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

wired.com

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

#241

Post by phatfish »

yencabulator wrote: post #212
vorpalhex wrote: post #176

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The app doesn't need the cloud for bluetooth usage or basic wifi usage (though "out of your house" usage likely uses their relay service). You would no longer get "recipe of the week" stuff, but that is a small loss. The real danger is that eventually the app goes away due to not being maintained. Hopefully they release the API spec before then, but my specific device has already been reverse engineered at least.

The app will eventually stop working because of incompatible updates to the phone OS.

Yup, "smart" devices will require an accompanying phone of a similar age with the app already installed in case it was removed from the App/Play store -- if you want to keep using it much after 5 years.

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

#242

Post by charles_f »

jabroni_salad wrote: post #208
Tildey wrote: post #203

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You save… uhhh… one power outlet? But really, my understanding is that these fancier treadmills map incline/speed/whatever data to the video file to make it “more realistic”. I think there may even be a sort of MMO/live ghost feature? Personally I think I’d rather just have music I like and work out at a pace that’s comfortable for me, but to each their own I suppose.

I'm a zwift user and I really like it. You can designate a course and it will adjust the resistance to match the elevation changes. There is live or ghost racing (with simulated drafting, which is cool) and other neat things, but the routes and structured training is what I'm there for. My tacx trainer was only $300 or so when I bought it, which was comparable to non-bluetooth trainers. That said, I already owned a f…

Sounds like a legitimate use case yes, but if your goal is watching pluralsight while running, doesn't sound like the best choice

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

#243

Post by OneLeggedCat »

> “The block on privilege mode was automatically installed because we believe it enhances security and safety while using fitness equipment that has multiple moving parts,” says a spokesperson for NordicTrack

lol what a straight up fucking lie.

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

#244

Post by [deleted] »

anyfoo wrote: post #183

Following Wirecutter's suggestion, I got a ProForm 505 treadmill. Like Wirecutter said, it's cheap, a bit janky, but does the job adequately for a "non-pro" like me. When unpacking it and setting it up, there were multiple notices everywhere: On the packaging, as a separate note in the packaging, in the manual, on the treadmill itself. Those notes all said that the treadmill is "locked" and you need "online activatio…

[deleted]

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

#245

Post by OneLeggedCat »

dschuetz wrote: post #73

Remember Sony removing OtherOS/Linux from the PS3? Yeah? No? That's the reason I don't buy Sony hardware anymore. See, the issue is decades old. But somehow people keep forgetting.

I'm still angry about the way they handled the CD root kits, even after being called out on it.

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

#246

Post by tzs »

mcherm wrote: post #66

My solution to this problem would be legislation that allows customers, if they wish to, to return devices for a full refund if the company that manufactures the device makes a change that removes functionality that the customer valued. This doesn't prevent the company from making the change, it simply makes sure that they incur a cost for doing so, and it makes whole any customer affected by the change.

What counts as functionality?

For example suppose the UI of a treadmill has a "Last 5 workout programs used" section on the front page of the UI to allow the user to select with one tap a recent program. An update replace that with a "recents..." button which takes you to a new screen that shows the last 10 programs used.

Is no longer providing one tap access to the most recent 5 programs removal of functionality? Or is the feature just that it has a way to recall recent programs so as long as there still is a way to do that, even if more convoluted, it does not count as a feature removal?

How about functionality that was not in the device when it was purchased but was added by an update? If the law does apply to that, then in effect the manufacturer will be locked into only ever adding functionality. After a few updates the UI is probably going to be a total mess.

If the law only applies to features present at purchase, then manufactures will just ship bare bones devices that only implement what is necessary to make the claims on the box and in their advertisements not false. Then the first update will add a ton of stuff to make it more than bare bones.

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

#247

Post by pryelluw »

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…

Can’t imagine buying a spoon that will only work with Campbell’s soul.

Of course, some tech bro will say that their spoon2.0 is specially engineered for the best soup flavor …

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

#249

Post by tharkun__ »

brokenmachine wrote: post #194
mensetmanusman wrote: post #175

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Government should mandate the ability to downgrade the software to versions that were previously available on said hardware. I’ve had so many issues with Apple devices losing compatibility with obscure features on apps after updating iOS, I wish I could go back occasionally to accomplish some task, and then upgrade again when finished. The flexibility is valuable. For example, on the newest iPad Pro, iMovie is unusab…

Definitely. TV updates are another thing. They change things with abandon and you can't revoke the updates. Sometimes they break stuff and then you have to pray and wait until they hopefully fix them at their leisure. IMO, it should be illegal to issue unrevokable updates so you can't get a product to have identical features as it did at the time of purchase. You should always be able to wipe it back to stock. Same w…

That's exactly why I personally try to stay away from as many of these things/devices as I can reasonably do.

TV: just don't buy an actual TV. Buy a monitor and hook it up to a Linux box with something like Kodi. You can hook up your cable box if you have that or stream from Netflix and such. Sure, even Netflix makes it hard as you can't get 5.1 surround but I'll take that and 2.0 -> 5.1 upmix over buying a Smart TV any day!

Games: Kerbal Space program sounds fun. Lots of mentions on HN. Apparently after some company bought them up changes of this sort have been made. So I decided against getting it even though I would probably very much enjoy playing it. Don't buy games like that. Buy games like Factorio or some GoG stuff (the ones that actually do work on your current Windows OS if that's what you use ... ;)) and do not buy into the GoG Galaxy thing. Get the installers. Otherwise that's like falling for Steam or Xbox Live or whatever the "Windows Live" BS is called nowadays.

Tablets and Phones: Use them for what they're good for: Making phone calls and browsing the web on the go. Apps are a curse, I avoid installing them as much as possible. Some exceptions prove the rule, like a free GPS tracker app for hiking created by a single guy. UI looks like it's out of the 90s but works for my use case. Found it because the other app I used started requiring a login even for the free part of the app. I refuse to bow to such things.

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

#250

Post by rurp »

brokenmachine wrote: post #194
mensetmanusman wrote: post #175

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Government should mandate the ability to downgrade the software to versions that were previously available on said hardware. I’ve had so many issues with Apple devices losing compatibility with obscure features on apps after updating iOS, I wish I could go back occasionally to accomplish some task, and then upgrade again when finished. The flexibility is valuable. For example, on the newest iPad Pro, iMovie is unusab…

Definitely. TV updates are another thing. They change things with abandon and you can't revoke the updates. Sometimes they break stuff and then you have to pray and wait until they hopefully fix them at their leisure. IMO, it should be illegal to issue unrevokable updates so you can't get a product to have identical features as it did at the time of purchase. You should always be able to wipe it back to stock. Same w…

> my device, my rules

Exactly. Companies that actually care about security don't bundle those updates with major breaking UX changes.

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