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Comment by EvanAnderson | Hacker News Reader

Removing an advertised feature of a product in a firmware update? That reminds me of OtherOS[1] and Sony.

[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/OtherOS

A recent case regarding video games: in its latest update, Doom Eternal added a kernel-mode "anticheat" (which, among other nasty features, prevented the video game from working unless certain ports were open [1]). Even if you ignore the huge security risks and the total disregard for privacy, this "anticheat" prevented the game from running in Linux, therefore removing an important feature. Apparently the publishers have decided to remove the "anticheat" after the backlash, but this kind of behaviour is becoming worrisomely common in all kinds of software.

[1] https://steamcommunity.com/app/782330/discussions/0/36067658...

A huge part of modern software updates seems to be bait and switching your users.

It isn’t a “huge” problem but I have noticed this happens in physical goods as well. Backpacking / soft goods companies sometimes release multiple versions of the same SKU.

The initial version will be reviewed in detail. Then for various reasons the product is changed. Often it fixes issues however sometimes different materials or even zippers are used that are lower quality.

No notice of these changes are given to consumers.

Is that legal?

Sony paid out on a class-action lawsuit over it.

In spite of having a launch model PS3 I wasn't able to claim my $9 of PSN credit or whatever; iirc you had to prove you had installed linux before a firmware update vaporized it.

TI will make it legal

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