[ricksunny]

Couple of precedents worth noting here:

• (earliest I'm aware of) integrated circuit companies in the semiconductor industry typically have different versions of an IC using the same silicon but with different resistor fuses burned to lock out premium functionality.

• bikeshares are basically a hardware lockout model

• I've been in the off-grid pay-as-you-go industry (For markets like in India and sub-Saharan Africa) which is functionally dependent on the concept of locking out hardware until someone has paid for it. It would be easy to see premium subscription features slotting into this model. Without the lockout, the industry would be a tiny fraction of its current size, and would not be reaching the most struggling individuals who cannot provide for the up-front cost needed to get a product in hand in the first place.

I think what VW's doing sucks, _relative to my pre-existing norms_ and what _they and the rest of the auto industry_ ordinarily used to to offer. But I can see an industry being enabled by the same behavior too. These opportunities are obviously rife with the potential for abuse & dystopian consequences. It would be really nice if a set of norms was drawn up that many could ratify so that companies & brands could be held accountable to a certain code of behavior. 'this is allowed', 'that is not allowed' type of thing. I don't want the future to be a Cory Doctorow novel.