SoylentNews is people
SoylentNews
Zero Motorcycles announced their groundbreaking new battery "technology", in which they sell you a large capacity battery in a motorcycle with powerful motors and advanced traction control systems, and then lock all that away behind a software paywall that you can unlock (for a fee) in their app.
https://newatlas.com/motorcycles/zero-motorcycles-2022-battery-paid-upgrades/
Zero is not the first vehicle company to do this sort of thing. Notably, Tesla sells vehicles with capabilities that can be unlocked via software "upgrades". This strategy is also common in the CNC machine tool industry; it's long frustrated machinists that they can buy a machine with all the hardware, but then have a sizable portion of memory, advanced motion smoothing, and other functions locked behind activation keys, which often cost several thousand dollars. In that industry at least, if you know the right people and have a machine with a common control, you can get what you need to unlock it through other sources.
I anticipate a similar approach in the vehicle market, which has long sold "tuner" chips and has a great deal of modding enthusiasts.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bIJiXNzpRMY
(Score: 5, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday November 13 2021, @04:38AM (9 children)
The article goes on about how Zero could tease customers by turning on extended range for a day, to give them a taste of what they could have for another $$$$.
I say, Zero probably also has the control to turn it off completely, just like Amazon has been known to turn off eBooks at the license server.
Just say no!
(Score: 4, Insightful) by mhajicek on Saturday November 13 2021, @04:45AM (5 children)
Much like how Apple diminished battery capacity for older iPhones, for reasons...
The spacelike surfaces of time foliations can have a cusp at the surface of discontinuity. - P. Hajicek
(Score: 2) by Runaway1956 on Saturday November 13 2021, @06:38AM (4 children)
"Battery management" is still a thing on Apple products. It's baked right into every MacBook OS, including the latest and greatest Monterey. You do have the option to turn off the advanced management options though, if you know where to look.
For info, the computer will generally keep the computer charged to about 85%. But as it tracks your usage, it will maintain that 85% during the hours it is plugged into external power, topping off to 100% when it expects you to unplug and go "on the road". The explanations are found on the Apple support site, if you search for them.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday November 13 2021, @09:27AM (3 children)
Because doing this increases the battery life considerably....
(Score: 3, Informative) by Runaway1956 on Saturday November 13 2021, @09:41AM (1 child)
Mostly true. No matter what kind of battery we are talking about, there are ways to extend the battery life, and there are ways to shorten that life drastically. The point of all the complaints against Apple, is that the owner should decide how the battery is used, not Big Brother. No other battery manufacturer decides for you how you will treat the battery. You purchase the battery, take it home, use it as you see fit. If/when you seek warranty service, the manufacturer or sales people determine that your warranty claim is legitimate, or not, and honor the warranty based on that decision. Apple, on the other hand, attempts to tie your hands, preventing you from using your battery as you see fit.
(Score: 1, Informative) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday November 13 2021, @02:17PM
One of Apple's major selling points is that they won't let you do whatever you want with the hardware. If you want freedom, buy literally anything else.
(Score: 3, Touché) by Opportunist on Saturday November 13 2021, @11:31AM
But I can't be trusted with this decision because, ya know, I'm just a dumb little kid and don't know as much about the world as my Apple Daddy.
(Score: 5, Insightful) by FatPhil on Saturday November 13 2021, @05:24AM (1 child)
There's only one question that should be asked of "features", and that's "how does the customer benefit?". If you can't give an immediate and obviously true answer, it's probably not actually a "feature" at all.
Great minds discuss ideas; average minds discuss events; small minds discuss people; the smallest discuss themselves
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday November 13 2021, @06:15AM
> the free market
Someone just arrived from the 18th Century!
Yeah, everything was a Free Market once.
(Score: 0, Interesting) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday November 13 2021, @07:49PM
Exactly. Act like a slave, and someone will treat you like one. Unfortunately, such a high percentage of people are pitiful groveling slaves that it gets to where you can't buy anything that is not completely buyer-hostile. Just look at "smart" TVs, for instance.