Joseph CoxNew from 404 Media: you may have seen that a group of Polish hackers repaired trains the manufacturers had bricked (hackers were successful and helped). Now the train company is threatening to sue them. We spoke to the hackers.
Voline@josephcox “Felony contempt of business model”
Ken 🌎 🇺🇦 
@josephcox NEWAG (And John Deere, etc.) seem, on the surface, to be leaving themselves open for a massive fraud and/or racketeering suit/charges. They are selling the equipment but not transferring full ownership. Some might call it, "bait and switch". I would.
pies@josephcox Some parliament members from Razem party had asked the antitrust and consumer rights government agency to investigate. It has a chance of doing something.
Kyle Memoir 🍉🐧One hopes there will be some language added to strategic procurement solicitations to help avoid this nonsense in future. Or at minimum render it transparent.
That said, there is nothing more contentious in the t&c of public service technology procurement and contract-making than two key themes:
1. Liability & Indemnity
2. Intellectual Property
Martijn VosI wonder when the railroad company is going to sue the manufacturer.
I suppose it is possible that the railroad company majorly fucked up and their contract actually says that all repair contracts should go to the manufacturer, but then the manufacturer would have complained at a much earlier stage. So it really looks like the manufacturer intentionally sabotaged their own product and are now desperately trying to hide that fact because they didn't expect to be found out.
Walrus 🏴Manufacturers who disable things one has paid for, in an attempt to enforce a monopoly on repairs, deserve to be boycotted. Trains are a bit beyond my means, but I think a list of consumer items that the manufacturer can disable would be a very useful thing to guide buyers.
Pids3c@josephcox wow thats freaking amazing on their part and typical diabolical sinisterism on the part of the powers that shouldn’t be