I simply cannot see how anyone could justify giving a company who will void your warranty if you do not pay them continually for years after already paying them thousands at the onset.
I’m pretty positive this is against the law, so they might say it but it might be unenforceable.
if there is a SBC can it really not run locally?
Not sure what you mean by SBC
Also, so I can put Linux on it? So what?
No it literally is a Linux box. You don’t need to put Linux on it. People have managed to connect directly to the box. And so what? It directly refutes 80% of your points. If you can put FOSS software on it then you can do whatever you want with it without worrying about them harvesting your data, requiring it to be always online, charging a subscription, worrying about the “cool tech bro” app, etc.
If any actual alternative existed then yeah it’d be a no brainer to use the alternative. But no alternatives exist. And no, an AC in the window is not an alternative, and those things that blow air on you under the covers also aren’t an alternative.
Even if it’s against the law it doesn’t mean you won’t run into a massive amount of headache. do you really want to have to go to small claims just to get warranty fulfillment?
Single board computer. Linux box is more appropriate terminology apparently
The fact that you can defeat their software is great, genuinely, I’m happy to hear that you do that and I encourage you to develop or promote the alternative firmware that starves them of subscription revenue
The issue is every sale they make is validation of their terrible practices. You may roll your eyes at this and say “who fucking cares” but it matters. We are in a world where companies disrespect us more and more every single year because we as consumers have 0 impulse control. They develop a neat thing and tie it to abusive tactics and instead of saying “hey fuck you, that’s cool but come back when you can sell a version that’s repairable/that has a warranty that shows you stand behind your product/that has a reasonable need for a subscription and not just a subscription because you decided you want revenue forever/etc” we engage in our relentless consumerism.
Our politicians are complete failures at implementing any kind of regulatory oversight, especially in terms of consumer protections, especially on the tech industry. So it is on us to be responsible with our purchasing power and social pressure.
I’m pretty positive this is against the law, so they might say it but it might be unenforceable.
Not sure what you mean by SBC
No it literally is a Linux box. You don’t need to put Linux on it. People have managed to connect directly to the box. And so what? It directly refutes 80% of your points. If you can put FOSS software on it then you can do whatever you want with it without worrying about them harvesting your data, requiring it to be always online, charging a subscription, worrying about the “cool tech bro” app, etc.
If any actual alternative existed then yeah it’d be a no brainer to use the alternative. But no alternatives exist. And no, an AC in the window is not an alternative, and those things that blow air on you under the covers also aren’t an alternative.
Even if it’s against the law it doesn’t mean you won’t run into a massive amount of headache. do you really want to have to go to small claims just to get warranty fulfillment?
Single board computer. Linux box is more appropriate terminology apparently
The fact that you can defeat their software is great, genuinely, I’m happy to hear that you do that and I encourage you to develop or promote the alternative firmware that starves them of subscription revenue
The issue is every sale they make is validation of their terrible practices. You may roll your eyes at this and say “who fucking cares” but it matters. We are in a world where companies disrespect us more and more every single year because we as consumers have 0 impulse control. They develop a neat thing and tie it to abusive tactics and instead of saying “hey fuck you, that’s cool but come back when you can sell a version that’s repairable/that has a warranty that shows you stand behind your product/that has a reasonable need for a subscription and not just a subscription because you decided you want revenue forever/etc” we engage in our relentless consumerism.
Our politicians are complete failures at implementing any kind of regulatory oversight, especially in terms of consumer protections, especially on the tech industry. So it is on us to be responsible with our purchasing power and social pressure.