[Discuss] Digital Right to Repair Bill, H.3383

[Greg Rundlett (freephile)]

Right to Repair is a serious issue, and the rights of the consumer have
been eroding fast and furiously!

In the car market alone, you used to be able to get decent information in
manuals, such as buying the 3rd-party "Haynes Manual".  With the digital
age, manufacturers have hindered access to this information rather than
making it easier.  Currently, as an owner of an automobile, you *might* be
able to pay hundreds of dollars for a one-year subscription to the
manufacturer's library of PDF files.  It's horrendous.  And I'm not
confident that any legislation will reverse the trend. (Because:
loopholes... "we provided the information in a similar manner and cost as
we provide to our dealers").

They try to lock you out of the ODB2 readers.

They don't publish codes.

Meanwhile, they have software that can and does interpret everything that
the car (computer) knows about itself.    You don't own it, you just paid
to use it at their favor.


Greg Rundlett
https://eQuality-Tech.com
https://freephile.org

On Tue, Jul 28, 2015 at 6:40 PM, Steve Litt <slitt at troubleshooters.com>
wrote:

> On Tue, 28 Jul 2015 18:02:02 -0400
> Rich Pieri <richard.pieri at gmail.com> wrote:
>
> > On 7/28/2015 5:50 PM, F. O. Ozbek wrote:
> > >> Yeah, I don't think this makes sense....
> > >
> > > meaning, I think it is unrealistic to "repair" the ever shrinking
> > > and ever cheaper electronic parts...
> >
> > Oh, good. It's not just me.
> >
> > While I like the idea of right to repair, the practicality of
> > applying it to microelectronics... doesn't exist.
>
> Take a step back and consider the wider picture. Much repair doesn't
> involve a solder station. Your car manufacturer probably provides
> diagnostic programs to analyze your car's hardware. This bill forces
> the manufacturer to give provide that same software to you, or more
> importantly, to the small but very smart repair shop down the street.
> It seems like this bill preserves your choices.
>
> Then there are DMCA traps like printer cartridges with firmware whose
> real purpose is locking out the competition. This bill sounds like it
> enables you to buy parts from whomever you want, without breaking the
> law.
>
> Then there's this:
>
> http://www.wired.com/2015/04/dmca-ownership-john-deere/
>
> It's not about replacing surface mount chips at all.
>
> SteveT
>
> Steve Litt
> July 2015 featured book: Rapid Learning for the 21st Century
> http://www.troubleshooters.com/rl21
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