Nest Reminds Customers That Ownership Isn't What It Used to Be

Re:Nest Reminds Customers That Ownership Isn't What It Used ... by kinsho on Wednesday April 06, 2016 @01:10AM (#11436747)

Yes, but it's NOT the -only- part of the tractor. The commenter who brought up this tractor example made it seem like the government outlawed people from tinkering or repairing ANY part of the tractor.

I also wouldn't be surprised if (much like cars), tractors generally only need mechanical repairs over the duration of their lifespans.

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Re:Nest Reminds Customers That Ownership Isn't What It Used ... by rahimnathwani on Wednesday April 06, 2016 @02:02AM (#11436925)

"The commenter who brought up this tractor example made it seem like the government outlawed people from tinkering or repairing ANY part of the tractor."

No, they said "...the law can stop you from repairing...", which is true.

"I also wouldn't be surprised if (much like cars), tractors generally only need mechanical repairs over the duration of their lifespans."

I know little about tractors, but your statement is not true for modern cars. Often repairs cannot be completed by mechanical means alone, and require interfacing with or modifying the software in the car. Even if you replace a broken airbag, the light will stay on until you take the car to the dealer to have it reset.

Even if your statement were true, who gets to decide what repairs are required over the life of the car/tractor? If not the owner, then why not?

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Re:Nest Reminds Customers That Ownership Isn't What It Used ... by kinsho on Wednesday April 06, 2016 @04:35PM (#11441861)

Good points.

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Re:Nest Reminds Customers That Ownership Isn't What It Used ... by tremon on Wednesday April 06, 2016 @08:51AM (#11438397)

I also wouldn't be surprised if [cars] only need mechanical repairs over the duration of their lifespans.

But you'd be wrong. Take a look at the top comment here[1]:

A recent BMW, in which all I did was replace a dead battery, required a trip to the dealer to "accept" this new battery.

So yes, the ECU software can really do prevent you from repairing any mechanical part of the machine, as long as the ECU has a monitoring sensor for that part.

[1] https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=11423833

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