John Deere 'Kill Switch' renders stolen tractors useless (2022)

Re:John Deere 'Kill Switch' renders stolen tractors useless ... by BiteCode_dev on Friday April 21, 2023 @01:09AM (#35650004)

Yes, but phones have a reason to be online most of the time.

A vehicle should be able to be used without ever being online.

Otherwise you are at the mercy of udpates, the provider good will (and John Deere as little), network availability and so on.

[ Parent | on HN ]

Re:John Deere 'Kill Switch' renders stolen tractors useless ... by anilakar on Friday April 21, 2023 @02:50AM (#35650521)

So are CNC machines. Are you aware that if you move a modern one, it's gonna be bricked?

[ Parent | on HN ]

Re:John Deere 'Kill Switch' renders stolen tractors useless ... by NinjaKitten on Friday April 21, 2023 @03:27AM (#35650742)

Yes and we don't like it.

[ Parent | on HN ]

Re:John Deere 'Kill Switch' renders stolen tractors useless ... by BiteCode_dev on Friday April 21, 2023 @06:02AM (#35651696)

And it's a very bad no good awful thing.

Stallman is extreme, but he got that part right. DRM and other bricking mechanism are not our friends.

[ Parent | on HN ]

Re:John Deere 'Kill Switch' renders stolen tractors useless ... by notjulianjaynes on Friday April 21, 2023 @12:36PM (#35656301)

I did not know this. Is it for theft prevention, or more like a deterrent to e.g. would-be clandestine arms manufacturers. I'm aware CNC machines can be quite pricey, but they otherwise seem like an impractical target for theives. At least a tractor has wheels.

[ Parent | on HN ]