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Wires. The next thing is wires. As a media tech guy I already know active optical HDMI cables (50m) that come with an USB-to-HDMI adaptor so you can update the
by atoav 4y ago
Wires. The next thing is wires. As a media tech guy I already know active optical HDMI cables (50m) that come with an USB-to-HDMI adaptor so you can update the cables firmware(!).
With electrical equipment like oscilloscopes it is quite common to sell the physically identical unit with different softwarelocks for different prices (Want 350 MHz bandwidth instead of 80? Pay some extra).
Want that HDMI cable to run 8k? Here os a simple subscription. As resolutions go up there comes a point where cable will have to have some active components in them anyways.
- jen729w 4y agoThis isn’t new, though. My first job was for Xerox in 1996 and they sold variations on photocopiers that were purely software. (Or even a physical DIP switch.) The basic model XX40 gives you 40 pages a minute. Want the XX80? An engineer comes out and flips the DIP. Exact same hardware.
- imhoguy 4y agoI recall consumer CPUs and some pencil mark bridging trick to upgrade them around that time too.
- littlecranky67 4y agoThose were the Pentium II, 233-333Mhz were all identical and could be pencil unlocked
- actionfromafar 4y agoIIRC some AMD too. https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:AMD_Athlon_Pencil_Trick.jpg https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:AMD_Athlon_Pencil_Tr...
- andy_ppp 4y agoThis probably sold a lot of extra CPUs.
- snozolli 4y agoNot the same time frame, but it reminded me of the hack to make consumer GeForce Nvidia cards appear to be their overpriced, professional, Quadro counterparts: https://www.eevblog.com/forum/general-computing/hacking-nvidia-cards-into-their-professional-counterparts/ https://www.eevblog.com/forum/general-computing/hacking-nvid...
- caf 4y agoIt's at least plausible that running them faster means servicing is more expensive (assuming these were supplied under service contracts / leases which seems to be the usual case for office copiers).
- GauntletWizard 4y agoI am 100% okay with hardware that has been leased having artificial limitations. I don't own a leased device. I am paying for my usage of it. Running something at half capacity for service reliability reasons is a valid strategy. I'm 100% okay with artificial limitations on hardware I buy, too, so long as they're upfront about capabilities - Running something at half capacity for service reliability reasons is still a valid strategy when dealing with warranties. I have no problem buying an AMD Ryzen 7900 which is literally the same silicon on the same fab as the 7950, but binned differently. They are clear about what they're providing, what the specs are, and it's possible that it could perform better, but I know what they're guaranteeing. Sometimes I don't like it - If yields are good, they could bin many more cards at the higher tier and drop the price, but they're under no obligation to provide me a better product out of charity; They should have competition that forces their hand. It's where it's unclear or deceptive that it's a problem, and HP's scheme is a shakedown. We should invest in competitors.
- 8note 4y agoI'd see them as a monopoly business. The cost to start a competitor is ridiculously high. The hardware sellers instead need to be broken up for competitiveness
- ratg13 4y agoAnd you don’t care if you can’t fix it either? John Deere sells you a tractor and you honestly don’t care that you can’t have it repaired by a local tractor shop? I mean it’s great if you happen to live next to a dealer and are rich, but not everyone is so privileged.
- yencabulator 4y ago
- hbossy 4y agoYou used to be able to buy budget version of Casio scientific calculator and use pencil to draw a wire on PCB to turn it into fx-991EX. The only thing missing button labels.
- japanman425 4y agoI remember this!! Similar with the 9850G, could upgrade it to the GII with a slightly modified hardware
- moffkalast 4y agoWhat. The. Fuck.
- dasloop 4y agoDownvoted because you do not have the HN subscription to write swear words?
- moffkalast 4y agoMy bad, I forgot to drink the verification can.
- MonkeyMalarky 4y agoSorry, you were on the family plan. If you want access to adult content you will have to add the .xxx package (and also scan your government issued ID and/or install the adult verification app on your phone if you live in France, UK or in the states of Texas or Louisiana).
- dsfyu404ed 4y ago>It is quite common to sell the physically identical unit with different softwarelocks for different prices (Want 350 MHz bandwidth instead of 80? Pay some extra). Literally every "scan tool" for troubleshooting machinery is like this.
- berniedurfee 4y agoI worked for a company that made customers send units in for an ‘upgrade’. The upgrade consisted of popping open the case to pull an SD card out and update a text file with a list of enabled features. Could be a few grand in new features after the ‘upgrade’. I can only imagine a few technicians figured this trick out on their own.
- dylan604 4y ago> Wires. The next thing is wires. AT&T already did this. You were paying not only for the service but all of the equipment as well. You didn't actually own anything from the phone company.
- phkahler 4y agoMy favorite is cable TV. First you paid extra if you wanted digital/HD, even though both analog and digital were on the wire. But after analog broadcasts were turned off, the cable companies were effectively downgrading HD signals and charging more if you wanted them NOT to do that!
- naikrovek 4y agocable was originally sold so you could pay your way out of sitting through commercials. that was why cable TV started.
- phkahler 4y agoHaha. No. Cable TV started in areas with poor reception primarily due to terrain.
- naikrovek 4y agohaha. no. cable TV started because people didn't want to see commercials. 100% fact, at least where I grew up. we had no reception problems (flat farmland) and we were one of the first houses in one of the first towns in the area to get cable service. cable company promised no commercials ever, and that's why he subscribed, after a trial period. there were zero commercials. I remember my father on the phone with the cable company, the company that owned the cable company, our state representative, and our governor, all within a month after the first commercials started airing. obviously it did no good.
- berniedurfee 4y agoI recall the same marketing, cable was going to be TV without ads… because you paid for it.
- mrexroad 4y agoSure, that’s after cable evolved into something with enough bandwidth to the house to deliver dozens/hundreds of channels to a subscriber, not to mention the necessary distribution infrastructure on the back-end (e.g. satellite). That wasn’t the case at first. Heck, Sputnik hadn’t even launched when cable started.