• BMW charging monthly for heated seats

    From Warpslide@21:3/110.2 to All on Wed Jul 13 09:56:34 2022
    German automobile manufacturer BMW is diving into the world of microtransactions for some of its vehicle features.

    BMW has been putting features behind a subscription paywall since 2020, with heated seats being the newest addition in countries like Germany, New
    Zealand, the U.K., South Africa and now South Korea.

    In South Korea, the new heated seat feature would set users back, $24,000 KRW (roughly $24 CAD) per month, $368 CAD for a three-year subscription, or $528 CAD for a lifetime subscription. Subscribing to the feature doesn't mean
    that a BMW employee will come to your house and replace the seats. The features offered are all built into the company's car. However, they are locked behind a paywall, and are only accessible once you subscribe to it.

    Customers can also opt for a heated steering wheel, though that too comes at an additional cost of roughly $13 CAD per month

    https://mobilesyrup.com/2022/07/12/bmw-heated-seats-subscription-plan-korea/


    Jay

    ... If you've got them by the balls, their hearts and minds will follow

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    * Origin: Northern Realms/TG ì tg.nrbbs.net ì Binbrook, ON (21:3/110.2)
  • From Nightfox@21:1/137 to Warpslide on Wed Jul 13 09:30:16 2022
    Re: BMW charging monthly for heated seats
    By: Warpslide to All on Wed Jul 13 2022 09:56 am

    German automobile manufacturer BMW is diving into the world of microtransactions for some of its vehicle features.

    BMW has been putting features behind a subscription paywall since 2020, with heated seats being the newest addition in countries like Germany, New Zealand, the U.K., South Africa and now South Korea.

    I heard about that. It seems a bit ridiculous to me to buy something that has a feature, but then have to continually pay a subscription to use that feature. They already did the work to add it to the car, and that work should be reflected in the price you pay for the car when you buy it, rather than having a subscription to use that feature.

    This reminds me a bit of the failed DivX video format, which came out soon after the DVD disc format came out in the late 90s - You'd buy basically a DVD movie (though at a lower price), and every time you watched it, you would pay a fee (something like $3). A DivX player would need to be connected to a phone line so that it could call and charge your card for watching the movie. That system quickly failed as it didn't become popular.

    Nightfox
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  • From nblade@21:3/170 to Nightfox on Wed Jul 13 18:52:26 2022
    This reminds me a bit of the failed DivX video format, which came out
    soon after the DVD disc format came out in the late 90s - You'd buy basically a DVD movie (though at a lower price), and every time you watched it, you would pay a fee (something like $3). A DivX player
    would need to be connected to a phone line so that it could call and charge your card for watching the movie. That system quickly failed as
    it didn't become popular.


    Sadly people have been now programmed to think subscription based services (or even products) are the norm. I expect this trend to continue. Heck some of the high end cars have system that check to see if a part is suppose to be in that car and if not, it doesn't work even though electrically it should. My friend had that issue with some headlights he bought, Even though they were for that car, the serialnumber from the headlights didn't match what was in the allowed database, so they didn't work. Took 3 months of back and forth from the car maker to get a software update to his car (via the dealership which he had to also pay for) to allow the headlights to work again.

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  • From Margaerynne@21:2/138 to nblade on Wed Jul 13 12:58:18 2022
    Re: Re: BMW charging monthly for heated seats
    By: nblade to Nightfox on Wed Jul 13 2022 06:52 pm

    Sadly people have been now programmed to think subscription based services (or even products) are the norm. I expect
    this trend to continue. Heck some of the high end cars have system that check to see if a part is suppose to be in

    I think this is part of why the homesteading/cottagecore movement is experiencing a resurgence.

    People in their 20s and 30s have been born into a physical world that is quickly becoming subscription digital. It's exhausting being constantly nickled and dimed, and we want to know that our things are ours.

    I know it probably won't be enough to turn the tide, but more people need to cut the cord and start finding physical hobbies. They can turn off your streaming services, but your basketball won't deflate the moment you stop paying Apple $25/mon.
    --- SBBSecho 3.15-Linux
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  • From Nightfox@21:1/137 to nblade on Wed Jul 13 11:07:58 2022
    Re: Re: BMW charging monthly for heated seats
    By: nblade to Nightfox on Wed Jul 13 2022 06:52 pm

    Sadly people have been now programmed to think subscription based services (or even products) are the norm. I expect this trend to continue. Heck some of the high end cars have system that check to see if a part is suppose to be in that car and if not, it doesn't work even though electrically it should. My friend had that issue with some headlights he bought, Even though they were for that car, the serialnumber from the headlights didn't match what was in the allowed database, so they didn't work. Took 3 months of back and forth from the car maker to get a software update to his car (via the dealership which he had to also pay for) to allow the headlights to work again.

    That kind of thing is pretty crappy..

    Nightfox
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  • From Ogg@21:4/106.21 to Warpslide on Wed Jul 13 19:27:00 2022
    Hello Warpslide!

    ** On Wednesday 13.07.22 - 09:56, Warpslide wrote to All:

    Customers can also opt for a heated steering wheel, though
    that too comes at an additional cost of roughly $13 CAD per
    month

    https://mobilesyrup.com/2022/07/12/bmw-heated-seats-
    subscription-plan-kore a/

    It's really up to the consumer NOT to put up with that tactic
    and NOT buy the vehicle.


    --- OpenXP 5.0.51
    * Origin: Ogg's WestCoast Point (21:4/106.21)
  • From paulie420@21:2/150 to Warpslide on Wed Jul 13 19:38:31 2022
    German automobile manufacturer BMW is diving into the world of microtransactions for some of its vehicle features.

    This is one of the most disgusting facts, or things that I'm worried about, concerning smart-vehicles.



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    |08.........

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  • From Warpslide@21:3/110.2 to paulie420 on Thu Jul 14 08:01:32 2022
    *** Quoting paulie420 from a message to Warpslide ***

    This is one of the most disgusting facts, or things that I'm worried about, concerning smart-vehicles.

    I wonder how long it will be before we see some auto manufacturer take
    someone to court because that customer figured out how to enable these features on their own without paying them.


    Jay

    ... God made everything out of nothing. But the nothingness shows through

    --- Telegard v3.09.g2-sp4/mL
    * Origin: Northern Realms/TG ì tg.nrbbs.net ì Binbrook, ON (21:3/110.2)
  • From Nightfox@21:1/137 to paulie420 on Thu Jul 14 09:04:25 2022
    Re: Re: BMW charging monthly for heated seats
    By: paulie420 to Warpslide on Wed Jul 13 2022 07:38 pm

    German automobile manufacturer BMW is diving into the world of
    microtransactions for some of its vehicle features.

    This is one of the most disgusting facts, or things that I'm worried about, concerning smart-vehicles.

    I agree. In one sense, I feel like they're taking the easy route in requiring customers to repeatedly pay for something over and over again, rather than always being able to use it because they bought it up-front. If they can make money from these feature subscriptions, maybe they won't have to innovate as much when making new cars.

    Nightfox
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  • From paulie420@21:2/150 to Warpslide on Thu Jul 14 14:34:56 2022
    I wonder how long it will be before we see some auto manufacturer take someone to court because that customer figured out how to enable these features on their own without paying them.

    Hopefully never - it seems the right to repair is coming along in our country, altho it could move a lot quicker IMO... I wonder where hacking, or 'breaking' a factory paywall would land in that whole scheme of things.

    I know that if I ever HAVE to purchase some piece of equipment that has software paywalls, I'll certainly be trying to hack the functionality.



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    |08.........

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  • From paulie420@21:2/150 to Nightfox on Thu Jul 14 14:36:46 2022
    This is one of the most disgusting facts, or things that I'm worried about, concerning smart-vehicles.

    I agree. In one sense, I feel like they're taking the easy route in requiring customers to repeatedly pay for something over and over again, rather than always being able to use it because they bought it up-front. If they can make money from these feature subscriptions, maybe they
    won't have to innovate as much when making new cars.

    We're all saying basically the same thing, but what I think is disgusting about it is that the feature is already BUILT IN. Its not even like they're providing you some software front-end or cloud when you make the monthly payment... they're simply flipping a software switch - the hardware is already INSTALLED. I mean... where does it end? They could put a dollar sign on every single function of the vehicle.

    Ugh.



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    |08.........

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  • From Nightfox@21:1/137 to paulie420 on Thu Jul 14 16:30:48 2022
    Re: Re: BMW charging monthly for heated seats
    By: paulie420 to Nightfox on Thu Jul 14 2022 02:36 pm

    I agree. In one sense, I feel like they're taking the easy route in
    requiring customers to repeatedly pay for something over and over
    again, rather than always being able to use it because they bought

    We're all saying basically the same thing, but what I think is disgusting about it is that the feature is already BUILT IN. Its not even like

    Yep. They already did the work of designing the feature and installing it in the product. It seems that a one-time purchase/payment is no longer good enough for them.

    Nightfox
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  • From Nightfox@21:1/137 to paulie420 on Thu Jul 14 16:34:03 2022
    Re: Re: BMW charging monthly for heated seats
    By: paulie420 to Warpslide on Thu Jul 14 2022 02:34 pm

    I wonder how long it will be before we see some auto manufacturer
    take someone to court because that customer figured out how to
    enable these features on their own without paying them.

    Hopefully never - it seems the right to repair is coming along in our country, altho it could move a lot quicker IMO... I wonder where hacking, or 'breaking' a factory paywall would land in that whole scheme of things.

    What would be funny is considering such functionality "broken" because you've purchased it but it won't work (unless you give them money). The "fix" would be to find a hack or workaround to make it work without having to give them more money.

    I almost feel like this kind of thing is extortion. You bought it, but this feature won't work unless you continually give them more money..

    Nightfox
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  • From Arelor@21:2/138 to Nightfox on Thu Jul 14 18:48:41 2022
    Re: BMW charging monthly for heated seats
    By: Nightfox to Warpslide on Wed Jul 13 2022 09:30 am

    BMW has been putting features behind a subscription paywall since 2020, with heated seats being the newest addition in countries like Germany, Zealand, the U.K., South Africa and now South Korea.

    I heard about that. It seems a bit ridiculous to me to buy something that h ou pay for the car when you buy it, rather than having a subscription to use


    It is specially ridiculous because you can just purchase a separate heatpad instead of paying the subscription.

    But then nobody should buy a BMV as long as they keep being dicks by placing resources the car already possesses behind a paywall.

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  • From Warpslide@21:3/110.2 to paulie420 on Thu Jul 14 20:59:44 2022
    *** Quoting paulie420 from a message to Nightfox ***

    I mean... where does it end? They could put a dollar sign on every
    single function of the vehicle.

    Hmm, they could charge you a nickel every time your turn signal lights up.

    Stopped at a red light at your signal light blinked 28 times? That'll be $1.40 please!


    Jay

    ... I'll tell you one fact - it may be rather boring but it's interesting

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  • From Nightfox@21:1/137 to Arelor on Thu Jul 14 18:51:17 2022
    Re: BMW charging monthly for heated seats
    By: Arelor to Nightfox on Thu Jul 14 2022 06:48 pm

    I heard about that. It seems a bit ridiculous to me to buy something
    that h ou pay for the car when you buy it, rather than having a
    subscription to use

    It is specially ridiculous because you can just purchase a separate heatpad instead of paying the subscription.

    But then nobody should buy a BMW as long as they keep being dicks by placing resources the car already possesses behind a paywall.

    BMW isn't the only car company doing that - I heard Tesla is doing it too.

    Nightfox
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  • From Nightfox@21:1/137 to Warpslide on Thu Jul 14 18:54:55 2022
    Re: Re: BMW charging monthly for heated seats
    By: Warpslide to paulie420 on Thu Jul 14 2022 08:59 pm

    I mean... where does it end? They could put a dollar sign on every
    single function of the vehicle.

    Hmm, they could charge you a nickel every time your turn signal lights up.

    No, they should pay people for using the turn signal. Even with turn signals being free to use, there are already too many people who don't use them.

    Nightfox
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  • From boraxman@21:1/101 to Nightfox on Fri Jul 15 22:45:01 2022
    Hmm, they could charge you a nickel every time your turn signal light

    No, they should pay people for using the turn signal. Even with turn signals being free to use, there are already too many people who don't
    use them.


    BMW drivers being a prime culprit.

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  • From Nightfox@21:1/137 to boraxman on Fri Jul 15 09:00:42 2022
    Re: Re: BMW charging monthly for heated seats
    By: boraxman to Nightfox on Fri Jul 15 2022 10:45 pm

    No, they should pay people for using the turn signal. Even with
    turn signals being free to use, there are already too many people
    who don't use them.

    BMW drivers being a prime culprit.

    I hear people say that, but in my observations, it's not jut BMW drivers. It seems drivers of any luxury (or other high-end) vehicle, and trucks, are far less likely to use their turn signals than other drivers. I'm not sure what it is about those particular types of vehicles, but drivers not using their turn signals is one of my pet peeves. I feel like it's like they feel entitled and think they don't need to alert other people about what they're going to do.

    Nightfox
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  • From boraxman@21:1/101 to Nightfox on Sat Jul 16 12:14:57 2022
    I hear people say that, but in my observations, it's not jut BMW
    drivers. It seems drivers of any luxury (or other high-end) vehicle, and trucks, are far less likely to use their turn signals than other
    drivers. I'm not sure what it is about those particular types of vehicles, but drivers not using their turn signals is one of my pet peeves. I feel like it's like they feel entitled and think they don't need to alert other people about what they're going to do.

    Probably because they are up themselves. People who drive luxury cars are seeking a "status symbol" but without having any actual status. All owning that car really shows is that you took on a lot of debt.

    It neither shows taste (because they are the generic "rich peoples" car and anyone with taste would go for something more distinct), or class, because any middle manager that wants to be seen as having made it can get it with a loan.

    Back a little while ago the 4WD ( as as they are called in the US, SUV's) were the car to get, that were annoying on the road. "Wanker wagons" as I liked to call them, or Toorak Tractors (Toorak is a posh inner city suburb)

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