Perhaps one day some jurisdiction will have the wherewithal to implement legislation to stop this madness. At the very least all the device and protocol documentation and crypto keys etc should be escrowed somewhere for the day this happens.
What would help just as much: people actually giving a fcuk - as in: researching how durable something is, how hackable, how cloud-dependant or not...
...and not act all surprised when something stops working once the manufacturer calling it quits (or starts charging for a previously-free service).
Today, whenever i talk to others how i evaluate products i still get blank stares and i might as well have talked in a foreign tongue.
Also not happening: learning from $companys previous behaviour - stopped supporting something after a year? No parts, no schematics, no nothing?
Well - welcome to my shitlist of companies that'll never see another $/€ from me, ever again.
Doing this eventually would force companies to change their ways, but as long as they can continue selling whatever dreck they come up with to the masses...
Like similar cases (is this car roadworthy? are airplanes safe?), this is the classic case for regulation.
Teardowns, reviews etc… Of course, there is no silver bullet, but researching before buying really goes a long way.
Whatever I buy smart, I always check if I can flash alternative firmware to it or if it can be used locally only - for example.
how I am supposed to know (or research) which fridge or vacuum is more durable?
My first Ecovacs robot vacuum lasted 5 years, the replacement died in months and I've replaced that.
Its a complete pain to get open, and the way its wired makes it a complete pain to get around to try and repair.
The two times I had to open my Roborock S5 (once because our cat decided to vomit when the robo cleaned up and once to replace a broken Lidar motor) I actually was very delighted by its thoughtful design - basically none of what you describe, everything was very modular.
I mean, of course, you’re right - a different model can and probably will be designed differently - but that’s what teardowns are there for - fool me once, check the next time beforehand.
Also, certain brands more or less got similar issues over all the product ranges, for example power supplies giving up on Hisense TVs, compressors on certain fridge manufacturers etc - there are patterns to look out for - especially when the product has been on the market for some time.
Oh, and to reply to that point: the EU will have mandated labels on packages that will indicate how repairable something is.
https://joint-research-centre.ec.europa.eu/jrc-news-and-upda...
It seems to be in effect in France already: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Repairability