5 ms·
This is the same sort of bullshit that HP has done with their computer hard drives, but with an even more elaborate lock-in by Microsoft in this case. The HP c
by anonymousiam 4y ago
This is the same sort of bullshit that HP has done with their computer hard drives, but with an even more elaborate lock-in by Microsoft in this case. The HP computers came with an OEM Windows CD so you could re-install the OS after replacing a bad hard drive, but if you chose to replace the hard drive with anything other than a "genuine" HP replacement part, the Windows installation would fail. Note that the HP replacement part has half the capacity for twice the price, and a poor warranty.
I spent two weeks sparing with HP over this. They sent me a replacement Windows CD that behaved in exactly the same way, and in the end, they were off their flowchart with no way to escalate the issue. I was able to install the same version of Windows on the computer using a non-OEM Microsoft Windows installation disc. HP Support insisted that it was perfectly okay to replace their OEM drive with something else, and denied any lock-in countermeasures when I challenged them. Either the support staff honestly didn't know about this (probably illegal) policy, or they did know, and were required to deny it.
After this, I actively advised all of my clients to avoid HP hardware. At the time, I advised them to use Dell instead, but Dell has its own problems these days.
- Teknoman117 4y ago> Dell has its own problems these days. I am honestly very annoyed that my 2019 XPS 15 will refuse to negotiate anything higher than 65W over USB-C PD on a non-Dell charger. Their dock does 130W, yet every third party dock, brick, or monitor I use it refuses to exceed 65W.
- Gigachad 4y agoThe whole windows market has been an absolute dumpster fire lately. The "modern standby" issue is infuriating. In a year or two I think the Macbook might honestly be the best linux laptop you can buy. I've got Asahi set up on my M1 and it's borderline usable now. Just waiting on thunderbolt and power management to be done and I could work with this.
- anonymousiam 4y agoI would love to agree with you, were it not for this: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=34504752 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=34504752 https://www.vice.com/en/article/xgybq7/apple-macbook-activation-lock-right-to-repair https://www.vice.com/en/article/xgybq7/apple-macbook-activat...
- ericpauley 4y agoWithout being deactivated these are effectively stolen devices. The sin here isn’t on apple, it’s on the previous owner failing to unlock the device. I’m all for this it it means my devices won’t be stolen.
- whoopdedo 4y agoYes, but it locks out the third-party refurbished market. If a Macbook breaks and the owner chooses to replace instead of repair, there isn't a way to factory reset it. A repair shop has no choice but to scrap the computer even if it's fixable.
- ericpauley 4y agoThe activation lock can be removed remotely with iCloud credentials: https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT201441 https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT201441
- Gigachad 4y agoThis is a feature I want. If someone steals my MacBook, I want it to be worth the scrap aluminium. Yes there is a case where someone forgets their Apple ID password and lost access to all their recovery methods, but I’ve got my password memorised and written down so I purely benefit from the theft protection. The statement on the article is ridiculous too. Apple doesn’t prevent the second hand market, you just have to factory reset the thing before you sell it. The most likely case where this is impossible is the seller stole it.
- girvo 4y agoGross. That sounds like it's non-standard, right? One of the many reasons I'll never own a Dell, despite some of their hardware being quite nice in other respects.
- cesarb 4y ago> I am honestly very annoyed that my 2019 XPS 15 will refuse to negotiate anything higher than 65W over USB-C PD on a non-Dell charger. Their dock does 130W, yet every third party dock, brick, or monitor I use it refuses to exceed 65W. Until 2021, the official maximum power for USB-C PD was 100W (5A at 20V), and your notebook is older than that. Dell has a non-standard extension for higher power, which uses a higher current (above 6A) and the same voltage (20V); the newer standard instead keeps the same maximum current (5A) and allows for higher voltages. It makes sense that third-party devices implement neither Dell's non-standard extension nor the newer standard (which your laptop could not use anyway), and so are limited to 100W, or 60W if you're not using a 5A cable.
- Teknoman117 4y agoI mean, I'd take 100W. I never used the dedicated GPU so I never get that high. However, standard usage still drains the battery while on a 65W supply.
- fennecfoxy 4y agoWell my XPS 9380 bricked itself after installing pop_os, now it doesn't even Dell boot logo; just totally bricked to shit. Good. It was a terrible machine anyway, overheating problems, noise problems, shoddy keyboard/power button construction. Avoid Dell.
- Teknoman117 4y agoI would but it's a work laptop...
- doubled112 4y agoHP has always been a pain in unusual ways. I try to avoid them after some time (years ago) in a warranty center. Be glad it came with an OEM disc at all, instead of the burn your own 7 DVD system they used to use. Do they still use whitelists for replacement hardware? A WLAN card shouldn't stop a whole machine from working. Do you still have to tattoo the motherboard with the feature byte when you replace one?
- userbinator 4y agoMeanwhile, the pirate with cracked Windows has none of these problems.
- oynqr 4y agoAnd they also get to use the same version without the bloat for the next ~10 years. While getting security updates.
- IYasha 4y agoThis is why pirated software is many times better than the official! I have licensed CDs but still have to use cracked games because of the f*g DRM sh* in the official ones.