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That's a really nice hack, I fear though that the next generation of "broken by design" consumer electronics devices will make use of much more sophisticated DR
by ThePhysicist 12y ago
That's a really nice hack, I fear though that the next generation of "broken by design" consumer electronics devices will make use of much more sophisticated DRM technologies to make sure you only use them as intended by the manufacturer.
An example is the German startup Bonaverde (http://www.bonaverde.com http://www.bonaverde.com), which manufactures a coffee machine that not only grinds but also roasts your coffee beans. To make sure that you use only their certified (and pricey) coffee beans they include an RFID chip with each package that you have to scan in order to start the brewing process. No tag, no coffee.
There is also a Gizmodo article that nicely sums up the Bonaverde story:
http://gizmodo.com/kickstarter-project-finds-exciting-new-way-to-screw-its-1663145598 http://gizmodo.com/kickstarter-project-finds-exciting-new-wa...
- NullReference 12y agoCan't you just save an empty bag, and then fill it with any beans you want? My general thoughts about companies trying to implement DRM is that there's always some stupidly simple hack around it. Like this Keurig hack. I guarantee that within a week or two of this coming out someone will just find another way to hack around the DRM. Better mousetraps just breed cleverer mice.
- ThePhysicist 12y agoNot sure about this, but from reading the article the answer is probably no. I hope of course that there will be a workaround, as you say even very sophisticated DRM schemes eventually get cracked, it just makes me sad to see that instead of building technology that empowers the end user, these companies deliberately choose to cripple their products for the sake of higher profit.
- xresonance 12y agoBonaverde changed their approach, and removed the DRM from the machine (thankfully!) From their update email: "It will also open access to the machine so that you can use whichever green beans you want."
- ThePhysicist 12y agoThat's great to hear actually, glad they changed their policy. I just hope they will follow through with this and deliver the product.