From recent Manward Digest:
Here's something most folks don't know... Smoking near your Apple computer can void the warranty. The internet is filled with horror stories of folks who took their devices to the company for repairs but were denied coverage due to evidence the machine had been subjected to smoke. Apple says you can't smoke on its corporate campus... or at home. Our new farm needs a new tractor. But the only thing we've found so far is a fresh scandal... and proof that the world is changing faster than many folks would like.
What's happening this week cuts to the core of so much that we stand for.
We learned to drive from the front seat of cars that we fixed up. The first car we bought was more than 40 years old... the next had been on the street for nearly 30 years.
To get them to get us where we wanted to go, we brought out our box of wrenches. We fixed... we upgraded... and we modified.
It taught us essential Know-How that we're convinced makes us who we are today.
But the era of doing it ourselves has officially died.
On its gravestone will be a picture of - of all things - a John Deere tractor.
Big Green Gets Greedy
You see, the iconic equipment maker just inked a big deal with a big group. Deere somehow got the California Farm Bureau to sign off on a move that keeps farmers from working on their own tractors.
If farmers want to upgrade, modify or repair their equipment, they won't be able to pull into their garage and do it themselves. Nope, they'll have to pick up the phone and open their wallets.
It's a huge blow to the Right to Repair Movement.
It's sad that a movement like this even needs to exist. But what's happening is no surprise.
Margins for big-name manufacturers have been slashed over the last two decades as overseas competitors not only have increased the quality of their product but have done it for a lower price.
Instead of making money on a one-time sale, tractor makers are now relying on decades' worth of follow-up care to turn a profit.
But they can't make those bucks if somebody else is.
Deere needs to force its customers back to its shops.
The Future of DIY
It's not just Deere, of course. Many say it's Apple that has pioneered the trend.
If you've ever tried to go to a third party to fix an Apple product, you know what we mean.
Take, for example, the poor folks who may have recently had their iPhone
8s repaired by somebody other than Apple. When the behemoth company recently released a software update... those folks suddenly weren't able to use their phones.The company locked them out.
Their only choice? Take their phone to Apple... and pay up.
It's good money for the phone company.
And now that so much of what drives our economy is powered by electronics, the trend is certainly going to spread.
More and more manufacturers are putting electronic locks on their computer-aided systems... and they're allowed to do it because they have the full blessing of Uncle Sam.
Under the Digital Millennium Copyright Act, a tractor owner commits a crime if he tries to go around these security measures.
Whether he owns the tractor or not... the technology that makes it run is patented and protected.
It means tractor owners can no longer download tweaks to their computers. They can no longer modify onboard systems to improve efficiency or get rid of systems they don't need. And it means, when emission laws change, farmers won't be able to modify their old equipment... they'll be forced to buy new.
Consumers' Choice
We don't like what's happening. We don't like this business model.
We like to buy something and truly own it.
Our old friend Capitalism is powerful. If enough buyers don't like what's happening, the fact that their money will flow elsewhere will ensure it stops happening.
But, as usual, Washington has stepped in the way.
While Washington rushes to debate the virginity of a Supreme Court pick, it refuses to remove its antiquated copyright laws from the books.
Instead of protecting software for the typical period of 90 years or more, many folks are begging Congress to change the time frame to a mere
10 years. It's a much more realistic figure for the product it's meant to protect.But we're not in the lobbying game. We'll let much greedier folks figure out what comes next.
Instead, we're in the idea business.
And this is an idea that has us scratching our head. We don't like it, but we understand it.
As a consumer, we know we're screwed.
As a citizen, we know that our government's inaction is costing us our money and our Liberty.
As an investor, we know that the idea is both lucrative and dangerous. It's adding dollars to the bottom line, but consumers aren't happy.
And finally, we know our system gives us a choice. We choose to get our hands dirty.
Our next tractor won't be green.