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This illustrates what is very, very wrong and a huge source of discontent in our corpocracy. Corporations are able to enact any law they want (DRM for example)

This illustrates what is very, very wrong and a huge source of discontent in our corpocracy. Corporations are able to enact any law they want (DRM for example) because of United vs FEC. Then they can get away with anything in court because they can afford to pay millions in lawyer fees after extorting customers by bricking printers. If I did this, I would go to jail. Not to mention Purdue Pharma.

gruez 2y ago
>Then they can get away with anything in court because they can afford to pay millions in lawyer fees after extorting customers by bricking printers. If I did this, I would go to jail. HP didn't even "brick" the printers. They only prevented them from using third party cartridges. That's not "brick" in any meaningful sense of the word. It's also unclear how that's something obviously illegal if it's done by an individual.
- aziaziazi 2y ago
  Alphabet pushes a "dynamic security update” to your phone tomorrow, blocking the third party apps. They didn’t brick your phone, you still can continue to download and use their apps!
  - gruez 2y ago
    >That's not "brick" in any meaningful sense of the word.
    - freedomben 2y ago
      Indeed. As someone who worked in small and embedded systems, I can't help but think that many people have no idea what "bricked" actually means (or at least, meant for it's first many years of life).
      - johnnyanmac 2y ago
        language changes. A definition of "literally" is now "figuratively". Here: >to render (an electronic device, such as a smartphone) nonfunctional (as by accidental damage, malicious hacking, or software changes) A printer with ink not printing would seem like a brick to a layman, no? under this colloquial definition, at least.
        gruez 2y ago
        Not working with non-hp cartridges is hardly "nonfunctional". If that counts as "bricked", then apple "bricked" my iPhone when they patched jailbreaks.
        freedomben 2y ago
        You make a good point. I still think the term is being misused and I think is worth correcting as otherwise we have no term for what bricked actually means, but I can see how one could reason their way into it. A printer that won't work with what you have on hand is essentially a "brick" in the moment. But "brick" is typically a permanent state, not a temporary one that simply requires using compatible parts. Following that logic, one could describe a car with a dead battery as a "brick" but that is clearly not accurate. FTR lest someone think I'm defending HP here (I don't know why so many people, including on HN where we're supposed to be more contemplative and analytical, think everything must be 100% black or white, but I digress), I think HP is a despicable company and this practice of theirs is beyond abhorrent. I will never buy another HP product short of them fully reversing course and issuing at least an acknowledgment of the change in course if not a full-blown apology for being evil.
  - lcnPylGDnU4H9OF 2y ago
    I wish my[1] bricked 3DS could still function as a game-playing machine but, alas, Nintendo ahem “pushed an update” to it because it had custom firmware installed and I “made the mistake” of letting it connect to the internet. Now it doesn’t boot, much like a brick. I think some people will even say this is not properly bricked because I can technically restore it. To their point, the phone in this analogy was not bricked (nor were the printers in this case), even if such an update is incredibly user-hostile. At least, many people will think that the phone/printer no longer functions at all when they see that word, so they’ll think it’s not the right word to use. 1: still calling it mine even though the courts will let Nintendo treat it like it’s theirs
    - johnnyanmac 2y ago
      I don't know. Maybe newer printers "fixed" it, but older printers didn't say "only works with HP ink". It's a bit different than a user choosing to install different firmware on their hardware, something they go out of their way to do. The ink is in interface, not the core structure. Also, consider a layman's perspective. They won't read into the error codes and all that stuff. They update a printer that was printing paper yesterday, and now it won't print paper today. The printer says ink is fine but it's not printing. That sounds like a "brick" to them, right?

gruez 2y ago

>Then they can get away with anything in court because they can afford to pay millions in lawyer fees after extorting customers by bricking printers. If I did this, I would go to jail. HP didn't even "brick" the printers. They only prevented them from using third party cartridges. That's not "brick" in any meaningful sense of the word. It's also unclear how that's something obviously illegal if it's done by an individual.

aziaziazi 2y ago
Alphabet pushes a "dynamic security update” to your phone tomorrow, blocking the third party apps. They didn’t brick your phone, you still can continue to download and use their apps!
- gruez 2y ago
  >That's not "brick" in any meaningful sense of the word.
  - freedomben 2y ago
    Indeed. As someone who worked in small and embedded systems, I can't help but think that many people have no idea what "bricked" actually means (or at least, meant for it's first many years of life).
    - johnnyanmac 2y ago
      language changes. A definition of "literally" is now "figuratively". Here: >to render (an electronic device, such as a smartphone) nonfunctional (as by accidental damage, malicious hacking, or software changes) A printer with ink not printing would seem like a brick to a layman, no? under this colloquial definition, at least.
      - gruez 2y ago
        Not working with non-hp cartridges is hardly "nonfunctional". If that counts as "bricked", then apple "bricked" my iPhone when they patched jailbreaks.
      - freedomben 2y ago
        You make a good point. I still think the term is being misused and I think is worth correcting as otherwise we have no term for what bricked actually means, but I can see how one could reason their way into it. A printer that won't work with what you have on hand is essentially a "brick" in the moment. But "brick" is typically a permanent state, not a temporary one that simply requires using compatible parts. Following that logic, one could describe a car with a dead battery as a "brick" but that is clearly not accurate. FTR lest someone think I'm defending HP here (I don't know why so many people, including on HN where we're supposed to be more contemplative and analytical, think everything must be 100% black or white, but I digress), I think HP is a despicable company and this practice of theirs is beyond abhorrent. I will never buy another HP product short of them fully reversing course and issuing at least an acknowledgment of the change in course if not a full-blown apology for being evil.
- lcnPylGDnU4H9OF 2y ago
  I wish my[1] bricked 3DS could still function as a game-playing machine but, alas, Nintendo ahem “pushed an update” to it because it had custom firmware installed and I “made the mistake” of letting it connect to the internet. Now it doesn’t boot, much like a brick. I think some people will even say this is not properly bricked because I can technically restore it. To their point, the phone in this analogy was not bricked (nor were the printers in this case), even if such an update is incredibly user-hostile. At least, many people will think that the phone/printer no longer functions at all when they see that word, so they’ll think it’s not the right word to use. 1: still calling it mine even though the courts will let Nintendo treat it like it’s theirs
  - johnnyanmac 2y ago
    I don't know. Maybe newer printers "fixed" it, but older printers didn't say "only works with HP ink". It's a bit different than a user choosing to install different firmware on their hardware, something they go out of their way to do. The ink is in interface, not the core structure. Also, consider a layman's perspective. They won't read into the error codes and all that stuff. They update a printer that was printing paper yesterday, and now it won't print paper today. The printer says ink is fine but it's not printing. That sounds like a "brick" to them, right?