I've been nursing an old-man-yells-at-clouds rant for a while: I hate this current era wherein I purchase something, but the company that made it continues operating as if they still own it—and everything I do with it. To wit:
\nI'm tired of digging these up, but you get the picture. I bought something, yet it still serves the company that took my money. It only works for me incidentally and conditionally.
\nEvery device I bring home becomes a potential \"delivery channel\" or \"metrics source\" for a large corporation. And this doesn't even touch on the involuntary contribution to AI and machine learning models trained on customer activity and content.
\nAnd yeah, I understand that, according to the fine print, most of what we \"buy\" now is just \"licensed\". But 20 or 30 years ago, this would have sounded like a conspiracy theory. (There's that cloud-yelling.)
\nMost of us—me included—have frog-boiled our way into this or grew up never knowing anything different. But, we weren't promised jet packs. We were promised Blade Runner and the Weyland-Yutani Corporation. (I've been watching Alien: Earth lately.)
\nThis is partly why I still hack and jailbreak everything I own—when I can muster the energy. But it's exhausting, especially when it breaks stuff I need to use. So, I tend to sigh and skip it. I try to direct my purchases toward tools that primarily serve me, but participating in modern society while maintaining that feels like a weirdo lost cause.
\n", "body": "\nI've been nursing an old-man-yells-at-clouds rant for a while: I hate this current era wherein I purchase something, but the company that made it continues operating as if they still own it—and everything I do with it. To wit:\n\n- [Samsung confirms its $1,800+ fridges will start showing you ads](https://www.androidauthority.com/samsung-confirms-smart-refrigerator-ads-are-coming-3598848/) (2025)\n- [Yes, Your TV Is Probably Spying on You. Your Fridge, Too. Here's What They Know.](https://www.nytimes.com/wirecutter/reviews/advice-smart-devices-data-tracking/) (2025)\n- [Some Jeep owners are being hit with pop-up ads inside their cars—and it's all part of Stellantis's plan to make an extra $20 billion a year](https://fortune.com/2025/02/13/jeep-in-car-ads-popup-stellantis-software-revenue/) (2025)\n- [Here's what Bambu will — and won't — promise after its controversial 3D printer update](https://www.theverge.com/2025/1/21/24349031/bambu-3d-printer-update-authentication-filament-subscription-lock-answers) (2025)\n- [John Deere and Right to Repair over the years](https://pirg.org/resources/john-deere-and-right-to-repair-over-the-years/) (2024)\n- [HP printers still block third-party ink](https://www.pcworld.com/article/1656073/these-hp-printers-can-be-upgraded-to-allow-third-party-printer-ink.html) (2023)\n- [Tesla Remotely Disabled 80 Miles Of Range From Customer's Car Demanding $4,500, Backtracks When The Web Finds Out](https://www.carscoops.com/2022/07/tesla-remotely-disabled-80-miles-of-range-from-customers-car-demanding-4500-backtracks-when-the-web-finds-out/) (2022)\n- [Amazon gave Ring videos to police without owners' permission](https://www.politico.com/news/2022/07/13/amazon-gave-ring-videos-to-police-without-owners-permission-00045513) (2022)\n- [Amazon is turning Ring security videos into TV show](https://www.cbsnews.com/news/2022/07/13/amazons-ring-videos-tv-show-mgm/) (2022)\n- [Why you can't buy Kindle books on iPhone](https://www.businessinsider.com/why-you-cant-buy-kindle-books-on-iphone-2014-4) (2014)\n\nI'm tired of digging these up, but you get the picture. I bought something, yet it still serves the company that took my money. It only works for me incidentally and conditionally.\n\nEvery device I bring home becomes a potential \"delivery channel\" or \"metrics source\" for a large corporation. And this doesn't even touch on the [involuntary contribution](https://blog.lmorchard.com/2025/05/27/involuntary-stone-soup-ai/index.html) to AI and machine learning models trained on customer activity and content.\n\nAnd yeah, I understand that, according to the fine print, most of what we \"buy\" now is just \"licensed\". But 20 or 30 years ago, this would have sounded like a conspiracy theory. (There's that cloud-yelling.)\n\nMost of us—me included—have frog-boiled our way into this or grew up never knowing anything different. But, we weren't promised jet packs. We were promised Blade Runner and the [Weyland-Yutani Corporation](https://avp.fandom.com/wiki/Weyland-Yutani_Corporation). (I've been watching Alien: Earth lately.)\n\nThis is partly why I still hack and jailbreak everything I own—when I can muster the energy. But it's exhausting, especially when it breaks stuff I need to use. So, I tend to sigh and skip it. I try to direct my purchases toward tools that primarily serve me, but participating in modern society while maintaining that feels like a weirdo lost cause.", "parentPath": "./content/posts/2025", "path": "2025/09/18/only-licensed-never-bought", "needsBuild": true, "prevPostPath": "2025/09/18/ai-engine-horses", "prevPostTitle": "This engine has no horses", "nextPostPath": "2025/09/18/miscellanea", "nextPostTitle": "Miscellanea for 2025-09-18" }