Richard RatheFeb 15, 2023

@ramin_hal9001 @pluralistic

Agree! #ElectricCars should work for their owners, not spy on us!

"Electric cars all being designed to become useless without an app controlling them is not inherent to electric car technology itself. It is a result of modern day #consumerism (capitalism) where every single business on the face of the Earth gathers data about you, and earns money from selling #ads to you. IT DOES NOT HAVE TO BE THIS WAY. This is what @pluralistic calls #enshitification."

Show threadFinnley DolfinFeb 15, 2023

@richardrathe @ramin_hal9001 @pluralistic

I think this statement could go far beyond cars. No device should need to "phone home" and ask if it still allowed to turn on.

I am worried about how everything needs to be connected and companies desire to continue to make money after the product is sold.

Imagine the story of the HP printer which disabled itself because the user ended their replacement ink problem. Now think about connected kitchen appliances like stove, fridge, or micro. Oh, you want to make ice? Pay an extra $300 and we can enable your ice maker. Want to use the broil feature in your oven? Pay some more. And you'll need to pay monthly or per use.

It's getting out of hand I think and we need to get governments that realize this to step in and tell them to knock it off.

Show threadBadtux the Snarky PenguinFeb 15, 2023
@FinnleyDolfin @richardrathe @[email protected] @pluralistic When I bought my Jeep I made sure I was getting a base model without any kind of "phone home" ability. It doesn't even have a cellular or wifi radio in it. Heck, I even have to roll up the windows by hand and unlock and lock the doors with keys. At some point we have to admit that making things more complicated does not make things better.
Show thread⁰FisherTX14
@badtux
Like a $500 key.
Feb 15, 2023 at 6:47amWeb
Show threadBadtux the Snarky PenguinFeb 15, 2023
@FisherTX14 Sadly the $500 key is a thing even for my rudimentary Jeep with roll-up windows. Due to the ESS (Engine Stop/Start) system they added to bring up MPG a bit for meeting mandated CAFE (corporate average fuel economy), it has push-button ignition that requires a special keyfob to be within a short distance of the button in order to operate.
Show threadf*cking b*tch clubFeb 15, 2023

@badtux @FisherTX14 …and at some point you have to replace the battery for the fob, which is next level crazy if you stop to think about it.

My fob contains an actual key which can be used to run the car but it’s a little tricky to access it.

Show threadBadtux the Snarky PenguinFeb 15, 2023
@grammasaurus @FisherTX14 My Jeep will start even if the battery for the fob is dead, but you have to place the fob against the push button for the starter so the RFID reader can read the code via RFID. But yes, every 5 years or so that battery needs replacing for the system to work normally (i.e., for the car to start while the fob is in my pocket without the RFID trick).
Show thread⁰FisherTX14Feb 15, 2023
@badtux @grammasaurus
My grandfather drove around town (10,000) in a one ton GMC flat bed with a PTO winch with the A-frame poles up. Also carried cutting torch with full size oxy/acetylene bottles. Had a push button start. No key. In the 1980s. But truck from 60s.
Show threadBadtux the Snarky PenguinFeb 15, 2023
@FisherTX14 @grammasaurus That 1960s truck also had points that needed to be filed every 4,000 miles and replaced every 8,000 miles, ball joints that needed to be greased every 2,000 miles when you did the oil change, spark plugs had to be replaced every 16,000 miles, dimmer switch on the floor that had to be replaced every year because the road salt corroded it during the winter, etc. There's a lot of advances that have happened since then.
Show thread⁰FisherTX14Feb 15, 2023
@badtux @grammasaurus
True. But he loved doing that stuff. In those vehicles you can see the damned spark plugs. In my 2013 Ford F150 that I just changed, the plug is 8 inches below a cover plate and boot inside a 1.5 inch wide cylinder that you cannot even touch by hand.
Show threadf*cking b*tch clubFeb 15, 2023

@FisherTX14 @badtux Stephen Ambrose made an interesting observation in his book, ‘Citizen Soldiers’. When a tank or truck broke down, US soldiers could usually fix it because a lot of them worked on cars in civilian life. My dad taught me to change a tire, change my oil, refill wiper fluid, etc etc when I got my first car. Today you need a computer to diagnose problems with an engine.

At least with my EV no one can tell me i need transmission fluid or an oil change. 🙂

Show threadBadtux the Snarky PenguinFeb 16, 2023
@grammasaurus @FisherTX14 Nothing in civilian life is going to acquaint you with working on the jet turbine engine in a M1 tank. For that matter, all current Army trucks have diesel engines, so even knowing how to work on a gas engine car isn't going to help you there.
Show threadf*cking b*tch clubFeb 16, 2023
@badtux @FisherTX14 The book was about WW2, when vehicles were different from what they are today.
Show threadBadtux the Snarky PenguinFeb 16, 2023
@FisherTX14 @grammasaurus Fords are awful about access to the spark plugs. And there's too much junk in today's engine compartments. I sort of miss my old 2006 Jeep Wrangler, you could practically stand up beside the engine if you were trying to fix something on it -- the inline-6 engine was very long and access to everything except the rearmost spark plug was simple. It was also crude and uncomfortable, sigh.