281–290 of 477 posts
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…
Not great for security though…
Earlier quoted context omitted.
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…
It already is illegal to do so. Just claim damages against the TV manufacturer, likely the whole price of the TV or a comparable replacement.
If the law needs me as an individual consumer to procure my own team of lawyers to go up against a multinational every time I buy a new TV, then that law might as well not exist.
Not the first time a company has pushed an update that removes important features. To my knowledge the first high-profile instance of this was when Sony updated the PS3 to remove Linux support, which resulted in a successful class-action in the US. [0] [0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/OtherOS
I think an ideal solution could be the manufacturer officially supports accessing the "privilege mode" with some sort of "release of liability". Customer must agree to this the first time they access, forfeiting warranty and ability to sue. Much like when people decide to unlock phone bootloader and root.
And to make all manufacturers willing to provide privilege mode to their products, I think either 1) the court makes clear statement of supporting this legally, or 2) having a supreme court precedence established for this, is required, otherwise some manufacturers would still fear the potential legal risk.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
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…
Then get it from *ahem* elsewhere, you've paid for access to that content in that quality, if they can't provide that… Maybe if enough do that they'll fix the problem, so they can start tracking your use of the content again when you return to consuming it their way.
On October 28, I bought the NordicTrac T-Series for $650. After installation, it had a lock screen asking me to subscribe to start using the treadmill! Can you imagine? I paid for the treadmill, and you're telling me I can't even walk on it without paying you again? So what did my $650 pay for?!? If I can't use a device's most basic function without paying an additional subscription, then can Amazon label the button…
> TO GET AROUND THIS SCAM, hold down the iFit logo on the treadmill for 30 seconds and your treadmill will work.
Admittedly, it sucks if you need to do this every time. But it's Amazon, so return?
The method to get into "God Mode" is the same, except now it prompts you for a code. Someone has figured out how to calculate it and actually created a website to generate codes for you. http://getresponsecode.com Apparently the algorithm is very simple according to Reddit https://old.reddit.com/r/nordictrack/comments/ozkp8v/privile... >long responseCode = new Random((long) Integer.parseInt(iFitCode)).nextInt(999999)…
On October 28, I bought the NordicTrac T-Series for $650. After installation, it had a lock screen asking me to subscribe to start using the treadmill! Can you imagine? I paid for the treadmill, and you're telling me I can't even walk on it without paying you again? So what did my $650 pay for?!? If I can't use a device's most basic function without paying an additional subscription, then can Amazon label the button…
The "right-to-repair" sentiment is totally understandable, as the article says. However, on the other hand, imagine some user modified the underlying Android, which caused the treadmill to run unstoppably, which end up injuring him. He then sues the company for millions of dollars. If I were the owner of the company, I would rather losing some customers than sleeping on a ticking bomb. Their move is also understandab…
What happens if, when you're upgrading your new right-to-repair laptop, you leave some wires sticking out of the battery and fry yourself, and then sue the laptop maker?
Indeed, what happens when you fry yourself repairing the ur-right-to-repair device, the light fixture with a removable lightbulb?
You can invent any scenario for any machine or device that the user can repair, but it should be fairly straightforward to add language that says "if you modify the device's behavior in such a way that it harms you, that's not our fault."