Louis Rossman on the erosion of our freedoms

[Steve]

I was already kind of aware how our freedoms were being eroded, but in this digital-age we live in, things are far worse than most people realise... I recommend anyone watch this to understand what's being taken away from us.

[mrbombermillzy]

This is barely the tip of the iceberg to whats going down unknown to most.

Unfortunately, you wont ever find out watching YT/BBC/FB.

Heres are couple of appropriate illustrations:

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Just dont believe everything you hear, just because someone has an 'important' title, or they are on an 'official' channel/show/group.


Anyway, thats as near to political I am willing to go on the forum. :lol:

[exxos]

Yeah I try and avoid politics, but it's not easy when you try and do something..

I remember him talking about some car manufacturers where you buy the car but have to pay a subscription to use the heated seats. Think some electric car manufacturer was limiting the battery capacity unless you pay a subscription to unlock it.

It's how things are going these days. Buy something and keep on paying for it... Like buying and renting at the same time..it's money for nothing, they just selling you stuff you already bought...

[rubber_jonnie]

When I bought my current car there were no restrictions on what you could use, it was all unlocked, however I am aware that some manufacturers do this (Audi I think is one) so they can hammer you for extra cash if you want more functionality.

I don't 100% agree with the statement 'If you can't fix it, you don't own it', because there are things nowadays that I wouldn't want to fix. Mobiles phones, laptops (I have paid outright for both of mine) etc are all very dense tech wise and without special equipment you certainly would struggle to fix things.

Batteries though, this really is where I get a bit annoyed. You really should be able to replace those, especially in laptops. Phone too, though when you have an IP68 rating, what happens to that if you open up the phone? Another reason not to.

I generally speaking do not like the way things are going repairability wise, but I just don't see it changing.

[exxos]

Batteries is a tricky one. Is it classed as a repair .... But it's annoying as I chucked a perfectly good drill away as I couldn't get a battery for it... It would cost more to get a battery than a whole new drill cost. Long gone are they days of just slapping in a couple of C-cells. Everything has to be custom now. Then your in the trap of buying new all the time and increases E-waste etc.

I keep saying the same thing, where technology moves forwards and backwards at the same time. But that's another topic by itself..

[felicemaggie]

Things are improving slightly, at least in a gradual sense. My (new to me) refurbished M1 Macbook uses the same usb-c cable to charge from, similar to my Samsung phone. In our hotel room in San Diego, where we're currently visiting, it's also useful to note that usb-c sockets are prevalent on various types of furniture here.

I do share the same frustration in relation to battieries though, on devices such as laptops and mobile phones from the past. There does seem to be some extra markup involved when parts in these items are replaced though, in stores. For example, I had to get the charging port on my phone replaced as the original was wobbling in the socket. It's given my 5-year or so old phone a new lease of life though :)

[mikro]

Unfortunately, you wont ever find out watching YT/BBC/FB.

Considering that you're discussing a video referenced on YT this is a pretty brave statement. ;-)

[DoG]

Regarding batteries:

"The regulation provides that by 2027 portable batteries incorporated into appliances should be removable and replaceable by the end-user, leaving sufficient time for operators to adapt the design of their products to this requirement. "

[exxos]

Replaceable isn't going to help if manufacturers lock you into their own ecosystem. I can replace my battery in my drill, but it's more expensive than a new drill with a new battery. EU are claiming down on waste, that's fine, but it also backs onto issues blocking me from selling to EU. They will make manufacturers responsible for waste, which will drive up costs and make battery replacement even more expensive and less appealing. Plus as Louis says, they have to be user replaceable without having to a dealer and get charged huge amounts. I'm not deep diving into it all again. It be good if it works...to a point...

My girlfriend sent the toner cartridge back to Brother for its end of life. Free post.. kicker is, it's going to Netherlands. So EU want to reduce waste, and then create more packing waste in having to return products to the manufacturer. Nevermind the air miles cost involved. Plus actual recycling, if it really happens.. mix in the packaging licence fees... All these costs will add up.
Same with all the stickering madness I've ranted about. EU want to clamp down on waste, then force massive amounts of stickers on everything... It's just counter productive. How many billions of tonnes of stickers waste will there be now..

I get it the EU want to crack down on waste and keep pushing their circular economy thing, on the surface it sounds great. But it's going to have consequences for the consumer and business, in particular small enterprises.. In my case, it's more cost effective to pull out of the EU.. but what about other companies that make goods..like Tvs , mobile phones etc. Companies have tough calls soon.. I'm sure if they want to continue they will have to ramp up prices or quit..Anyway I've said it all before.

[Steve]

I'm more focussed on the technology side of all this. How corporations are taking our digital freedoms away. When you think about how important the internet and digital aspects are in our lives, then digital freedoms are becoming more and more important every day. These days it's almost a given, an accepted thing that children *have* to walk around with a mobile phone, when questioned, parents will cite some canned response about safety (because that's what the kids guilt trip them over, and other parents do it to one another due to the same reason) anyway - that's kind of besides the point and a separate issue, but still related in terms of corporations control over our families in the digital domain.

I remember bringing up the Firefox vs Chrome issue up a while back and it had it's expected response. My argument was that Firefox (free and open source browser) only had 2.5% market share today, what surprised me was the amount of educated and intelligent technology, 'techy' people, who were using Chrome and not thinking about it. When Firefox disappears we're left with a completely controlled internet where our freedoms can totally be eroded by corporate interest. (Google has already started banning certain browser extensions like uBlock origin and other privacy related extensions, extensions which are there to protect you) You would think that 'techy' people would be wise to this and make a conscious choice to avoid using Chrome, but most don't. So how can you expect the average user, Joe Mum/Dad and kid to want to use Firefox, if the educated and informed (maybe informed but ignorant?) choose not to use it.