Re: Nebraska farmers vote overwhelmingly for Right to Repair

#15

Post by deadmetheny » Mon, Dec 16, 2019, 7:32 PM UTC

korabas wrote: post #8

Honest question: what would be the rationale to prevent farmers from repairing their machinery themselves instead of through the manufacturer (in this case, Deere)? To my mind, from the point of view of the "user" (i.e. the farmer), that can be seen as somewhat monopolistic. I tried to find similarities between this situation and that of Apple not letting users tamper with their hardware, but it could be argued that…

It's literally just greed. No more, no less.

Re: Nebraska farmers vote overwhelmingly for Right to Repair

#16

Post by deogeo » Mon, Dec 16, 2019, 7:32 PM UTC

korabas wrote: post #8

Honest question: what would be the rationale to prevent farmers from repairing their machinery themselves instead of through the manufacturer (in this case, Deere)? To my mind, from the point of view of the "user" (i.e. the farmer), that can be seen as somewhat monopolistic. I tried to find similarities between this situation and that of Apple not letting users tamper with their hardware, but it could be argued that…

> but it could be argued that the latter makes a bit more sense given that most of their customers, statistically speaking, are not necessarily tech enthusiasts

And I'm not a car enthusiast, yet I can take my car to any mechanic I choose - I don't need the manufacturer's permission.

Re: Nebraska farmers vote overwhelmingly for Right to Repair

#17

Post by deadmetheny » Mon, Dec 16, 2019, 7:33 PM UTC

spazmoose wrote: post #6

I've been paying attention to this for several years. I have an affinity for John Deere, having grown up on a farm that had almost nothing but JD tractors, but their heavy-handed approach to repair work in recent years is unacceptable. Farmers don't have the funds available to constantly be taking equipment (that sometimes costs upwards of $200,000) to a dealership when it breaks down (and it will break down).

And it will break down at the worst possible time, when you can't wait for a JD tech to come down and troubleshoot the issue. Time is money for farmers, especially these days when there's so much consolidation of land happening.

Re: Nebraska farmers vote overwhelmingly for Right to Repair

#18

Post by korabas » Mon, Dec 16, 2019, 7:34 PM UTC

deogeo wrote: post #16

korabas wrote: post #8

Honest question: what would be the rationale to prevent farmers from repairing their machinery themselves instead of through the manufacturer (in this case, Deere)? To my mind, from the point of view of the "user" (i.e. the farmer), that can be seen as somewhat monopolistic. I tried to find similarities between this situation and that of Apple not letting users tamper with their hardware, but it could be argued that…

> but it could be argued that the latter makes a bit more sense given that most of their customers, statistically speaking, are not necessarily tech enthusiasts And I'm not a car enthusiast, yet I can take my car to any mechanic I choose - I don't need the manufacturer's permission.

Right, I cannot really argue with that. I wasn't mentioning Apple as an example of a good role model here, just to be clear.

Re: Nebraska farmers vote overwhelmingly for Right to Repair

#19

Post by belorn » Mon, Dec 16, 2019, 7:35 PM UTC

korabas wrote: post #8

Honest question: what would be the rationale to prevent farmers from repairing their machinery themselves instead of through the manufacturer (in this case, Deere)? To my mind, from the point of view of the "user" (i.e. the farmer), that can be seen as somewhat monopolistic. I tried to find similarities between this situation and that of Apple not letting users tamper with their hardware, but it could be argued that…

Having certified repair stations allow you to extract money on certification, be sure that all parts are original and sold in a controlled market.

Re: Nebraska farmers vote overwhelmingly for Right to Repair

#20

Post by eastof » Mon, Dec 16, 2019, 7:36 PM UTC

ISL wrote: post #14

Right to repair is increasingly hitting people outside of agrarian/industrial contexts. This month, Google shipped the last update for my Pixel phone. The hardware is functional and in great shape, but I don't think there are any truly viable ways for me to keep it secure. I have a tablet that long-ago met the same fate. This is in the same world where I can 'apt-get update' my seven-year old desktop and work with ap…

You can get really good support from Lineage OS for years to come. Been running it on all my android devices for years. The flagship models like Pixel usually have the best ongoing support.