[BiteCode_dev]

And consumers will cry about it for about 5 minutes, then go back to reward the company.

When HP started making printer cartridges that expired even when they were still full, people complained—then bought more.

When Microsoft let the web stagnate with IE6, people complained, then turned around and did the same thing with Chrome.

When Apple deliberately put a bug in the iPhone that caused the Home button to fail, pushing people to buy the next model, people got upset—and then bought the next one anyway. I'm amazed nobody remembers that one; it was such a huge deal at the time. And there is not a single link to articles about it anymore.

When Adobe switched to mandatory Creative Cloud subscriptions, plenty of users protested, but most professionals stayed.

When Amazon remotely deleted books from people's Kindles (including 1984), it was a scandal for a month, and then... nothing.

When we found out PRISM existed, users were worried for a few months, then went right back to filling those platforms with their personal data.

When Google allowed fraudulent DMCA takedowns, shut down accounts with no appeal, and censored its search engine, there was a brief outcry, then it was back to business as usual.

When Sony put a bloody ROOTKIT on its music CDs (!!!!), people grumbled for five minutes and kept giving them money.

These companies have no reason to stop. We never make them regret anything.

I should make a website to save those for posterity, so that at least we have a track record of all the things they get away with because we let them.

We're screwed—and we deserve it.

[diego_sandoval]

I've avoided buying any Lenovo product ever since their SuperFish fiasco.

At the beggining it surprised me that people still seriously recommended Lenovo products (even hackers). Now, my brain automatically "adblocks" the entire brand out when I'm looking to buy a new laptop or monitor, as it knows I can't buy it.

[thewebguyd]

Same for me on Lenovo. And likewise, once upon a time ago I told myself I was never going to use another Microsoft product ever again, and I've also mostly stuck to that and even changed jobs over it. Unfortunately, I can't escape github for now but I'm Microsoft free everywhere else at home and at work.

We need more people willing to vote with their wallet over stuff like this.

[lowbloodsugar]

I never bought an HP product ever again. My laser is a Brother. Scanner is Epson. But yeah, for the most part all that is true.

[tzs]

> When Microsoft let the web stagnate with IE6, people complained, then turned around and did the same thing with Chrome.

How so? I see more complaints about Chrome implementing things that Firefox and/or Safari do not than complaints the other way around.

[doublerabbit]

Microsoft dragged their heels hard when Firefox 3 came to the scene. IE6 was the browser at the time. Chrome was a concept and Opera at least pushed to keep up but surrendered and went to Chrome.

[BiteCode_dev]

There is 15 years of documentation of this. This is explained in countless threads in HN.

I'm tired boss.

[jojogeo]

Here here. 100% in agreement, people seem to have forgotten that the majority hold the bargaining power. You'll always have people who cross "strike lines", but by and large if the entire user base simply said; no, and walked; the world would definitely be a better place, in so many ways.

I don't hold France as a shining example of humanity; but by-christ if they get upset they actually take those feet, one in front of the other and fight tooth and nail against `$thing`. Even if they don't "win", they /don't go quietly/.

[ornornor]

There is a strike or demonstration of sorts every other day in France. Or so it seems living there. It’s become so frequent that it has little to no meaning anymore. The government is scared to implement any meaningful change because it’s guaranteed there’ll be a strike or demonstration of sorts. And so we continue towards the wall pedal to the metal.

[thewebguyd]

A democratic government should exist only by the consent of the governed. The government should be terrified of the people. Of course you have to be able to filter out the signal from the noise and majority vs minority desires, but by and large if a change is majorly unpopular, they should be terrified of trying to push it through.

[ornornor]

That’s not how it is there though. Any change whatsoever, justified or not, is opposed. So the government goes for bust and makes changes that help the biggest companies, the richest in the country, friends of the president (whoever they are, different presidents same joke) because it’s going to be a struggle anyway so it might as well payoff for their friends. Plus they need the wealthy’s support (they own the newspapers and media)

And so we’ve given up on the train for instance because when it’s not striking it’s broken down for some reason.

Retirements and social security, same thing, the only changes made was for the industry not for the people. And we’re careening into the wall.

[red_admiral]

The Sony one led to legal action and penalties. Also Microsoft themselves released an update that kicked the rootkit out.

[BiteCode_dev]

If illegal actions are just reverted and compensated by a fine, then they are just legal for a fee

[jeroenhd]

The sad thing is that for many of these examples, people got a better deal out of it.

The HP printer ink subscription makes a lot of sense if you print a certain number of pages each year. Many consumers who only print occasionally are better off with cheap subscriptions for getting their money's worth, even if from an environmental point of view the cartridge DRM is absolute bullcrap.

Adobe switching from making people pay thousands and charging them again for updates was a lot more expensive than the ridiculous yearly subscription they charge (per month, to keep the advertised price down, surprising people who thought they could cancel after a few months).

IE6 was awful at replicating what other browsers did, but it introduced a lot of features that reshaped the web. The XmlHttpRequest that moved the web from static pages to basic interactivity was a Microsoft invention.

Many if these cases didn't work out of course, but for many business decisions that cause outrage on the internet, it's worth reconsidering the options on offer after the outrage has died down. Unpopular decisions aren't often the unbridled conspiratory evil that the internet would like you to believe.

[CamperBob2]

When Apple deliberately put a bug in the iPhone that caused the Home button to fail, pushing people to buy the next model, people got upset—and then bought the next one anyway. I'm amazed nobody remembers that one; it was such a huge deal at the time. And there is not a single link to articles about it anymore.

That one, I don't remember either. Are you sure you aren't confusing it with Batterygate?

But yes: point taken, these companies have absolutely no incentive to behave any better than they have in the past.

[BiteCode_dev]

Oh no, I remember well. At some point, everyone at the software home button on their phone setup, because the physical button was sometimes working and sometimes not.

Apple issued a statement saying it was a hardware failure and there was nothing they could do.

A hacker later on proved they were lying by patching the software and showing the problem went away.

That's why I'm scrapbooking every article about the trump administration right now. This time period is so wild people will doubt it really existed.

I will not be gaslighted again. This world is crazy, and people have a terrible memory.

[j1elo]

"Error 53" from 2016, maybe?

* Error 53: Exposing An Apple Scandal -- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gWE4mwhjNY4

* ‘Error 53’ fury mounts as Apple software update threatens to kill your iPhone 6 -- https://www.theguardian.com/money/2016/feb/05/error-53-apple...

* Apple apologises for iPhone 'error 53' and issues fix -- https://www.bbc.com/news/technology-35611756

[BiteCode_dev]

It's another one, I actually didn't know about this one. Saving.

[johnnyanmac]

>That's why I'm scrapbooking every article about the trump administration right now. This time period is so wild people will doubt it really existed.

On one hand, I think there will be entire subgenres of literature and media dedicated to this time, the way we spend entire units in the US on WWII.

On the other hand, I also know there will be a lot of "not-MAGA" people who will say they didn't vote for Trump (they did) but defend to death how these times weren't that bad with all the same soundbites you hear today. We're way too connected (and Trump way too loud) to reasonably do Trump denialism, so the next best path will be Trump sympathizing

[handoflixue]

Switch to Brother laser jet printers - I hear about them every time HP comes up, I've had mine for years, it is a lovely solution

Tons of people switched from IE6 to Chrome; IE is a dead browser. These days I'd recommend Firefox.

Is there something wrong with the iPhone as of today? It sounds like the bug got fixed in response to outcry, especially if they went and scrubbed all traces of the event - that seems like a good outcome?

Adobe stock is down almost 50% (42.24%) in the past year - I dare say a lot of people got sick of their shit. I have no clue what professionals use, but GIMP works fine for my amateur edits.

Like, c'mon, change very clearly does happen. It's just slow and uneven.

If you actually cared about change, I feel like you'd maybe list a few of the cool alternatives out there and actually help people make that transition. https://xkcd.com/1053/ - people do actually have to be taught about these things, not everyone knows what the alternatives are!

[ornornor]

It’s not only their printers. Their computers and peripherals are also very low quality nowadays. Enterprise buys them because they’re cheap not because they’re good. The bar they have to clear is to keep working for the lease’s duration (3 years typically).

I’ve been burnt a few times now I run away when I see HP (even their “enterprise” line, which used to be good)

[BiteCode_dev]

I did, but that doesn't change AT ALL my initial point.

People still buy HP printers.

It's still a popular brand.