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I just read an article that I figured you Tempers would find really interesting:
"Why American Farmers Are Hacking Their Tractors With Ukrainian Firmware"
An excerpt:
"A license agreement John Deere required farmers to sign in October forbids nearly all repair and modification to farming equipment, and prevents farmers from suing for "crop loss, lost profits, loss of goodwill, loss of use of equipment … arising from the performance or non-performance of any aspect of the software." The agreement applies to anyone who turns the key or otherwise uses a John Deere tractor with embedded software. It means that only John Deere dealerships and "authorized" repair shops can work on newer tractors.
"If a farmer bought the tractor, he should be able to do whatever he wants with it," Kevin Kenney, a farmer and right-to-repair advocate in Nebraska, told me. "You want to replace a transmission and you take it to an independent mechanic—he can put in the new transmission but the tractor can't drive out of the shop. Deere charges $230, plus $130 an hour for a technician to drive out and plug a connector into their USB port to authorize the part.""
I'm not very active here anymore because I don't have time to keep up with hacking news and I have no need to hack anything I have now. But having been here as long as I have, I thought this was very relatable. I don't have too much to say on the subject other than I think this makes more sense than Nintendo, Sony, or Microsoft securing their consoles, however. For these farmers, it's their life. For us, it's a hobby. I'd still like to be able to do what I want with what I bought. In the end, the fears for these companies is piracy, whereas John Deere, well... when you figure out how to download a tractor, let me know.
"Why American Farmers Are Hacking Their Tractors With Ukrainian Firmware"
An excerpt:
"A license agreement John Deere required farmers to sign in October forbids nearly all repair and modification to farming equipment, and prevents farmers from suing for "crop loss, lost profits, loss of goodwill, loss of use of equipment … arising from the performance or non-performance of any aspect of the software." The agreement applies to anyone who turns the key or otherwise uses a John Deere tractor with embedded software. It means that only John Deere dealerships and "authorized" repair shops can work on newer tractors.
"If a farmer bought the tractor, he should be able to do whatever he wants with it," Kevin Kenney, a farmer and right-to-repair advocate in Nebraska, told me. "You want to replace a transmission and you take it to an independent mechanic—he can put in the new transmission but the tractor can't drive out of the shop. Deere charges $230, plus $130 an hour for a technician to drive out and plug a connector into their USB port to authorize the part.""
I'm not very active here anymore because I don't have time to keep up with hacking news and I have no need to hack anything I have now. But having been here as long as I have, I thought this was very relatable. I don't have too much to say on the subject other than I think this makes more sense than Nintendo, Sony, or Microsoft securing their consoles, however. For these farmers, it's their life. For us, it's a hobby. I'd still like to be able to do what I want with what I bought. In the end, the fears for these companies is piracy, whereas John Deere, well... when you figure out how to download a tractor, let me know.