Category Archives: Electronic Devices

American Farmers Win Right to Repair their John Deere Tractors -Sort of

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The media’s reporting that the American Farm Bureau Federation signed a Memorandum of understanding -or MoU) with the maker of JOHN DEERE tractors to facilitate maintenance and repair of that kind of equipment in the future, without necessarily going through authorized dealers and technicians.

In today’s world, farm tractors are complicated bits of machinery which can no longer be repaired on-site by farmers themselves. All too often, the documentation, information and specialized tools required to perform requisite maintenance or repairs just isn’t available at large, so that the only possibility for farmers is to obtain the services of technicians authorized by John Deere itself. Contrary to how it used to be, a farmer can no longer hope to service his (her) tractor himself (herself), this is simply no longer possible; even calling upon a local mechanic to do so may be problematic as he (she) may not even have all the information, documentation and tools to get the job done.

Now, further to execution of the recent MoU, the manufacturer should make available to John Deere tractor owners documentation, information, specifications and specialized tools (like software) which may be require to allow or facilitate maintenance or repairs on tractors of that make.

Interestingly, the MoU states it does not force John Deere to disclose any confidential information or trade secrets, something that may very well end-up gutting the right to repair, some feel. After all, little prevents a company from claiming things like detailed specifications and documentation are proprietary and/or confidential or secret.

It will be interesting to see how John Deere goes about this, in practice, and the extent to which this kind of right to repair arrangement may spread to other manufacturers, industries or activities, whether in the U.S. or elsewhere like in Canada. In the meantime, at the very least, this is a step in the right direction.

Subscriptions and Increasingly Intangible Intangibles: Where Does it Stop?

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Without wanting to say too much about my age, I was part of the first generation to play computer games as kids. Yeah [says the guys adopting his Grandpa Simpson voice]: Back then, you bought it and could keep playing it ad nauseam, which included table-top games like Monopoly and console games like Pacman on my Atari 2600.

Well, the least one can say is that those days are gone… far gone. In today’s world, the way software and media are increasingly packaged basically did away not only with physical copies but with perpetual licenses altogether, rather turning everything into a something “as a service”.

You want a movie? Blockbuster’s gone, so are most DVDs and Blu-Ray discs, as most everyone turned to the likes of Netflix to watch movies and tv shows. Streaming is now the standard way to go about it. Heck, a friend was recently telling me Disney recently decided to do away with one of their stapes and stop selling copies of their movies on DVDs and the like. From now on (or soon anyway), you want to watch a Disney flick, you catch it in theaters or you stream it on Disney+. That’s it.

I think this speaks volumes about what’s been going on with media over the past 20 years or so. With the advent of the Internet, we collectively realized that no one needs to own… anything, really.

in today’s world, that even extends to software, of course. With quite a few companies discontinuing their apps and desktop software, rather opting to provide an equivalent that you can use through a browser, for example, the very concept of buying something that you control, call your own and can decide to keep around (or not) is quickly disappearing, software-wise anyway.

Of course, once you no longer own it, the producer of software can modify it at will, or even discontinue certain whole functionalities, at which point there’s fairly little you can really do about it. You really liked that cross-cell funky calculation function in that online application? Well, too bad, the producer elected to discontinue it, starting… oh yeah… yesterday. Don’t like it? Too bad for you.

Recently, I even saw this pushed one step further, when I realized a computer I was under the impression I had purchased (ah ah, fool) simply essentially disappeared overnight from STEAM, the widely used gaming platform. Yup, the game editor decided to pull that particular title and, of yeah, the effect was to essentially prevent those who had “purchased” it (or rather thought they did) to access or use it any longer. You liked that game? Too bad, it’s gone.

Heck, I’ve even read about certain car manufacturers abroad “innovating” (see those quotes?), by charging car “buyers” (see em’ again?) a monthly fee for the benefit of certain functionalities in their new vehicles, such as heated seats for $18 a month, etc. Yeah, seems in today’s world, businesses all want in on that subscription model. It’s just too good to pass on, it seems. Anyway, I don’t pretend telling anyone anything about this they didn’t already know. Just slightly amusing (if not outright tragic) to realize this is happening and that there precious little you and I can do about it. It’s just, as they say, the way it goes.

And Just Who Really Controls that New Shiny Connected Device of Yours?

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With a little help from a friend, I happened on 3 different stories in the news this week and that all relate, to some degree or another, to connected devices, including IoT devices and vehicles. If you ask me, it’s hard not to conclude that these 3 stories aren’t symptomatic of a trend. See for yourself:

The first story from this article relates to BMW, in South Korea, that now offers drivers access to certain functionalities installed in their new cars subject to the payment of subscription fees. The article mentions as an example heated seats which may only be used once the user agrees to fork over monthly fees. Failing this, BMW deactivates (or does not activate) the functionality remotely, so that, even though the vehicle technically includes it, it is inoperable. You read this right: you buy the car but not everything works off the bat, until you agree to pay monthly fees, in addition to your purchase price. After all, you just paid $80,000 for that car, what’s $20 per month?

The second story on that theme comes from this article  and relates to JOHN DEERE tractors. As you may have read recently, with the war in Ukraine, Russian forces are not only destroying things but also looting, including production and property found on farms. This happened to a bunch of tractors (a couple of millions dollars worth, apparently) which the Russians “confiscated” and quickly sent back to Russia as spoils of war. Unfortunately for them, once the tractors made it to their new home, Russian forces realized the machines has been (remotely) deactivated by the manufacturer, after they were reported stolen. As Russia just learned, it today’s world, yup, even farm equipment is connected, big time.

I happened on the third story through this article which deals with one of Amazon’s subsidiary admitting, this week, that it sometimes provides police with images from RING cameras (installed at customers’), without either consent from those owners or any warrants. Given this is done to help maintain order and ensure safety in our communities, why bother with such trivialities, right?

All three cases are symptoms of the control that manufacturers of connected devices and equipment do retain nowadays. This may be used for good or ill, but the bottom line is that we, as buyers of technology, can no longer assume we will retain control over OUR things, not total control anyway. In the age of the Internet of Things, the truth of the matter is that control will often rest elsewhere, something that can be so even though we may have bought a thing outright.

Next time you buy something that is connected, do ask yourself (and whoever’s selling it to you) to what extent the manufacturer may interact with it remotely, not only to update its firmware but also to disable it or do other things. The answer may surprise you.