this post was submitted on 28 Aug 2024
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I feel like it largely started with EVs though, since they came with all of the smart crap out of the gate.
That's just when you noticed. High end models of cars had that since OnStar.
Sure, but OnStar is largely limited to GM vehicles and, as you said, certain high-end models as an option. Also, remote start was an option on a number of vehicles going years back.
The change with EVs is that the smart crap is in the base models, so you can't get a model that doesn't phone home. With OnStar, it's usually as simple as removing the infotainment screen and disconnecting a cable to disable it, whereas newer cars are a lot more complicated to disable the phone home features, and may not work without them.
I blame EVs for normalizing it, as well as making it more difficult to disable that crap.
Maybe it's both of our bias but I stopped seeing new cars without an integrated head unit in 2010, the Tesla model s came out in 2012. Yes the base models didn't have the informant system but I will die on the hill that it's not the EV that brought it to the masses. Longer loan options so people could get a higher end car and pay on it for 7years. Along with people wanting gps in their cars, play music, and hands free laws, it was easier to just get a car that you could tap a button to answer your phone.
The integrated head unit isn't the problem, my 2007 Prius has one and it doesn't have any way to phone home (no navigation built-in, for example).
I don't know about the rest of the industry, but at least with Toyota Prius, navigation/internet access became standard around 2020. All of that is standard on most EVs, except maybe the base Leaf (it's standard on Chevy Bolt though). EVs certainly didn't create the option, but it became standard soon after EVs shipped with those features as standard.
Ahh I gotcha. Yeah, I like my EV but with the reports coming out that they are selling data to insurance providers I would love to disconnect my connection to the Internet but I believe it has a esim from Verizon.
Yeah, and digging that out could be a huge pain, as it's usually buried beneath the dashboard, so it would probably take an hour or two to get to, even if it is user-removable.
I'm not going to buy any vehicle that I cannot block from accessing the internet, so my search for a car is a bit complicated. Instead of just looking at price and specs, now I also have to look for what kind of spyware it has and if it can be easily disabled.
correlation doesn't prove causation - this was going to happen even if EVs never took off.
Maybe, but it requires someone to move first, so I think EVs accelerated it.
Why do you think that? What exactly about the motor spinning from electrons instead of hydrocarbons makes any difference?
It's a new product on the market, so it's an opportunity to really shake up customer expectations. Tesla lead the charge with that and essentially set the standard for the rest of the EV market.
do you also blame EVs for the same shit happening outside the auto industry?
I'm trying to get across that this stuff would have happened even if Tesla never existed.
Yes, it probably would've happened eventually, but not as quickly as it did.
But the stuff happening throughout the industry all stems from the same core issue: people are putting up with it. If people stopped paying for predatory products and services, products and services would become less predatory. I don't know what the solution here is, but it seems a large number of people are okay with companies charging subscriptions for things that used to be products. I personally reject it, but I'm just one person.
There are no alternatives. Everything is predatory. Blaming consumers is ignorant.
Believe what you want.
I personally like to look at what I can do as an individual, and what others can do as individuals. Blaming companies doesn't get us anywhere, informing the public about issues can move us toward change. So that's what I'm going to do. But we need enough people to change behavior before companies will change theirs, that's just how these things work.
nah I really think you got it wrong.
big companies spend obscene amounts of money and effort researching how to manipulate and influence people effectively so they can make the most profit they can get away with.
a catchy jingle is an obvious example. not really nefarious (i have strong nostalgia for local business jingles and slogans) tho.
dark patterns on websites are a better example. like how it's really easy to sign up for amazon prime, but canceling amazon prime is impossible to do without having to use a search engine to find the obscure link to the cancellation page.
if you think people influence companies more than the other way wrong, I really gotta urge you to consider another angle.
Eh, I've done it 2-3 times, it's really not hard. In fact, I usually just get their free trial 2x/year, once before Christmas, and once at the start of summer.
I get the general point though, and I do try to avoid companies like Amazon that manipulate people (e.g. I refuse to let my kids play Fortnite).
I look at what I can do and what I can't do. I can avoid abusive companies, education others around me, etc. I can't change those companies' practices. I can vote for politicians I believe will hold companies accountable. I can't make those politicians vote the way I want. And so on. Avoiding bad companies is something I can do, whining about it doesn't get anything done.