Kyle Rankin @kyle@librem.one

The phish you warned them all about
The patch they said they could do without
They're in an awful mess
And I don't mean maybe
Please...

Business got breached
they're in trouble deep
Business got breached
they've been losing sleep
But they've made up their mind
they're paying the ransom
Ooh, they're gonna pay the ransom

@pocketvj I imagine it varies with each car and what they integrate into the infotainment system, versus systems like OnStar that can control things like the engine and door locks (and therefore have a more direct connection to other car computers).

IRC wouldn't be IRC without some network having a dramatic schism every few years. It's sort of baked into the life cycle, like a forest fire.

@ajmartinez Maybe one day I'll look into a kit like this for my Ghia: https://www.evwest.com/catalog/product_info.php?cPath=40&products_id=220&osCsid=c60e66975fff1c66517a58bab4c4eefb

@ajmartinez I'm thinking of doing a similar thing down the road if the situation doesn't improve. By the time I actually need a new car hopefully there will be a few common conversion kits and I can decide which old car+kit works for me.

Now that cars have become rolling smartphones, it's been pretty disappointing to see them copy some of the worst practices from the smartphone world. I wrote an article that talks about some of those problems. [CW: Tesla negativity] https://puri.sm/posts/locked-in-a-remote-control-car/

Happy Tax Day, for those that observe.

Many people turn a blind eye to Apple's absolute control over products and how they restrict a customer's freedom, because they trust Apple won't abuse that power.

That control takes on a new significance when it's handed over to the Chinese government.

https://www.nytimes.com/2021/05/17/technology/apple-china-censorship-data.html

It must be the tangibility. I've fixed countless computers over the years, but they rarely provide the same sense of accomplishment. Maybe it's because I take tech skills for granted, or maybe it's the visceral sense that this quiet engine that was dead now growls and is alive.

There is a deep satisfaction in troubleshooting and fixing a car that won't start all by yourself, even if it's something relatively simple like replacing a broken fuel pump on an old VW engine.

@leimon Sorry, I'm a NoScript user and I forgot that they execute javascript to enforce a paywall.

Interesting article that directly compares Tesla's lock-in and remote control tactics to Apple's: https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2021/05/14/tesla-apple-tech/

It used to be that "If you aren't paying for something, you are the product" but now you are the product regardless. https://puri.sm/posts/data-double-dipping-when-companies-mine-paying-customers/

Why is it so hard for people to have #privacy? Because a TV company can make almost as much profit selling customer data as it can selling the TVs. https://www.engadget.com/vizio-q1-earnings-inscape-013937337.html

@danyork Welcome back!

Each time I see someone correct someone else with a pedantic edge case, my brain now sings: "You've been hit by, you've been struck by, a Well Actually" to the tune of Smooth Criminal.

@PublicNuisance@fosstodon.org One difference is that proprietary software users generally must rely on the vendor and their trust in them, for their privacy. You see this most often in the Apple community. Many people in that community do care about privacy (see the recent study of how many opted out of ad tracking once the option showed up in iOS), but they are also willing to outsource protecting privacy to Apple because they fully trust them.