4 ms·
I totally agree with the frustration of having hardware I would like to keep using but can't because it got EOL. Like a smart speaker or something. But I don't
by palata 10mo ago
I totally agree with the frustration of having hardware I would like to keep using but can't because it got EOL. Like a smart speaker or something.
But I don't know if there is a pragmatic way to approach that. I mean, I could also say "it should be illegal to produce e-waste", but what does that mean and how do we actually do it?
- cogman10 10mo agoIf you aren't looking at capturing 100% ewaste, then simple laws around liability and penalties for reduced functionality is all you'd need. Simple things like "if an electronic device, through no fault of the owner, can no longer perform it's main function, then the owner is due a full refund. A company may escape the refund by placing all software required to run the product in the public domain." It'd miss cases like fly by night companies, but you could catch big players like google disabling their thermostats for non-hardware reasons.
- fermuch 10mo agoThe only thing you'd achieve doing that is to change the "main function" of a device to somethings silly, like a thermostat being sold as an art decor with the optional additional of functioning as a thermostat too.
- evil-olive 10mo ago> change the "main function" of a device to somethings silly, like a thermostat being sold as an art decor that seems like it can be addressed by making sure that the regulators who enforce these laws have more object permanence than a 6 month old baby. like, if I try to sell a "metal sculpture" that by sheer coincidence is capable of firing 9mm ammunition, I'm going to have the ATF knocking on my door real quick, and they're not going to be fooled by me claiming "no that's art"
- BobbyTables2 10mo agoProbably much easier when the seller is in China and selling the product in the US on Amazon. Why would the ATF go after them instead of YOU?
- palata 10mo ago> making sure that the regulators who enforce these laws But then again, one problem is that Big Tech has enough money and power to completely overwhelm the regulators...
- SchemaLoad 10mo agoThis is why the legal system is run by people with brains and reasoning and not python scripts. A real person will see that a thermostat is actually a thermostat.
- hsbauauvhabzb 10mo agoWhere does it end, should EOL windows be open sourced because some software/games/hardware do not work on newer windows versions? Open source windows 10 would cannibalise Microsoft’s long term objectives.
- ezst 10mo agoIf that's one way to get to Microsoft abusive planned obsolescence and absurd e-waste, I take it
- godzillabrennus 10mo agoGiven that Microsoft currently intends to productize Windows users' data to build AI that replaces their users' jobs, it seems reasonable to cannibalize those long-term objectives...
- hsbauauvhabzb 10mo agoOh no I’d love to watch Microsoft burn, but I’m pointing out that any open sourcing abandonware is not in any businesses corporate interests. They’d sooner ‘support’ software forever by a yearly pointless update. Let’s all not forget the ones who wouldn’t want this to happen are the same ones who hold all the power. No government will ever force this.
- palata 10mo ago> Let’s all not forget the ones who wouldn’t want this to happen are the same ones who hold all the power. No government will ever force this. I think this is an important point: it's already impossible to enforce antitrust laws because TooBigTech has the power, and when an entity big enough tries to regulate (like the EU), then the US government prevents them from doing it.
- SchemaLoad 10mo agoWindows isn't hardware. If the laptops were only capable of running a particular version of Windows XP, then yes they should either be unlocked or their firmware open sourced to allow running something else.