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Autoenshittification

pluralistic.net

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Re: Autoenshittification

#11

Post by Gigachad »

metadat wrote: post #3

The author nails so many points, it's a bit overwhelming. The war on general computing seems to be the common underlying culprit, but how can this exploit ever be mitigated? The average person just wants "iPhone", and the subject of purchased hardware not serving them is even something they are interested in discussing or bothering trying to understand. Computers are sneaky because what a computer is really up to can…

The average person wants a secure device that just works. It’s very easy to maintain an iPhone that doesn’t have malware that can steal your banking auth token. It’s borderline impossible to do this on Windows. Since basically anything you run has full permission to read anything.

You can run a game on iOS and know for sure your other apps are safe. Do the same on windows and it installs a kernel module to monitor everything to make sure you aren’t cheating.

Re: Autoenshittification

#12

Post by darkclouds »

dreday wrote: post #10
darkclouds wrote: post #7

TL;DR, the App store has evolved from your computer and smart phone, onto your car, and some people miss fiddling with their knobs. Google is rolling out tech to websits to stop people using web blockers, but this might just create a new type of dark web. And technofuedalism is killing capitalism and democracy, so now might be the time to learn to program or design circuitboards for the masses.

Aka snafu

When thinking about how people are missing the knobs in cars, I'm left wondering if focus groups and market research is still relevant in todays world or maybe the market research groups misunderstood what the consumer meant when they heard people say, they wanted to get rid of "nobs in cars"?

Volvo and Saab went to great efforts in the 80's to ensure the controls on their cars were suitable, so volvo had buttons that were big enough and tactile enough for people wearing winter gloves so that a gloved finger didnt accidentally push a neighbouring button and they werent left with any doubt about the button being on or off.

Couldnt do that today with some cars, which is perhaps why UK police are fining people for wearing big winter coats and clothing in their cars, the police feel the car heating systems are better than someone's home so they dont need to be dressed for a hike through a winter snow scene when driving to the shops.

Re: Autoenshittification

#13

Post by hju22_-3 »

metadat wrote: post #5
hju22_-3 wrote: post #4

Man, at this point, I just want a shitty old car that I can fix everything myself without tons of computer stuff in them. But there's always the issue of parts availability. Anyone know of a dumb(ish) car that is user repairable with decently easy to find replacement parts?

Toyotas and Subarus circa 2003-2007 and tend to be pretty dumb and easy to repair compared to the cars being produced today. But they're getting old, and safety systems in newer cars have come a long ways. Even I am considering picking up a Rivian or Bolt to get access to better safety systems.

Yeah, that is a significant problem. Wear and tear on the main chassis (is that what it's called?) of the car also isn't making it much safer as time goes on.

Though, I suppose there's also fuel efficiency to consider as well.

Thanks for the reply, I appreciate it.

Re: Autoenshittification

#14

Post by hju22_-3 »

m463 wrote: post #8
hju22_-3 wrote: post #4

Man, at this point, I just want a shitty old car that I can fix everything myself without tons of computer stuff in them. But there's always the issue of parts availability. Anyone know of a dumb(ish) car that is user repairable with decently easy to find replacement parts?

I hope there is the EV equivalent of that idea. And EVs might have less maintenance (although things still break). I wouldn't mind having a rooted tesla.

That would be nice yeah, but considering how complex they are, I feel they'd need to be built from common parts and a user-configurable operating system or something. But I doubt that'll happen. The closest thing I've seen is JerryRigEverything's EV Humvee project: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PL0vZL9uwyfOFezIOiBjkdW3TT...

Re: Autoenshittification

#15

Post by javipas »

metadat wrote: post #3

The author nails so many points, it's a bit overwhelming. The war on general computing seems to be the common underlying culprit, but how can this exploit ever be mitigated? The average person just wants "iPhone", and the subject of purchased hardware not serving them is even something they are interested in discussing or bothering trying to understand. Computers are sneaky because what a computer is really up to can…

Indeed. The author is the brilliant Cory Doctorow. He usually overwhelms.

Re: Autoenshittification

#16

Post by FooBarBizBazz »

hju22_-3 wrote: post #13
metadat wrote: post #5

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Toyotas and Subarus circa 2003-2007 and tend to be pretty dumb and easy to repair compared to the cars being produced today. But they're getting old, and safety systems in newer cars have come a long ways. Even I am considering picking up a Rivian or Bolt to get access to better safety systems.

Yeah, that is a significant problem. Wear and tear on the main chassis (is that what it's called?) of the car also isn't making it much safer as time goes on. Though, I suppose there's also fuel efficiency to consider as well. Thanks for the reply, I appreciate it.

> also fuel efficiency to consider as well.

90s cars are just as efficient as new ones (neglecting hybrids). They have port-injected engines that run hot, lean, and efficient. They don't suffer from carbon buildup. They don't make nanoparticulate soot. But they do make more NOx, and NOx is what emissions regulations measure.

90s cars are also lighter, which again contributes to efficiency. Since then, cars have become heavier and gotten bigger blindspots in response to crash testing and the existence of SUVs.

In fact, merely talking about fuel economy, in a society that now mostly drives SUVs and oversized pickups, has become an absurd thing. We end up fretting about marginal issues while the primary trends thunder towards oblivion.

Re: Autoenshittification

#17

Post by freedude »

hju22_-3 wrote: post #4

Man, at this point, I just want a shitty old car that I can fix everything myself without tons of computer stuff in them. But there's always the issue of parts availability. Anyone know of a dumb(ish) car that is user repairable with decently easy to find replacement parts?

Most Chevys from the 60's.

Go to a car show and talk to those that remanufacture cars.

Re: Autoenshittification

#18

Post by Nextgrid »

metadat wrote: post #3

The author nails so many points, it's a bit overwhelming. The war on general computing seems to be the common underlying culprit, but how can this exploit ever be mitigated? The average person just wants "iPhone", and the subject of purchased hardware not serving them is even something they are interested in discussing or bothering trying to understand. Computers are sneaky because what a computer is really up to can…

Actually enforced regulation. GDPR, right to repair, stricter laws around advertising, forced interoperability, enforcement of existing laws against malware/spyware.

Re: Autoenshittification

#19

Post by jeffreygoesto »

hju22_-3 wrote: post #4

Man, at this point, I just want a shitty old car that I can fix everything myself without tons of computer stuff in them. But there's always the issue of parts availability. Anyone know of a dumb(ish) car that is user repairable with decently easy to find replacement parts?

Triumph Spitfire

Re: Autoenshittification

#20

Post by aleph_minus_one »

Gigachad wrote: post #11
metadat wrote: post #3

The author nails so many points, it's a bit overwhelming. The war on general computing seems to be the common underlying culprit, but how can this exploit ever be mitigated? The average person just wants "iPhone", and the subject of purchased hardware not serving them is even something they are interested in discussing or bothering trying to understand. Computers are sneaky because what a computer is really up to can…

The average person wants a secure device that just works. It’s very easy to maintain an iPhone that doesn’t have malware that can steal your banking auth token. It’s borderline impossible to do this on Windows. Since basically anything you run has full permission to read anything. You can run a game on iOS and know for sure your other apps are safe. Do the same on windows and it installs a kernel module to monitor ev…

> You can run a game on iOS and know for sure your other apps are safe. Do the same on windows and it installs a kernel module to monitor everything to make sure you aren’t cheating.

I agree that Windows needs a better system for the user to restrict the permissions of an application. On the other hand: many AAA video games are known to use such a practice, and in such a situation, the typical gamer would rather allow the installation of such a kernel module instead of boycotting the game, as would be much more rational.

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