Motherboard
3 HN recommenders · recommended in 3 months, 2018
11:31 · 3.4M views · Feb 1, 2018
A Motherboard documentary episode from Nebraska about farmers and mechanics fighting manufacturers like John Deere over access to the diagnostic software needed to repair modern tractors. It shows how software locks have taken away farmers' traditional self-reliance.
Offered as a concrete, human example in right-to-repair discussions of how software lock-in affects expensive equipment.
4 comments from Hacker News
I appreciate the dialogue. We may have to agree to disagree on the final point. I'm not convinced that there is always a competitive market filled with alternatives that meet customer preferences. For example: I have to choose between iMessage and a headphone jack for my cell phone. There are other phones , but I don't have a totally ala carte menu - there are always trade offs. This likely won't change your opinion either, but it's a good piece that adds color to this conversation about right-to-repair: Motherboard published a video about John Deere's tractor/maintenance lock-in that looks at the issue from the perspective of 6-figure industrial equipment. [1] It's worth a look. [1] this video
Here's a relevant video in regards to farmers and their equipment that drove the impact of the ‘Right to Repair’ bill home for me. this video
I thought this was quite interesting: Tractor Hacking: The Farmers Breaking Big Tech's Repair Monopoly - this video
what about software? I'm reminded of what farmers have to go through with John Deere tractors [ this video ]. Isn't that going to start happening with cars (I thought this was already happening). Are they going to reverse engineer that too?