Just whe you thought CANBUS was a pain in the neck

[Meriden]

How long until this filters into motorcycles?

 

Copyright Law and The Automobile

 

I really like the part where John Deere sees their farm equipment as part of digital music piracy.

[Stan Walker]

With self-driving cars coming up in the very near future, I'm not sure I want the typical backyard mechanic working on them. After all, the motorcyclist they kill may be ME!!!!!!

 

As a retired senior principal embedded firmware engineer I have a healthy respect for the amount of work that goes into making these things work. And the number of things that can and often do go wrong.

 

My recommendation, go hack on your computer, but leave things that can kill other folks to professionals.

 

Stan

[Meriden]

I'm not buying the idea that the type of guy most think of as the average PC hacker is trying to flash their own motor vehicle chips. Maybe a handful try but not enough to be significant. I really don't buy the idea that "tinkering" will become a public health issue.

 

But that takes the argument off into the weeds almost as a far as the John Deere music claim. The real problem comes when an owner can't diagnose and repair his own vehicle to stock specifications. For example, a test light is all that is needed to diagnose my R1100RT. Some functions of the G650X require a dedicated BMW diagnostic tool. What I'm concerned about is limits this line of copyright control may place on diagnostics available to the average owner.

[Guest Kakugo]

They've already tried oulawing any kind of DIY maintenance in Europe. They were laughed out of the building.

 

Now they are back with a proposal for "sealed engines", which would make even an oil change a dealer-only procedure.

 

Just a few weeks ago I read the EU has 31000 employees but just in Strasbourg, Frankfurt and Brussels there are 30000 registered lobbyists. I guess they must find something to keep themselves busy, no matter how idiotic and unpopular.

 

Regarding John Deere. Perhaps if they spent a bit more on R&D and quality control and a little less on lobbyists the last tractor we bought from them wouldn't have been such a joke.

 

 

 

[upflying]

I think I'll just buy an old car that has points, distributor, cap, rotor, condenser and a carburetor and skip all the tech stuff in newer cars.

I'll call it my Ludditemobile.