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Locked out of 'God Mode', runners are hacking their treadmills

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Re: Locked out of 'God Mode', runners are hacking their treadmills

#151

Post by pc86 »

seanp2k2 wrote: post #127
mst wrote: post #98

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> It's only a matter of time before Nordic decides to block this method as well. Maaaybe. The public statement from them sounds like it was legal whining about liability issues, and if that's actually true (which, well) then if it has to be sufficiently intentional on your part that may be sufficient for them to leave well alone. Certainly worth preparing for that not being the case though.

IANAL, but are there any actual cases where someone or a class successfully sued a company for using their product off-label in such a way? This kind of stuff seems to me like how schools no longer permit students to go out for lunch, citing liability that they almost assuredly never had in the first place.

I can at least see the argument that tapping the screen a couple times in a certain pattern might not be sufficient, but having to generate a code is. I think it's a ridiculous argument, but I wouldn't be even remotely shocked that some octogenarian judge who doesn't own a cell phone is convinced by it.

Re: Locked out of 'God Mode', runners are hacking their treadmills

#152

Post by fknorangesite »

Retr0id wrote: post #130
seanp2k2 wrote: post #114

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The remedy for that will be wrapping the internal antenna in foil or cell tower emulation.

The remedy for that will be requiring a network handshake to occur on boot.

And when wintertime rolls around, the gorillas simply freeze to death.

Re: Locked out of 'God Mode', runners are hacking their treadmills

#153

Post by pjerem »

enriquto wrote: post #64
horsawlarway wrote: post #55

Earlier quoted context omitted.

My take is not nearly as strong as the fsf's. I'm fine not being provided with source code, and not being able to distribute the original code itself. Basically - I don't expect to have companies hand me code they wrote to run the device (I happen to like it, so I tend to support companies that do), but I don't believe that's a reasonable (or particularly useful) practice when so many functions depend on external web…

> My take is not nearly as strong as the fsf's. Your take is much stronger than that of the FSF. The FSF advocates for people to choose free software, and for governments to not force people to use non-free software. You say that non-free software (i.e., software for which you don't have the key) should be illegal. The FSF has never advocated for such an extreme viewpoint.

No he didn’t said that. He said that he wanted the keys blocking him to run its own software, not that he wanted the code of the running software.

Much like you don’t need Windows source code to install Linux, but you need to be provided the UEFI password if there is one.

Re: Locked out of 'God Mode', runners are hacking their treadmills

#154

Post by npteljes »

svnpenn wrote: post #44
gorjusborg wrote: post #17

This type of 'update' is one reason I tend to stay away from so-called 'smart' devices. If part of the product I've paid for is software, and the company can update it without customer consent at any time, then I can't rely on the product's features. Period. I experienced this myself on the PS4 version of Terraria. I bought a hard-copy of the game. I mastered the controls, and loved them. Terraria was updated one day…

This is why I disable updates for every piece of software that I use. People criticize this often, but it puts me in control. I can then review updates when I feel like it, and update as I see fit.

Linux and LineageOS are godsends in this regard too. I even like to maintain, update my things from time to time, but not always, and definitely not when Mr. Windows thinks it's the best thing to do right before my gaming time. Last time the stupid thing made me miss the time by half an hour, when all of my friends were waiting for me. I'm still salty about that.

Re: Locked out of 'God Mode', runners are hacking their treadmills

#155

Post by Dylan16807 »

Retr0id wrote: post #130
seanp2k2 wrote: post #114

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The remedy for that will be wrapping the internal antenna in foil or cell tower emulation.

The remedy for that will be requiring a network handshake to occur on boot.

At that point it should be easy to return, at least.

Re: Locked out of 'God Mode', runners are hacking their treadmills

#156

Post by A4ET8a8uTh0 »

remram wrote: post #108

"God Mode" make it seem like such an unreasonable request. How about "Owner Mode"?

This. It is weird to read basic administrator mode referred to as something beyond mere man's understanding, but it does feed into this narrative that an average human should not try mess with the magic box.

Re: Locked out of 'God Mode', runners are hacking their treadmills

#157

Post by pjerem »

judge2020 wrote: post #37
horsawlarway wrote: post #15

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I've been thinking about this for a while, and my proposal is pretty simple: --- Legally - prohibit selling physical goods that contain digital locks unless the owner is given a key. Period. --- That's all you have to do. If I own the device, I get the keys for the physical locks, and the keys for the digital locks. I'm completely ok with manufacturers locking down computers for security, in much the same way that I…

How do you give the owner a key without enabling an evil maid attack? a physical usb device unique to the phone that will unlock it to run whatever when it's plugged in? something deep in settings that requires you do a dance and enter the konami code?

There is a new technology that I learnt of recently. It’s called paper. It can be used to create instruction booklets or, by adding glue, it can become a sticker. We could print those keys on it.

Re: Locked out of 'God Mode', runners are hacking their treadmills

#158

Post by ljm »

gorjusborg wrote: post #17

This type of 'update' is one reason I tend to stay away from so-called 'smart' devices. If part of the product I've paid for is software, and the company can update it without customer consent at any time, then I can't rely on the product's features. Period. I experienced this myself on the PS4 version of Terraria. I bought a hard-copy of the game. I mastered the controls, and loved them. Terraria was updated one day…

The problem with 'smart' devices I think is something akin to a conflict of interest.

On the one hand you're purchasing hardware, which you expect to own and control.

On the other, there is software that runs on a subscription model which 'coincidentally' restricts the functionality of the hardware, because they want to stop people from bypassing the sub.

The hardware effectively becomes useless if the subscription service becomes unavailable or is taken down (e.g. if the company is acquired and the new company doesn't want to support that stuff any more). It might still function mechanically, but it now has a broken appendage through no fault of your own.

I just don't think I could justify a purchase like that nos unless I could square that circle. I'm not going to pay 2k for a Peloton bike that holds itself hostage unless I pay another 40 a month.

Re: Locked out of 'God Mode', runners are hacking their treadmills

#159

Post by chris_wot »

Honestly, it is getting to the point where your best bet is to buy a cheaper device with minimal features, then mount a screen onto it and hook it up to a Linux box to play what you want.

Cheaper and actually gives you what you want. Might force the vendor to allow for more customization, given a lot of people stop buying their premium range.

Re: Locked out of 'God Mode', runners are hacking their treadmills

#160

Post by fragmede »

mastazi wrote: post #74
gorjusborg wrote: post #17

This type of 'update' is one reason I tend to stay away from so-called 'smart' devices. If part of the product I've paid for is software, and the company can update it without customer consent at any time, then I can't rely on the product's features. Period. I experienced this myself on the PS4 version of Terraria. I bought a hard-copy of the game. I mastered the controls, and loved them. Terraria was updated one day…

> I tend to stay away from so-called 'smart' devices I tried several alternatives in terms of smart TV (Apple TV, Google/Android TV, Fire TV), and I could not find any platform that let me use all of the apps that I needed without resorting to casting from my phone. And in some cases there was a long process to follow in order to get the device to do what I needed[1], which involved activating developer mode, sideloa…

> without resorting to casting from my phone

I am curious, why is that undesirable for you? I'm assuming there's something more than lack of individual app support for casting.

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