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this post was submitted on 28 Jul 2024
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It's not just cars. Anything with electronics (appliances, smarthome devices, healthcare, transportation) that is designed to last more than three years will hit a wall.
The host devices are designed to last 10-15 years, but the electronics will be out-of-date in 3-5 years.
The processor manufacturer will have moved on to new tech and will stop making spare parts. The firmware will only get updated if something really bad happens. Most likely, it'll get abandoned. And some time soon, the software toolchain and libraries will not be available anymore. Let's not think of the devs who will have moved on. Anyone want to make a career fixing up 10-yo software stack? Where's the profit in that for the manufacturer?
So as an end-user, you're stuck with devices that can not be updated and there's still at least 10-20 years of life left on them. Best of luck.
Solution: go analog. Pay extra if you have to. They'll last longer and the ROI and privacy can't be beat.
The problem isn't analogue Vs digital, or even software controlled or not. It's about the design assuming:
An analogue device can be at fault too. Proprietary parts. Construction techniques which don't allow for dissambly without destroying things. All that stuff.
...but you're right. Buy the items that let you service them, that don't rely on cloud servers and software updates, that use standard parts, etc, etc. Right to repair legislation is good too, but the companies understand purchasing power more. So educate those around you too.
Analogue doesn't have firmware that can reject a device based on id.
So you can reverse engineer a replacement part if you absolutely have to.