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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

#341

Post by userbinator »

johncessna wrote: post #33
dhimes wrote: post #4

If Nordic is being honest that the issue is safety- preventing users from diddling with their software and accidentally making it unsafe, then they can simply install a browser so the users can view what they wish online.

No they aren't being honest. Almost anything can be used in an unsafe manner if the desire to do so is there. Fundamentally you have a belt whipping around on two rollers at speeds upwards of 10 mph. It's an unsafe, if used improperly, machine to begin with. The safety argument isn't so much an argument as it is a trigger word to elicit a response in people.

Unfortunately for them, the response it elicits from me (and likely an increasing number of others) is the classic Franklin quote. The more companies try to squeeze their users, the more the users are likely to wake up to their BS.

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

#342

Post by ttty »

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…

I have an LG TV for 2 years and it never showed any ads. Everything works great so far. Where do you see ads

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

#343

Post by MiddleEndian »

waffle_maniac wrote: post #234
asdff wrote: post #129

Earlier quoted context omitted.

In reality printers are such small potatoes unless you are printing like hundreds of pages a year. I got mine from an online listing for free, and I spend maybe $30 on ink once a year. It mostly exists to print shipping labels. I'd just get a printer for as cheap as possible and not worry too much about what kind it is if you are going to only use it sparingly.

Printer head cleaning can burn through quite a bit of ink if the printer hasn’t been used in a while. And sometimes my parents go long stretches without using the printer.

The real question is, do you (or your family members) really need a home printer at all? I just go to a print shop when I need to print something out a few times a year.

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

#344

Post by fragmede »

mastazi wrote: post #210
fragmede wrote: post #160

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> 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.

> why is that undesirable for you? Why is it undesirable having to go find my phone? Because I'm relaxing on the couch I guess?

Fascinating. For better or worse, my phone's basically glued to me, so casting and using my phone keyboard is preferable vs an on-screen keyboard.

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

#345

Post by Gigachad »

dghlsakjg wrote: post #339
Gigachad wrote: post #257

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Take a look at the games from that era and the games you get right now. Sure, more has changed than just being able to update things, but the ability to fix issues later and continually update games has lead to much much better games with way more content. And you can always chose to wait a year for everything to settle.

I actually think that may not always be for the best. Games are released in beta, and qa takes place in the months and years after release, if ever. Updates can be issued, but it increasingly means that things are released in a state where updates NEED to be issued

I don't find this to be much of an issue because rarely is this ever a shock or surprise to the semi educated consumer. The game comes out and you see 100 people complain on reddit that it's buggy, so you just don't buy it until its resolved. Steam also has a pretty no fuss refund system for the cases you didn't see anything beforehand.

What seems to happen is people want the game as soon as possible but also complain when it isn't perfect on release but overall they enjoy playing it sooner more than they are bothered by its lack of polish.

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

#346

Post by smabie »

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.

This basically means that everything that has software updates can be returned forever.

Like most of things in life, the answer is very rarely a new myopic and ill-conceived law added to the thick stack of existing incomprehensible legislation.

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

#347

Post by fragmede »

konschubert wrote: post #107
EvanAnderson wrote: post #97

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The "solution" for that will be embedded 5G connections.

That would work equally well with LTE. It's not happening because it would increase cost.

Maybe not on optional treadmills, but that's already here for CPAP machines that insurance pays for - they log data to an SD card in case you don't have reception, but it also has an LTE modem to upload it so the insurance company can check up on you and make sure you're using that machine, or else charge you more money for it.

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

#348

Post by tomjen3 »

seanp2k2 wrote: post #144
throwhauser wrote: post #91

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> ipad on a music stand Thanks for the idea. I might get some kind of tablet so I can watch things without moving my (cheap) stationary bike in front of the living room TV.

If you want a really nice version of this, companies like Heckler Design, Manfrotto, Triad Orbit, and König & Meyer make excellent stands with tons of adapters for lights, cameras, mics, speakers, phones, ipads... My current WFH setup includes a Manfrotto 244N magic arm attached with a RAM mount to a Rokform RAM ball that very securely attaches to my Rokform iPhone case. It's clamped to my desk with a Manfrotto 035 S…

>My current WFH setup includes a Manfrotto 244N magic arm attached with a RAM mount to a Rokform RAM ball that very securely attaches to my Rokform iPhone case. It's clamped to my desk with a Manfrotto 035 SuperClamp. The RAM adapter is P/N RAP-B-366U and the double swivel on the RAM side is a RAP-B-201U . The Rokform part is "Universal Ball Adapter Phone Mount" SKU: 337101

No offense, but that sounds insanely complicated for putting an iPad on a stand in front of a threadmill. If it was me I wouldn't even want to know what a RAM adaptor is, I would just want to buy a tripod with a clamp for an iPad.

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

#349

Post by smabie »

cwkoss wrote: post #220

It should be illegal to remove features from a hardware product with a software 'update' without offering all pre-existing customers to return the hardware if they affirm the removed (or newly pay-gated) feature was a factor in making their purchase. Customers currently have zero recourse, because they are paying for the hardware, but the software allows the hardware functionality to be changed or removed at whim wit…

I feel like so many things are already illegal, do we really need more illegal stuff?

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

#350

Post by charles_f »

EvanAnderson wrote: post #97
ncann wrote: post #94

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Normally you can block any device's update if you figure out the server for the update content/update check, and block it out from your router and/or DNS.

The "solution" for that will be embedded 5G connections.

First covid then gym equipment, 5G is the worst
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