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Vacuum bricked after user blocks data collection – user mods it to run anyway

tomshardware.com

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Re: Vacuum bricked after user blocks data collection – user mods it to run anyway

#131

Post by LeafItAlone »

0xffff2 wrote: post #67
blueboo wrote: post #64

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Can't you trivially reframe the initial purchase as being subsidized by that license? Your $200 smart knife sharpener would be $300 if it weren't recording audio 24/7 (for VAD, surely!) I don't like it either but here we are

Sure, that's basically how Kindle pricing works ($X with ads, or $X+$Y without ads) and it's infinitely better having the choice. If Amazon ever gets rid of the without ad version they will lose me as a customer overnight. Likewise, there are a whole lot of products that don't have an "unsubsidized" version that I simply refuse to purchase (or have purchased and returned after confirming that they will not work when…

Does it actually make a difference? I have an old Kindle (from 2013 I think) and I opted for the ad version. I only see ads on the lock screen, which means I never really read the ads. The few times I’ve looked at them intentionally, they were books I’d never consider reading, just from the title and cover; in other words, a terrible ad for the recipient.

Does the ad-free version not collect your data too?

Re: Vacuum bricked after user blocks data collection – user mods it to run anyway

#132

Post by philistine »

blueboo wrote: post #64
ethin wrote: post #62

IMO a company should lose all control over technology once you've purchased it. Doesn't matter if it's "smart" or not. If the company wants to do something like telemetry, they can buy a license from you for that data. See how they like it when the tables are flipped.

Can't you trivially reframe the initial purchase as being subsidized by that license? Your $200 smart knife sharpener would be $300 if it weren't recording audio 24/7 (for VAD, surely!) I don't like it either but here we are

That has been the way things work since the early 2000s. PCs started to come loaded with junk malware, and what those malware makers were willing to pay was the only profit the PC makers were making. Modern smart TVs are exactly at the same place; everybody is adamant that the only profit in TVs is with the sale of the usage data.

Re: Vacuum bricked after user blocks data collection – user mods it to run anyway

#133

Post by StarGrit »

toomanyrichies wrote: post #124
StarGrit wrote: post #90

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Cats aren't that bothered by vacuum cleaners unless you come at them with it and they normally just run into another room. Never seen a dog that bothered by them.

Oh, well if you’ve never seen one…

The point being made is that some people like to make much a do about nothing. Just put the dog or cat temporarily in the other room, outside and the problem is solved.

Re: Vacuum bricked after user blocks data collection – user mods it to run anyway

#134

Post by sidewndr46 »

kdmtctl wrote: post #128
sidewndr46 wrote: post #125

Earlier quoted context omitted.

How does that work? What if the company licenses technology from company A to build product B, but the license is only good for 2 years? What happens 2 years after you buy product B? Also doesn't Apple, Google, & other remove features from people's smartphones after release all the time in the EU?

This is not legal to sell a finished product which has a license time bomb, I suppose. Google and Apple can change the future set but they do not brick the device which was discussed and it works as advertised at the moment of purchase.

What is the "future set" ?

Re: Vacuum bricked after user blocks data collection – user mods it to run anyway

#135

Post by kdmtctl »

sidewndr46 wrote: post #134
kdmtctl wrote: post #128

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This is not legal to sell a finished product which has a license time bomb, I suppose. Google and Apple can change the future set but they do not brick the device which was discussed and it works as advertised at the moment of purchase.

What is the "future set" ?

Typo. "Feature set", referring to your comment. Functions of software. Quoted below, source is widely available.

“The notion of goods with digital elements should refer to goods that incorporate or are inter-connected with digital content or a digital service in such a way that the absence of that digital content or digital service would prevent the goods from performing their functions.” — Recital 14, Directive (EU) 2019/771.

Re: Vacuum bricked after user blocks data collection – user mods it to run anyway

#136

Post by Mashimo »

StarGrit wrote: post #87
Mashimo wrote: post #80

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> I don't really see the point. You save the 20 minutes once a week. That's it. That is the whole point. A slight convenience. I use one in a 1 bedroom apartment.

Considering some of these things can cost almost £1000. This firmly then lives in the total waste of money pile then. I will stick with my £50 tesco vacuum thank you.

I bought mine about 6 years ago for 200 EUR then. Still works. Had to switch the battery once.

Re: Vacuum bricked after user blocks data collection – user mods it to run anyway

#137

Post by Mashimo »

StarGrit wrote: post #104
fukka42 wrote: post #102

Earlier quoted context omitted.

So could you. You're already using one labour saving device, why not another?

Because it is relatively expensive, totally unnecessary and decadent and probably doesn't do a particularly good job (as people have admitted in their replies to me). Additionally much like people ubering a McDonalds when the drive through is less than a 2 minute drive away. It actually causes additional headaches (food is more likely to come col and/or incorrect) and complications that don't exist with simply just s…

> probably doesn't do a particularly good job

It's not the same as a full vacuum run. But it's god as what they are designed to do. Clean a bit every single day.

All the crumbs that fall down in the kitchen over a day, don't get chance to get stamped into the floor. Noticeable less dust buildup on top of counters. I come home and it's done. Mental load removed.

It's neat. And you can get them from 80 EUR. Even if they only last 5 years, that's 16 EUR per year, but saves you maybe 8h per year. Maybe it's because I live in a relative rich country, but here that is not decadent. People buy cars for 50 000 EUR :3

Re: Vacuum bricked after user blocks data collection – user mods it to run anyway

#138

Post by StarGrit »

Mashimo wrote: post #137
StarGrit wrote: post #104

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Because it is relatively expensive, totally unnecessary and decadent and probably doesn't do a particularly good job (as people have admitted in their replies to me). Additionally much like people ubering a McDonalds when the drive through is less than a 2 minute drive away. It actually causes additional headaches (food is more likely to come col and/or incorrect) and complications that don't exist with simply just s…

> probably doesn't do a particularly good job It's not the same as a full vacuum run. But it's god as what they are designed to do. Clean a bit every single day. All the crumbs that fall down in the kitchen over a day, don't get chance to get stamped into the floor. Noticeable less dust buildup on top of counters. I come home and it's done. Mental load removed. It's neat. And you can get them from 80 EUR. Even if the…

If getting a small vacuum out quickly is a big mental load, I dunno what to say to that. It all seems like it isn't necessary.

It is like having a smart fridge or something that produce ice-cubes for me and loads of other stupid kitchen gadgets. I didn't feel the need to have a robot vacuum cleaner in the past and I don't feel the need to have one now. Especially with all the iffy spying stuff that it might be doing.

Also any of these things that is less than 100 euros is likely to be crap. I just got rid of a lot of old electronics tat.

Re: Vacuum bricked after user blocks data collection – user mods it to run anyway

#139

Post by Mashimo »

StarGrit wrote: post #138
Mashimo wrote: post #137

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> probably doesn't do a particularly good job It's not the same as a full vacuum run. But it's god as what they are designed to do. Clean a bit every single day. All the crumbs that fall down in the kitchen over a day, don't get chance to get stamped into the floor. Noticeable less dust buildup on top of counters. I come home and it's done. Mental load removed. It's neat. And you can get them from 80 EUR. Even if the…

If getting a small vacuum out quickly is a big mental load, I dunno what to say to that. It all seems like it isn't necessary. It is like having a smart fridge or something that produce ice-cubes for me and loads of other stupid kitchen gadgets. I didn't feel the need to have a robot vacuum cleaner in the past and I don't feel the need to have one now. Especially with all the iffy spying stuff that it might be doing.…

The cheaper ones are great, because they don't connect to an app or wifi. Mine just has a remote with a timer. Like I wrote you, mine has been going for 6 or 7 years.

I'm not trying to convince you to buy one, I'm trying to explain why you have one. Because YOU said that you don't understand it. I'm trying to explain my needs. No need to shame me.

Of all the household items i have, the robot vacuum I would certainly buy again.

Re: Vacuum bricked after user blocks data collection – user mods it to run anyway

#140

Post by kjkjadksj »

dylan604 wrote: post #20

"From there, he built a Raspberry Pi joystick to manually drive the vacuum, proving that there was nothing wrong with the hardware." He should make these and sell them. It would be worth it to just drive it in "discovery" mode and give it the exact path to follow while cleaning. The constant inability to learn the floor plan is beyond annoying.

This is why lidar based robot vacuums are superior over random walk vacuums.
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