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Comments (48)

  • chasil
    The complete crack of Deere's firmware in 2022 must have had some impact on this.https://www.theregister.com/2022/08/16/john_deere_doom/Edit: 'Sick Codes confirmed that he believes John Deere failed to comply with its GPL obligations. "I'd love for them to come forward and explain how they are in compliance," he said.'
  • Robdel12
    Woah, childs play money for the amount of pain, lock in, and money they’ve cost farmers.
  • SilverElfin
    Seems like a small price for a big company. Shouldn’t there be some higher punitive fine for even trying this tactic? It’s basically zero cost for companies to be abusive.
  • causality0
    One of the most user-hostile companies on earth. My John Deere lawnmower came with a fuel gauge that runs off a CR2032 that's embedded in epoxy. The battery runs out of charge in about six months and the gauge stops working. If you saw the gauge open and replace the battery it doesn't start working again. If you disconnect the gauge the lawnmower won't start. Replacement gauges are $60.
  • darth_avocado
    The stock is up 5% today. What’s the catch?
  • verdverm
    The second paragraph likely answers some of your immediate questions> The settlement also includes an agreement by Deere to provide “the digital tools required for the maintenance, diagnosis, and repair” of tractors, combines, and other machinery for 10 years. That part is crucial, as farmers previously resorted to hacking their own equipment’s software just to get it up and running again. John Deere signed a memorandum of understanding in 2023 that partially addressed those concerns, providing third parties with the technology to diagnose and repair, as long as its intellectual property was safeguarded. Monday’s settlement seems to represent a much stronger (and legally binding) step forward.
  • anon
    undefined
  • shevy-java
    Good! Wonder if Louis Rossmann already mentioned that.
  • skeptrune
    this is awesome. beyond happy to see it
  • mothballed
    I bought a ~completely mechanical tractor without ECU right under the 25hp cutoff that requires computer and emissions controls to get around this bullshit. The adding of DPF and/or SCR to agricultural diesels gave vendors cover to fuck the customer using the excuse of preventing emissions tampering.
  • bearjaws
    Needs another zero, likely made 9 figures in revenue from this scheme.
  • pnw
    Up to one third of that $99m goes to attorneys. Named plaintiffs get $25k each and class members get what's left over, which could be anything from $50 to $5k according to ChatGPT.I wonder if they'll throw in free credit monitoring with that?