4 ms·

>how many of us have "owned" a product that has suddenly changed its behavior in undesirable ways after we purchased it? I'd be interested in some examples, as

>how many of us have "owned" a product that has suddenly changed its behavior in undesirable ways after we purchased it? I'd be interested in some examples, as I can't think of any offhand, despite your claim that this "isn't unlikely". Also, when it comes to vehicles misbehaving in traffic, I'd say "harmful" is a more apt term than "undesirable".

j4yav 3y ago
Really any cloud-connected device would fit this bill. Many have gone out of business and turned off their backends or changed the way they work in a way that is incompatible with the original purchasing intent of the user. Not to mention software products that evolve in ways the user doesn't like all the time. https://www.bbc.com/news/technology-64249388 https://www.bbc.com/news/technology-64249388 is an article with some more specific hardware examples if that's what you're looking for.
lolinder 3y ago
Here is a (very) incomplete list. Not all are ones that I've personally experienced, but they're all products that either I or someone in my direct acquaintance have owned/used. * Microsoft Windows starts showing ads in new and creative places, even though I shelled out $200 for the Pro version. * An Android update broke my preferred home screen. * Roomba vacuums go through regular periods of stupidity in between software updates. One day it's able to dodge obstacles, the next it's sucking up anything and everything. * Basically every SaaS product changes its UI on a semi-regular basis in ways that throw off existing workflows. EDIT: Oh, and a bonus one that's more on topic—Tesla recently rushed an update to their software and introduced a lot of bugs: https://www.autoevolution.com/news/tesla-s-holiday-update-screwed-up-people-s-cars-yet-tesla-refuses-to-acknowledge-226761.html https://www.autoevolution.com/news/tesla-s-holiday-update-sc...
- PopAlongKid 3y ago
  >Here is a (very) incomplete list Unlike the potential of a vehicle making driving mistakes, none of your examples is harmful, especially not to random third parties. The only thing on your list I have direct experience with is Windows--I've had the Pro license ever since Win 10 came out, now on three different machines, and I don't see any ads on my desktop or popping up in my file system. (of course, I don't log in to any Microsoft account, maybe that explains it).
  - ndriscoll 3y ago
    I can't be bothered to check, but I assume my corporate laptop is using pro/enterprise Windows, and it has definitely shown ads on the lock screen (it's very laggy when I want to unlock my computer, so very noticable). I don't interact with Windows much beyond opening a terminal, so they may be elsewhere too. I vaguely recall it randomly popping up some Xbox thing at one point. Honestly I don't see why corporate security groups don't throw a fit over what Microsoft has been doing the last few years. I'd expect the enterprise versions to be almost like Windows 2000 with all of the malware off by default (and possibly impossible to turn on).
    - kzrdude 3y ago
      A self-respecting established company would ensure their windows installs never show any ads. I hope some of the bigger actors can pressure Microsoft on this point to make it clear to MS.
    - marcosdumay 3y ago
      > Honestly I don't see why corporate security groups don't throw a fit over what Microsoft has been doing the last few years. I have never seen any corporate security group that does its own thinking instead of rubber-stamping whatever Microsoft tells them. And the current Windows privacy terms grant MS the right t upload to their servers anything from the disk or memory of your computer. So they already maximized the untrustworthiness here. We can stop expecting that anybody reacts.
- beretguy 3y ago
  * Amazon Prime Video is now showing ads.
38 3y ago
Basically any current operating system, except Linux. Windows, macOS, iOS, ipadOS, android. All try to ram updates down your throat, and make it difficult or impossible (android) to disable.
Solvency 3y ago
Really? Hell my Google Mini has only recently decided to scream "by the way, the mic is off!" on startup every single time. I've had the mic off for years. Google decided to punish me for using it only as a speaker.
argiopetech 3y ago
"Smart" TVs have this aggravating tendency to change their UIs dramatically from time to time without warning or recourse. How I wish dumb TVs were still the norm.

j4yav 3y ago

Really any cloud-connected device would fit this bill. Many have gone out of business and turned off their backends or changed the way they work in a way that is incompatible with the original purchasing intent of the user. Not to mention software products that evolve in ways the user doesn't like all the time. https://www.bbc.com/news/technology-64249388 https://www.bbc.com/news/technology-64249388 is an article with some more specific hardware examples if that's what you're looking for.

lolinder 3y ago

Here is a (very) incomplete list. Not all are ones that I've personally experienced, but they're all products that either I or someone in my direct acquaintance have owned/used. * Microsoft Windows starts showing ads in new and creative places, even though I shelled out $200 for the Pro version. * An Android update broke my preferred home screen. * Roomba vacuums go through regular periods of stupidity in between software updates. One day it's able to dodge obstacles, the next it's sucking up anything and everything. * Basically every SaaS product changes its UI on a semi-regular basis in ways that throw off existing workflows. EDIT: Oh, and a bonus one that's more on topic—Tesla recently rushed an update to their software and introduced a lot of bugs: https://www.autoevolution.com/news/tesla-s-holiday-update-screwed-up-people-s-cars-yet-tesla-refuses-to-acknowledge-226761.html https://www.autoevolution.com/news/tesla-s-holiday-update-sc...

PopAlongKid 3y ago
>Here is a (very) incomplete list Unlike the potential of a vehicle making driving mistakes, none of your examples is harmful, especially not to random third parties. The only thing on your list I have direct experience with is Windows--I've had the Pro license ever since Win 10 came out, now on three different machines, and I don't see any ads on my desktop or popping up in my file system. (of course, I don't log in to any Microsoft account, maybe that explains it).
- ndriscoll 3y ago
  I can't be bothered to check, but I assume my corporate laptop is using pro/enterprise Windows, and it has definitely shown ads on the lock screen (it's very laggy when I want to unlock my computer, so very noticable). I don't interact with Windows much beyond opening a terminal, so they may be elsewhere too. I vaguely recall it randomly popping up some Xbox thing at one point. Honestly I don't see why corporate security groups don't throw a fit over what Microsoft has been doing the last few years. I'd expect the enterprise versions to be almost like Windows 2000 with all of the malware off by default (and possibly impossible to turn on).
  - kzrdude 3y ago
    A self-respecting established company would ensure their windows installs never show any ads. I hope some of the bigger actors can pressure Microsoft on this point to make it clear to MS.
  - marcosdumay 3y ago
    > Honestly I don't see why corporate security groups don't throw a fit over what Microsoft has been doing the last few years. I have never seen any corporate security group that does its own thinking instead of rubber-stamping whatever Microsoft tells them. And the current Windows privacy terms grant MS the right t upload to their servers anything from the disk or memory of your computer. So they already maximized the untrustworthiness here. We can stop expecting that anybody reacts.
beretguy 3y ago
* Amazon Prime Video is now showing ads.

38 3y ago

Basically any current operating system, except Linux. Windows, macOS, iOS, ipadOS, android. All try to ram updates down your throat, and make it difficult or impossible (android) to disable.

Solvency 3y ago

Really? Hell my Google Mini has only recently decided to scream "by the way, the mic is off!" on startup every single time. I've had the mic off for years. Google decided to punish me for using it only as a speaker.

argiopetech 3y ago

"Smart" TVs have this aggravating tendency to change their UIs dramatically from time to time without warning or recourse. How I wish dumb TVs were still the norm.