Discontinuation bricking: Difference between revisions
Attempted to improve readability. |
m Added some comments - I think swapping waste to e-waste is a minor mistake as e-waste is too specific and not necessarily the only waste generated by this practice, consider swapping this term in the "final" edit. If someone could find another example for warning sign 1 or 2 that'd be great. Everything else changed in the last revision is great. |
||
| Line 1: | Line 1: | ||
{{StubNotice}} | {{StubNotice}} | ||
'''Discontinuation bricking''' occurs when a product is "bricked" — no longer functional — because the producer has discontinued it. Discontinuation bricking almost exclusively occurs in products that require a connection to a remote server hosted by the producer. The product may become bricked if the company decides to shut down services or if the company goes out of business entirely, which is a significant harm to consumer rights. | '''Discontinuation bricking''' occurs when a product is "bricked" — no longer functional — because the producer has discontinued it. Discontinuation bricking almost exclusively occurs in products that require a connection to a remote server hosted by the producer. The product may become bricked if the company decides to shut down services or if the company goes out of business entirely, which is a significant harm to consumer rights. | ||
==Warning signs of discontinuation bricking== | ==Warning signs of discontinuation bricking== | ||
| Line 9: | Line 9: | ||
##'''Product requires remote authorization:''' product only works if you can receive authorization from an authorization server. If the authorization server shuts down, login will become impossible. An unusual example being the Spotify Car Thing which stopped functioning after Spotify unauthorized the Car Thing from interacting with the Spotify App API. | ##'''Product requires remote authorization:''' product only works if you can receive authorization from an authorization server. If the authorization server shuts down, login will become impossible. An unusual example being the Spotify Car Thing which stopped functioning after Spotify unauthorized the Car Thing from interacting with the Spotify App API. | ||
##'''Product has features dependent on remote sources:''' product may brick if it is unable to access remote information because of server outages. | ##'''Product has features dependent on remote sources:''' product may brick if it is unable to access remote information because of server outages. | ||
#'''Product depends on a phone application to work:''' updates to the app may remove support for the discontinued product. An example being the [[Spotify Car Thing]] which stopped functioning after Spotify unauthorized the Car Thing from interacting with the Spotify App API.<ref>[https://www.motortrend.com/news/spotify-car-thing-music-streaming-device-discontinued/ "Spotify's Oddball In-Car Music Device Is Getting Bricked. Turns Out There's an App For That."] - motortrend.com - accessed 2025-01-25</ref> <!-- Maybe include a different example here? It feels a bit redundant considering this was the example for the previous point. --> | #'''Product depends on a phone application to work:''' updates to the app may remove support for the discontinued product. An example being the [[Spotify Car Thing]] which stopped functioning after Spotify unauthorized the Car Thing from interacting with the Spotify App API.<ref>[https://www.motortrend.com/news/spotify-car-thing-music-streaming-device-discontinued/ "Spotify's Oddball In-Car Music Device Is Getting Bricked. Turns Out There's an App For That."] - motortrend.com - accessed 2025-01-25</ref><!-- Maybe include a different example here? It feels a bit redundant considering this was the example for the previous point. --><!-- To be fair we may be better of just merging 1 and 2 and expanding upon 1, there's nearly no difference as the product and app go hand-in-hand --> | ||
#'''Product requires physical input on a regular basis:''' as an example, [[HP Inc.]] printer ink has a [[Digital rights management|DRM]] that forces consumers to exclusively use HP ink, and does not allow third-party cartridges. If HP goes out of business or decides to stop producing their ink cartridges, any printer depending upon it will become bricked, '''effectively discontinuing the printer''' even if not explicitly stated. | #'''Product requires physical input on a regular basis:''' as an example, [[HP Inc.]] printer ink has a [[Digital rights management|DRM]] that forces consumers to exclusively use HP ink, and does not allow third-party cartridges. If HP goes out of business or decides to stop producing their ink cartridges, any printer depending upon it will become bricked, '''effectively discontinuing the printer''' even if not explicitly stated. | ||
==How discontinuation bricking impacts consumer rights== | ==How discontinuation bricking impacts consumer rights== | ||
Discontinuation bricking is similar to [[planned obsolescence]] in which it harms the consumer and the environment by making a product they paid for stop functioning, which not only is anti-consumer but also contributes to E-waste. | Discontinuation bricking is similar to [[planned obsolescence]] in which it harms the consumer and the environment by making a product they paid for stop functioning, which not only is anti-consumer but also contributes to E-waste.<!-- "e-waste" may be too specific of a term. "waste" refers to all waste while "e-waste" is more specific towards electronics. Consider changing to "waste" in the final draft. --> | ||
===How discontinuation bricking contributes to E-waste=== | ===How discontinuation bricking contributes to E-waste=== | ||
| Line 25: | Line 25: | ||
===Resale falsification=== | ===Resale falsification=== | ||
Products are often resold on the internet, and may be put on sale before a discontinuation bricking occurs with valid information but become invalidated afterwards. This has many implications: | Products are often resold on the internet, and may be put on sale before a discontinuation bricking occurs with valid information but become invalidated afterwards causing [[false advertising]]. This has many implications: | ||
#Sellers may be completely unaware of the discontinuation bricking and will continue selling their product, hurting seller reputation once the product becomes bricked and no longer functions afterwards. | #Sellers may be completely unaware of the discontinuation bricking and will continue selling their product, hurting seller reputation once the product becomes bricked and no longer functions afterwards. | ||
| Line 35: | Line 35: | ||
#'''Avoid internet and smart products:''' if the product has to connect to an external server to work, the product is vulnerable to being bricked. | #'''Avoid internet and smart products:''' if the product has to connect to an external server to work, the product is vulnerable to being bricked. | ||
#'''Use [[Open source|open source/schematic]] products:''' open source/schematic products are inherently resistant to discontinuation bricking as the consumer is typically given everything they need to resolve outages themselves. | #'''Use [[Open source|open source/schematic]] products:''' open source/schematic products are inherently resistant to discontinuation bricking as the consumer is typically given everything they need to resolve outages themselves. | ||
#'''Buy products that contractually guarantee source/schematic release on discontinuation:''' if a company decides to include a legally binding agreement to provide source and schematics, this is usually a good sign that they are willing to accept blame for discontinuation bricking and take action to alleviate it. | #'''Buy products that contractually guarantee source/schematic release on discontinuation:''' if a company decides to include a legally binding agreement to provide source and schematics, this is usually a good sign that they are willing to accept blame for discontinuation bricking and take action to alleviate it. | ||
==Examples== | ==Examples== | ||