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This reveals one giant cost usually not covered by rent vs. own economics: if you rent something, a car, a computer, a home, you don't control it. This is why
by rbecker 6y ago
This reveals one giant cost usually not covered by rent vs. own economics: if you rent something, a car, a computer, a home, you don't control it.
This is why we should all be very worried about the move towards as-a-service economies.
- tsss 6y agoIf you buy something you no longer control it either. Cars nowadays can be disabled remotely with the press of a button and are not repairable because you don't have access to the software.
- rbecker 6y agoThat is too often true. But at least you have the right to attempt to control it. Sadly even that is under attack, with laws against circumvention and "reverse engineering" (i.e. looking at how something works).
- II2II 6y agoRenting a home is a special case since housing is a necessity. It is heavily regulated because of that, but we have to be vigilent to ensure that regulations keep up with the times For most other items, the amount of control that you need really comes down to priorities. Given my use of computers, I buy the hardware and prefer open source applications since there is a large degree of control. When it comes to entertainment (games, music, etc.) rental is fine since they are not all that important. Some product categories is a blend of the two: some books I buy, others I "rent" (rather, borrow through libraries). As for Alexa for landlords, this may be a case where some laws need revision. Even if it is not used as a surveilance device, it must be classified as such since the potential is there. It doesn't matter whether that potential is used by Amazon, the landlord, or another authorized or unauthorized party.