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Piwoslaw · 12-15-2023, 03:16 PM

I came across the below story:

Polish Hackers Repaired Trains the Manufacturer Artificially Bricked. Now The Train Company Is Threatening Them

And thought about how more and more depend we are on (at the mercy of) OEMs and the software in their products.
Phones, trains, PCs, cars, etc.

There are already examples of OEMs being able to remotely enable/disable features and functions depending on whether we paid extra for them.

For me it is starting to be scary. Dystopias and such.
I like some of the features of new cars, like improved aerodynamics, but not all of the others.
I am not an orthodox ascetic, but my previous 2005 Pug already had more features than I wanted, its replacement (2013 PUG) has more. When I read about even newer cars I am overwhelmed with the gizmos, but also with its dependence on complicated software.
And as far as I don't like the difficulties in fixing and replacing the electronics, I am totally against hidden dependence on the whims of the OEM.

12-15-2023, 03:16 PM	#1 (permalink)
Piwoslaw aero guerrilla Join Date: Oct 2008 Location: Warsaw, Poland Posts: 3,707 Svietlana II - '13 Peugeot 308SW e-HDI 6sp 90 day: 58.1 mpg (US) Thanks: 1,280 Thanked 731 Times in 464 Posts	OEM bricking of vehicle software I came across the below story: Polish Hackers Repaired Trains the Manufacturer Artificially Bricked. Now The Train Company Is Threatening Them And thought about how more and more depend we are on (at the mercy of) OEMs and the software in their products. Phones, trains, PCs, cars, etc. There are already examples of OEMs being able to remotely enable/disable features and functions depending on whether we paid extra for them. For me it is starting to be scary. Dystopias and such. I like some of the features of new cars, like improved aerodynamics, but not all of the others. I am not an orthodox ascetic, but my previous 2005 Pug already had more features than I wanted, its replacement (2013 PUG) has more. When I read about even newer cars I am overwhelmed with the gizmos, but also with its dependence on complicated software. And as far as I don't like the difficulties in fixing and replacing the electronics, I am totally against hidden dependence on the whims of the OEM. __________________ e·co·mod·ding: the art of turning vehicles into what they should be What matters is where you're going, not how fast. "... we humans tend to screw up everything that's good enough as it is...or everything that we're attracted to, we love to go and defile it." - Chris Cornell [Old] Piwoslaw's Peugeot 307sw modding thread