BMW to charge monthly subscription for heated seats in parts of the world

[bfglitch]

Unfortunately, connected cars makes this practice much easier. Reminded me how BMW used to charge an annual subscription for Apple CarPlay but reversed that a couple years ago.

BMW will charge $18 per month for heated seats in select regions | Engadget

The automaker hasn’t revealed plans to launch the service in the United States..

www.engadget.com

 

[NS_Stinger]

It is likely a sign of things to come as electric cars become more like computers. It wouldnt surprise me if we end up in a space where cars are sold as a base model and many options are "unlocked" like this. Its just a matter of time before EA Sports starts building cars once they figure this out. Probably only gamers will get that joke.

 

[Devin]

Hoping seatbelts come in my next lootbox.

 

[JSolo]

Look at windows 10/11. Does any one actually pay for a license any more? Any valid key from windows 7/8 will activate 10/11. 11 Goes a step further now, requiring/demanding a microsoft account during the set up process.

For now, one can disable network connectivity to set up a local account only. I suspect in the future this too may go away. I'm sure there will be hacks to get around this, but may be challenging for the typical layman.

Following a fresh windows 11 install, there's all sorts of crapware present - facebook, twitter, instagram, amazon, tiktok, and some others I can't recall. These are not the actual programs, but stubs to download/install when first clicked. Even more puzzling, this crapware is present in the pro edition which is targeted towards business/professional use. Why would any business work station have a need for this?

These too can be uninstalled. Point is they shouldn't be present in the first place. MS is willing to practically give the OS away so they can collect all your data.

Does anyone still install/use MS Office using a perpetual license? Most are subscription based.

What happens to my smart display/speaker when google decides to pull the plug? It becomes a 4lb brick. Can't even use the speakers with a 1/8" stereo connection. With the recent power outage, the firewall/router box shutdown and didn't come back up until I turned it back on. Without internet, this speaker while powered was still useless.

 

[RedCal]

I wonder If I can pay less because of the hideously ugly front grill?

 

[boosted1g]

Look at windows 10/11. Does any one actually pay for a license any more? Any valid key from windows 7/8 will activate 10/11. 11 Goes a step further now, requiring/demanding a microsoft account during the set up process.

For now, one can disable network connectivity to set up a local account only. I suspect in the future this too may go away. I'm sure there will be hacks to get around this, but may be challenging for the typical layman.

Not I nor any of my clients have Win 11 but from what I have read, Microsoft has already completely removed the ability to install Win 11 Home with a local account and will be doing that to Pro on the next release.

Windows Pro has pretty much turned into the "prosumer" option now and for real business you are expected to spend the $$$$ on Enterprise.
I have some SMB's running Win 10 Pro connected to Domain server. There has been several times I could not implement a GPO because Microsoft removed that feature from Pro, and now it only works on Enterprise; one example is setting the lockscreen wallpaper.

Microsoft also got rid of Essentials line for server OS. I am waiting for the day that the new build of Pro does not support domain join.
I suspect that Microsoft wants to make everything a-la-carte, and make local server/AD too expensive for small/medium business to force them to 100% Azure subscriptions.

In regards to the original thread topic. I 100% see it becoming the norm for subscription packages for features (still paying more for the actual car to have said features of course). I am sure it will also be that package 4 does not work unless you buy at least package 1 and 2 as well.

 

[AdrianG]

I can understand and support paying a subscription fee for something that requires upkeep on the other end, at least, but suggesting that the consumer needs to pay to utilize existing features inherent to the vehicle is absolute lunacy.

 

[RedCal]

I can understand and support paying a subscription fee for something that requires upkeep on the other end, at least, but suggesting that the consumer needs to pay to utilize existing features inherent to the vehicle is absolute lunacy.

To your point - In my mind if I am paying monthly for a "feature" then I should be getting lifetime / unlimited warranty on that item... Heated seat stops working? Free repair !

 

[boosted1g]

To your point - In my mind if I am paying monthly for a "feature" then I should be getting lifetime / unlimited warranty on that item... Heated seat stops working? Free repair !

+1. This includes supporting systems like Body Control Module, or the ICU "fuse panel"

 

[JSolo]

Good luck! Software subscriptions do not include hardware support

 

[bfglitch]

There's a reason I've moved away from Windows and other things that require a subscription or some form of cloud based system that is completely out of my control. Used to use Quicken...until the copy I had was forced to expire (blocked the ability to sync with my banks) and the new version was subscription. Used to use Samsung SmartThings for my home automation and have since switched to Home Assistant. No longer use Google's music, calendar, photo storage, notes, etc and host my own. Probably costs me more in electricity but at least I know my access/data/whatever doesn't magically go away because some company decides so.

Seems like everything is moving away from an item being owned to basically renting the ability to use it. Not a fan at all.

 

[JSolo]

^^I still use quicken... Quicken 2013 that is. Was frustrated for a bit when the bank sync option went away. Realized it was better to do it manually anyway. More direct "touching" of each line item rather than just clicking accept on all or each line item individually. It's been working relatively great. In fact, I think it's available for free download.

Convert Data From an Earlier Version of Quicken (When to Use an Intermediate Version)

Overview When you open your Quicken data file in a new version of Quicken, your data file is updated to work with the newer program's architecture. We call this converting your data. You can also "convert" your data from Quicken for Windows to Quicken for Mac (or vice versa). Note: The...

www.quicken.com

https://assistant.quicken.com/patch/ASDES5672FR13/Old_Products/QWIN/QW2013DLX.exe

There's been some updates to it -- R12 is latest.

QW2013R12Patch.exe

No plans on installing any newer versions that require cloud.

 

[Devin]

To keep moving off-topic, Gnucash is the way to go for free financial apps.

 

[JSolo]

Still haven't activated my uvo. 2 weeks to go on the freebie plan. Not going to happen

 

[boosted1g]

To keep moving off-topic, Gnucash is the way to go for free financial apps.

I switched to Wave when QuickBooks changed to subscription only model.

 

[bfglitch]

I've been using Moneydance. It's a paid app but fairly cheap and it's multiplatform (Mac, Windows, Linux). Works pretty well for me at least.

 

[stoopid]

I still buy music CDs (and/or surround discs) of my favorite music. Don't trust the music industry to allow me access to my music on my terms for all the reasons mentioned here for other subscription based services and products. When CDs vanish I'll get FLAC copies and still burn them to disc for long term storage. Offline being the key for me. I run local backups to a USB drive, periodically burn a backup of my important docs to be tossed in the fireproof safe, etc. Very little of my life is cloud based. Nothing that matters to my survival is in the cloud except my checking account, and that's only enough money to pay the bills.

I work in IT and trust none of it. That should be alarming to hear for those not in tech, and a light pointed in the direction we should all be exploring.

Can we all admit that big business is as bad as big government? Just because someone makes a buck violating your rights doesn't make it "better" or ethical. Constructing a system that benefits a few in the name of profit is inherently an unethical enterprise. BMW is just a symptom of a larger trend that's been culminating for a decade or more. Buick is making new car buyers purchase a 3 year onstar subscription. Microsoft is forcing everyone into subscriptions/cloud services to get their day to day work done. Can we even find a single example of a large company that is doing something that BENEFITS the consumer base?? Isn't their entire purpose to drive profit for their shareholders? Put less macaroni in the same box, sell for the same price. The plebs won't notice.

 

[JSolo]

^^My last car had a cd/dvd player (g37). I use it once. To install a firmware update. Everything else was played off a flash drive. That car didn't support flac files, the stinger does.

How many flac files will fit to a 128/256GB flash drive vs cds.... The quality is the same, so might as well go with the smaller form factor.

As an IT folk, what are your thoughts on this - I211 nic generating errors? - PC Hardware | DSLReports Forums ? Respond in the dslr thread, or send me a private message here please.

2022 infotainment playback

 

[stoopid]

^^My last car had a cd/dvd player (g37). I use it once. To install a firmware update. Everything else was played off a flash drive. That car didn't support flac files, the stinger does.

How many flac files will fit to a 128/256GB flash drive vs cds.... The quality is the same, so might as well go with the smaller form factor.

CDs are for archiving, all of my music is digital with many of my most favorite discs saved as FLAC for easy access. I consider a CD as close to a 'master copy' we can reasonably obtain, with the exception of the surround/high bitrate releases of select albums.

 

[stoopid]

As an IT folk, what are your thoughts on this - I211 nic generating errors? - PC Hardware | DSLReports Forums ? Respond in the dslr thread, or send me a private message here please.

2022 infotainment playback
View attachment 72762

I'd assume drivers, as someone suggested. Chipset drivers, bios, etc all been updated? Make sure any 'green' / power save features are turned off at the driver level.

Are both tests to the exact same destination using the exact same files?

Is the Realtek (running at?) 2.5Gbps on the same switch as the problematic gigabit?