BMW wants to sell car features as subscriptions (sotware on/off)
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More expensive privacy disrespectful proprietary garbage. This "business" (SaSS) model makes me sick.
This is common practice of proprietary software. Usually, users don't buy/subscribe/activate all features of a big proprietary software package (e.g. Matlab, LabVIEW, etc.). Which features are unlocked and which are not is encoded in the activation code the user receive after payment. If the user wants to install the proprietary software on another computer (if possible), s/he normally has to de-activate the former installation, which makes the activation code usable again, but usually for a limited times.
Actually, this is a somehow "flexible" solution, which doesn't force the users to pay for all available features, and therefore is a minor step forward. I do appreciate BMW's subscription plan (but I don't accept it).
Sometimes you can't escape proprietary software. Still take the car for an example, there is no free software available, and the software on car is perfectly protected by DMCA-like laws. Users are forbidden to hack, change, or even study it. This also means that when the car needs to be repaired or serviced, it can only be done by officially-authorized entities. Again, only officially-approved parts are usable.
The DRM is already in the cars, what happens next? This BMW step is terrible, like all products with DRM.
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