I ask myself that about nearly every popular consumer item the past few years.
Companies are extraordinarily anti-consumer now, but in ways that indulge the customer such that they don't realize it.
I don't know what to say about it other than the anecdotal observance; companies won't stop the behavior -- it's extraordinarily profitable ; and it generally seems as if the public doesn't care. It nudges the perceived quality up a bit and the consumer doesn't bother reading the 75 page EULA, so they're generally unaware that they own very little of the product they paid so much for.
I find myself pining for the days when a consumer transaction was , generally, a simple A-B money-for-product type transfer rather than this constantly connected service industry that everything has slowly evolved into.
Sorry for the rant, I offer no solutions , only hope that there may be a solution somewhere that will give the rights back to the consumer while remaining competitive enough that the company that supports the people will flourish; i'm not holding my breath -- but thinks like the framework laptop and so on are a step in the right direction and a sign of hope for me personally that i'm not the only one with consumer rights on their mind.
No one is as anti-consumer as apple. It's a walled garden without the ability to side-load apps and byzantine restrictions like no 3rd party web rendering (aka, Firefox).
The solution is not buying their products or services, and buying the most open and least bad thing that meets your needs. When consumers prioritize openness, right to repair, and actual privacy the market will eventually follow in that direction. Apple feels they can play the privacy angle, but it's just privacy to keep you in the garden and away from 3rd party ad tech and to completely capture the revenue stream.
Companies are extraordinarily anti-consumer now, but in ways that indulge the customer such that they don't realize it.
I don't know what to say about it other than the anecdotal observance; companies won't stop the behavior -- it's extraordinarily profitable ; and it generally seems as if the public doesn't care. It nudges the perceived quality up a bit and the consumer doesn't bother reading the 75 page EULA, so they're generally unaware that they own very little of the product they paid so much for.
I find myself pining for the days when a consumer transaction was , generally, a simple A-B money-for-product type transfer rather than this constantly connected service industry that everything has slowly evolved into.
Sorry for the rant, I offer no solutions , only hope that there may be a solution somewhere that will give the rights back to the consumer while remaining competitive enough that the company that supports the people will flourish; i'm not holding my breath -- but thinks like the framework laptop and so on are a step in the right direction and a sign of hope for me personally that i'm not the only one with consumer rights on their mind.