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Re:GM makes $1,500 subscription mandatory on GMC, Buick, Cad... by lotsofpulp on Thursday August 11, 2022 @10:07AM (#32425805)
On star and subscription services has been available for my whole life (35 years).

But there have always been alternatives without subscription services available. What would cause a change for alternatives to stop being available?

Re:GM makes $1,500 subscription mandatory on GMC, Buick, Cad... by Nextgrid on Thursday August 11, 2022 @10:57AM (#32426723)
Even if there was no benefit from the data collected by the system to the manufacturer, they might still make it a default just because there are supply chain advantages to having a single unique design (with all the hardware & software for the "connected" bit) than maintaining a separate, non-connected SKU.

But of course manufacturers also benefit from the data collection and functionality the "connected" bit offers such as DRM, etc, so why wouldn't they mandate it?