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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

#451

Post by LdSGSgvupDV »

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…

Even if it is software, I don't want automatically updating. The problem introduced by automatically updating is higher than the problem they fixed in my experience.

For example, windows updating. There was an updating when professor gave the talk in class. Windows updating popped out. There is no way for professor to stop the updating. He missed the chance and windows already went into blue updating screen. So, We had a break, and professor went to his office to find another computer.

Another problem is that automatically updating almost always runs silently. When I played online game and the game went laggy, I always tabbed out to see what happened with resource monitor. It is easy to find out there is whatever updating using CPU or bandwidth.

I feel updating just like legally raping my device. Oh. It is OUR device.

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

#452

Post by m1gu3l »

LdSGSgvupDV wrote: post #451
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…

Even if it is software, I don't want automatically updating. The problem introduced by automatically updating is higher than the problem they fixed in my experience. For example, windows updating. There was an updating when professor gave the talk in class. Windows updating popped out. There is no way for professor to stop the updating. He missed the chance and windows already went into blue updating screen. So, We h…

Frustrating for sure… but equating this to rape induces eye rolling.

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

#453

Post by m1gu3l »

tharkun__ wrote: post #249
brokenmachine wrote: post #194

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…

You missed the step where you hit the internet to spread that sweet smug sanctimony.

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

#454

Post by washadjeffmad »

spiderice wrote: post #284
MaxBarraclough wrote: post #27

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 feel like that was actually a fairly legitimate removal by Sony. Sony was selling the consoles at a loss in order to make money on the games. People were taking advantage by buying cheap Linux computers, never allowing Sony to recoup money from the initial sale. I don't have much sympathy for the people abusing the system in this particular case. Probably an unpopular opinion around here.

"OtherOS" was added to evade game console tariffs by claiming the PS3 as a computer, a similar tactic to the one used to attempt to classify the PS2 as a "digital processing unit" to avoid EU import duty.

Sony's removal of OtherOS wasn't just deceptive and an abuse of customers' trust, it was conspiracy to commit customs and tax fraud.

Also, while I bought my PS3 to learn parallel programming, I found that it wasn't that great for it. The CBE was really unintuitive, there was only framebuffer access to the GPU-RSX chipset, and with just 256MB RAM, $600 would have been better put towards a dual core CPU and any discrete GPU if you wanted a functional Linux computer.

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

#455

Post by brokenmachine »

amelius wrote: post #370
brokenmachine wrote: post #317

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I was exaggerating a bit for effect. I consider my time for a day off work, travel to court, preparation, irritation, etc more than the value of the TV, and they probably wouldn't pay me damages for those things. The point is that I shouldn't have to do that as an individual for every purchase. We need a blanket rule that they can't remotely modify purchased items in a way that cannot be rolled-back by the consumer t…

Just buy the company-tethered stuff and return it. It's your right as a consumer, and one of the few ways to take action and make it hurt.

I can't just automatically return stuff.

I'm in Australia. Although we're covered by what I consider to be pretty good consumer guarantees, you can still only demand a refund in the case of a "major problem" with the product.

I don't think simply being unhappy with it connecting outside would qualify, although IMO it should.

https://www.consumer.vic.gov.au/products-and-services/refund...

What are the rules on returning stuff where you are?

Can you just buy a TV, use it for 6 months, and return it no questions asked?

If so, it sounds ripe for abuse, and surprisingly lenient especially if it's the US where I thought there were much less consumer guarantees.

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

#456

Post by dotancohen »

NeuNeurosis wrote: post #429
dotancohen wrote: post #384

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Yeah, I completely agree. Vehicle manufacturers can't just come and change out the steering wheel and dashboard in your vehicle, for example. Actually, they can. There was a huge airbag recall a few years ago, affecting maybe half a dozen automobile manufacturers because they all bought their airbags from the same supplier. In at least one case, the dash had to be modified in order to fit a replacement airbag becau…

How is this relevant? The owner has to physically bring the vehicle into the dealer. The dealer can't change or replace anything while it is in my garage or driving down the street. There are physical barriers that require the owners consent beyond checking a box.

You are correct, the vehicle manufacturer cannot come and take the dash away. However, under literal threat of metal shrapnel exploding in one's face [1], I would argue that the consumer is coerced with great bodily harm to present his vehicle for service.

[1] https://www.classaction.com/takata-airbags/

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

#457

Post by des1nderlase »

newaccount74 wrote: post #404
musikele wrote: post #367

When I read these articles, where people buy 4000$ treadmills only to watch netflix using an unsupported feature, I wonder why they don't buy a 1000$ treadmill without any display, a 50$ tablet stand, and an iPad or Android tablet (that they probably already have). You'd get exactly what you want, for a cheaper price..

Because the 4000$ treadmill looks really neat: https://www.nordictrack.de/laufbander/nordictrack-x32i-incli... Apparently there's a demand for well designed hardware that runs generic software.

No, it's because, this is BS, just like expensive $5k - $10k bikes. These are "new golf" areas for mid-age men with excessive wealth to play with. Unfortunately that drives the market prices up, and hostile plays like this one for everyone.

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

#458

Post by d1sxeyes »

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 bought Elite Dangerous, played it loads, really enjoyed it. One day, they said 'we're no longer supporting MacOS'. Fine, I thought... except it turns out even their single player mode needs to be online to work, and they were disabling that as well.

No refunds, no apologies, just a game I'd paid 50 dollars for suddenly didn't work any more. Ultimately, still value for money given how many hours I'd ploughed into it before they broke it, but yeah, I think twice now about that kind of purchase.

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

#459

Post by db48x »

brokenmachine wrote: post #455
amelius wrote: post #370

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Just buy the company-tethered stuff and return it. It's your right as a consumer, and one of the few ways to take action and make it hurt.

I can't just automatically return stuff. I'm in Australia. Although we're covered by what I consider to be pretty good consumer guarantees, you can still only demand a refund in the case of a "major problem" with the product. I don't think simply being unhappy with it connecting outside would qualify, although IMO it should. https://www.consumer.vic.gov.au/products-and-services/refund... What are the rules on returni…

It depends on the retailer, but probably you won’t be able to return it for a refund. You should attempt it though, or at least be able to present the retailer’s return policy as evidence in small–claims court.

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

#460

Post by newaccount74 »

des1nderlase wrote: post #457
newaccount74 wrote: post #404

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Because the 4000$ treadmill looks really neat: https://www.nordictrack.de/laufbander/nordictrack-x32i-incli... Apparently there's a demand for well designed hardware that runs generic software.

No, it's because, this is BS, just like expensive $5k - $10k bikes. These are "new golf" areas for mid-age men with excessive wealth to play with. Unfortunately that drives the market prices up, and hostile plays like this one for everyone.

Maybe it's BS to you, but there's always people who want something nicer. And if they can afford it, why not? If a 5k bike is what gets you to start exercising, it's probably even worth it.
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