331–340 of 396 posts
If companies continues adding more subscription options in more models it will make some aftermarket electronic modules, or simply jailbreak hacks, to bypass those locks. It happened already in the Tesla, and I don't think it will stop here.
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BMW did the same when they charged $80/year for Apple CarPlay for their 2019 models. They stopped shortly after.
They had stopped this before 2019.
https://www.caranddriver.com/news/a30139034/bmw-apple-carpla...
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Neither this article nor my personal experience with Tesla support your claim. > Tesla owners reported more problems with their exterior and interior than with other systems like propulsion, battery or infotainment and navigation. Tesla issues aren't about maintenance, they are mostly about quality control. Maintenance on Tesla is simple: air filters, brakes, tires, air conditioning. https://www.tesla.com/support/car…
> Maintenance on Tesla is simple: air filters, brakes, tires, air conditioning. Maintenance on a new ICE car is exactly the same, plus an oil change every couple of years.
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> Maintenance on Tesla is simple: air filters, brakes, tires, air conditioning. Maintenance on a new ICE car is exactly the same, plus an oil change every couple of years.
There is a lot more: timing belt replacement, water pump replacement, oil change, oil filter, radiator, spark plugs, drive belts, ...
Seems a small step after Tesla’s $2000-$3000 “acceleration boost” software update that came out in December of 2019. https://electriccarpledge.com/tesla-acceleration-boost/
We are rapidly moving towards Feudalism. If someone can charge you for using things you already bought and 'own', then average man has no property rights. The fee could be increased at any time, or new fees could be introduced. As the housing crysis deepens, average person will never own a home either. So average person will be in the same position as a medieval serf, conpletely dependand on the whims of the lord, pr…
> We are rapidly moving towards Feudalism. I hate when people say that. This has literally nothing to do with the historic institution of feudalism. Its is the opposite of actually educating people on actual feudalism. Its just using historical terms that people call not to be 'bad' so you don't actually have to explain the problem. We are literally talking about people who can buy a BMW. Did BMW promise them heated…
the problem is you don't see the big picture: all modern tractors are internet connected and farmers are not allowed to repair them.
all TVs are smart, you cant't buy a new 'dumb' TV. Philips recently added adslvertisements to TVs people bought years ago.
This isn't some niche thing that won't affect you, this is a paradigme shift like we haven't seen in a century.
if you rent an apartment in 2050, it will come with a smart oven, frisge and toilet. The oven will be brans-locked to wallmart and if you buy food somewhere else it will refuse to turn on with the warning "unauthorised substance detected"
Good news is that all bmw's come with all the options just turned off via software.. So be smart guys, this is called hacker news for a reason... Just buy bare metal bmw and turn all luxury options on... (and BMW is traditionally very dumb on security)...
Hackers are rejoicing at this subscription movement because now they can get a fully loaded BMW for the price of a base model.
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It is mind blowing that this is something people are willing to accept. The feature is there, the ecological damage is done already by including those extra resources, and you've paid for the vehicle but don't actually own its capabilities.
+ Seat heaters are heavy. You drive them around all year long, they will show up on your fuel bill one way or another.
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This is something that bothers me as well, implementation decisions are what drives this a lot. I have a nest thermostat and it seems like the app decides to log me out randomly every once in a while and I have to go through the whole login/2fa process, sometimes in the middle of the night when trying to adjust the temp! There is no need for internet connected thermostat most of the time, I would much prefer Bluetoot…
Why have such a thing ad why tolerate it - I mean get rid of it or tell whoever owns it now to fix it. What is the value of these things?
I can see why a car manufacturer would not want to make two versions of each car, one with heated seats and one without. Instead, build it into all of them, and only activate and charge those that actually need it. Also, the subscription is an option. You can also pay the full price for the feature. Where I live, I could see using this once or two months a year. Whereas some would need it more and they might just buy…
Well just include it in the price for everyone, duhh. It's just executives trying to squeeze every penny out of their customers. Next thing they'll try is making things subscriptions that ought to be always included. I understand the logic, once you sell one subscription it's easier to upsell more but it's heinous and I hope they'll be ridiculed for this years to come.
Heated seats are unimportant in the scale of things, but this is also how capitalism approaches something you literally have no option to do without like health care.
Also since this is _Hacker_ news, it should probably be mentioned that a MIG welder could probably be used to put whatever seats you like into an old used BMW. Buy the body and powertrain that you want, cheaply, do your own maintenance, then fit the aftermarket bells and whistles yourself to make it comfortable.