4 ms·

your analogy doesn't work because cars aren't locked to dealerships. If the dealer controlled how you used your car and restricted what you did with your car vi

your analogy doesn't work because cars aren't locked to dealerships. If the dealer controlled how you used your car and restricted what you did with your car via some sort of artificial software limitation within the vehicle, then removing that limitation would also be a good thing.

gehwartzen 4y ago
Not OP but imagine a more direct anlogy: If cars dealerships also owned their own network of fuel stations. They sell you the car for cheap but require you to use their network of expensive fuel stations for x years. The cars have an encrypted chip that detects if its connected to the specific approved gas station when filling. Now if you try and sell it there is no real market because the buyer can only use it at the specific dealerships gas network and that dealership could also lock that buyer out if it chose. Now someone has gained access to the car dealerships database and unlocked a bunch of cars for a fee. Is that good or bad I donno. I think the important thing to remember is that whatever "artificial software limitation" is imposed on the phone was done so with the knowledge of the person signing the contract when the phone was leased. At least I have to assume it is called out in the contract. Even in the GP post its not "your" car. You don't "own" the car when you lease-to-own you are renting it under a contract which gives you very specific right to "own" the car at the time of your last payment or when you are able to pay it in full. Ownership is determined by the name on the Title Certificate which would be in the dealership's name until you make the final payment or pay it off beforehand in full.
- from 4y ago
  Here's a better analogy: A group of fraudsters goes into dealerships with stolen identities and attempts to finance $0 down cars so they can export them to West Africa and make a fortune because they are not ever going to pay for the cars. Only some dealers have "kill switches" (look it up) that they use to remotely brick cars they stop receiving payment on. So someone like Khudaverdyan comes along and offers a kill switch disabling service so the cars will still work after the fraudsters have moved them out of the country. I think most people would agree that is wrong.

gehwartzen 4y ago

Not OP but imagine a more direct anlogy: If cars dealerships also owned their own network of fuel stations. They sell you the car for cheap but require you to use their network of expensive fuel stations for x years. The cars have an encrypted chip that detects if its connected to the specific approved gas station when filling. Now if you try and sell it there is no real market because the buyer can only use it at the specific dealerships gas network and that dealership could also lock that buyer out if it chose. Now someone has gained access to the car dealerships database and unlocked a bunch of cars for a fee. Is that good or bad I donno. I think the important thing to remember is that whatever "artificial software limitation" is imposed on the phone was done so with the knowledge of the person signing the contract when the phone was leased. At least I have to assume it is called out in the contract. Even in the GP post its not "your" car. You don't "own" the car when you lease-to-own you are renting it under a contract which gives you very specific right to "own" the car at the time of your last payment or when you are able to pay it in full. Ownership is determined by the name on the Title Certificate which would be in the dealership's name until you make the final payment or pay it off beforehand in full.

from 4y ago
Here's a better analogy: A group of fraudsters goes into dealerships with stolen identities and attempts to finance $0 down cars so they can export them to West Africa and make a fortune because they are not ever going to pay for the cars. Only some dealers have "kill switches" (look it up) that they use to remotely brick cars they stop receiving payment on. So someone like Khudaverdyan comes along and offers a kill switch disabling service so the cars will still work after the fraudsters have moved them out of the country. I think most people would agree that is wrong.