Jefferson opposed this sort of obfuscation. He struck a deal: limited time period of protection in exchange for full disclosure. Unfortunately, we are reverting to the default setting for intellectual property which is trade secrecy. This is the Chinese model: they steal our secrets and if they invent something, they will kill you if you steal back. It's an ancient model. You can look it up. (keyword hints: silk, trade secrecy). _____________
Lem, I had a bad experience a few months ago with Apple and iTunes. Basically, my newer iPhone device uploaded a newer version of iTunes which was beyond what my relatively "old" laptop could upload. The result was that the two devices no longer communicate. The Apple Store told me: "You need to buy a newer laptop, dude."
The ability to not being able to have the right to repair anything you buy is in a word unamerican. We have a long and storied culture in this country of being and having some of doing some of the best repair work on anything in the world. Not having a right to repair won't just stop at electronics. It will migrate to everything, your washer, your dryer, your watch, your car, you name it. In fact, this will trickle down to property rights in the end. If you can't repair anything you own, then you really don't own it. In reality, you will simply be leasing it and that's the way things are going. If I am not allowed to repair something I spend my money on and requires repair of some kind, but I'm told that simply the act of opening it up is a violation of TOS/EULA or whatever bullshit manufacturers come up with, then I am in effect, not the true owner of the product. How far will this go down the rabbit hole?
Look, I have designed and engineered all kinds of products in my 25 year career. Most of the stuff I've made you will never see or use. The idea that what I am making and having people buy it but never really own it or can repair it just chaps my ass more than even Louis Rossman's sentiment. The right to repair is such a foreign concept that I'm amazed we are even discussing it, but I cause the corporate state we belong in now is driving a lot of this. Think about it, I could potentially be a criminal if I try to fix what I own or think I own. In fact, I may not even own it, therefore I may not be allowed to fix it. Ridiculous on it's face and should never be allowed to happen.
My old man was a jet engine mechanic for Pratt&Whitney. When he first worked for Pratt he was in the East Hartford, CT. plant that built new engines. He hated the work. Said it was like working on an assembly line @ an auto plant. His foreman got him @ job @ the Southington overhaul and repair plant. He LOVED it. My old man would say proudly, and I believe accurately, the engines that were overhauled were better than new ones. They knew the problems, used new and better materials, and produced a more efficient and safer engine.
4 comments:
Jefferson opposed this sort of obfuscation. He struck a deal: limited time period of protection in exchange for full disclosure. Unfortunately, we are reverting to the default setting for intellectual property which is trade secrecy. This is the Chinese model: they steal our secrets and if they invent something, they will kill you if you steal back. It's an ancient model. You can look it up. (keyword hints: silk, trade secrecy).
_____________
Lem, I had a bad experience a few months ago with Apple and iTunes. Basically, my newer iPhone device uploaded a newer version of iTunes which was beyond what my relatively "old" laptop could upload. The result was that the two devices no longer communicate. The Apple Store told me: "You need to buy a newer laptop, dude."
The ability to not being able to have the right to repair anything you buy is in a word unamerican. We have a long and storied culture in this country of being and having some of doing some of the best repair work on anything in the world. Not having a right to repair won't just stop at electronics. It will migrate to everything, your washer, your dryer, your watch, your car, you name it. In fact, this will trickle down to property rights in the end. If you can't repair anything you own, then you really don't own it. In reality, you will simply be leasing it and that's the way things are going. If I am not allowed to repair something I spend my money on and requires repair of some kind, but I'm told that simply the act of opening it up is a violation of TOS/EULA or whatever bullshit manufacturers come up with, then I am in effect, not the true owner of the product. How far will this go down the rabbit hole?
Look, I have designed and engineered all kinds of products in my 25 year career. Most of the stuff I've made you will never see or use. The idea that what I am making and having people buy it but never really own it or can repair it just chaps my ass more than even Louis Rossman's sentiment. The right to repair is such a foreign concept that I'm amazed we are even discussing it, but I cause the corporate state we belong in now is driving a lot of this. Think about it, I could potentially be a criminal if I try to fix what I own or think I own. In fact, I may not even own it, therefore I may not be allowed to fix it. Ridiculous on it's face and should never be allowed to happen.
My old man was a jet engine mechanic for Pratt&Whitney. When he first worked for Pratt he was in the East Hartford, CT. plant that built new engines. He hated the work. Said it was like working on an assembly line @ an auto plant. His foreman got him @ job @ the Southington overhaul and repair plant. He LOVED it. My old man would say proudly, and I believe accurately, the engines that were overhauled were better than new ones. They knew the problems, used new and better materials, and produced a more efficient and safer engine.
Sure enough, I'm getting an error message on the iTunes install, after following web written instructions the error persists.
I'm going to have to call apple back.
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