#Machine Component Production

[datastring]

Knurling Tools Market Forecast to Reach $912.5 Million by 2035

Market Growth Overview

The global Knurling Tools market is projected to grow significantly, reaching $912.5 million by 2035, up from $416.1 million in 2024. This represents a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 7.4% over the forecast period (2024–2035). Growth is driven by rising demand in industrial precision tooling and automotive manufacturing.

Detailed Analysis - https://datastringconsulting.com/industry-analysis/knurling-tools-market-research-report

Key Areas of Application

Knurling tools are essential in:

Automotive parts production

Jewelry design

Machinery and component manufacturing

Hardware and tool fabrication

The report highlights key opportunities across Tool Type, Material Composition, Design Variants, Technology Use, and Application Verticals.

Competitive Landscape Snapshot

The market is highly competitive, with several global and regional manufacturers actively innovating. Prominent players include:

CJWinter

Vardex

Accu Trak

Eagle Rock Technologies

Reed Machinery

Dorian Tool

Alvord-Polk

ISCAR

Ghring

Jiangsu Tiangong Tools

Forbes Precision Tools

Command Tooling Systems

Innovation in CNC-compatible knurling tools and durability-focused materials has been a key trend among these players.

Market Drivers and Emerging Opportunities

Growth is largely supported by:

Rising industrial automation

Expanding automotive and construction industries

Technological advancement in tool design and durability

Emerging opportunities include:

Entry into underpenetrated markets

Strategic partnerships for distribution

Customization of tooling systems for niche industrial needs

Core demand regions include the U.S., Germany, China, Japan, and India.

Regional Dynamics and Supply Chain Developments

North America and Asia Pacific remain at the forefront of market activity, fueled by high manufacturing activity and technological adoption. However, the market faces challenges, including:

Supply chain disruptions

High-precision manufacturing barriers

To mitigate risks and scale operations, firms are focusing on growth in Vietnam, Brazil, and South Africa to diversify their Total Addressable Market (TAM).

About DataString Consulting

DataString Consulting delivers end-to-end market intelligence services for businesses across B2B and B2C sectors. Our services include:

Tailored market research

Strategic consulting

Opportunity mapping

Business decision support

With a leadership team combining over 30 years of experience, we track and analyze over 15 high-growth industries globally to help businesses stay competitive.

[petron-thermoplast]

At Petron Thermoplast, we take pride in being a trusted supplier of high-performance acrylic parts for advanced manufacturing. Industrial machinery or aesthetically pleasing parts for commercial products, partnering with an innovative acrylic parts supplier can make all the difference.

Visit Website - https://petronthermoplast.com/acrylic-and-perspex-sheet/   

Contact No. - +91-8218684097

Request for Quotation - quotation@petronthermoplast.com   

[sbjnirmalproducts1997]

Enhance Performance with Precision-Engineered Crown Pinion 14Tx22T Suitable for Kirloskar

Agriculture is the backbone of any thriving economy, and for farmers, reliable machinery is critical for maximizing productivity. One such essential component is the Crown Pinion 14Tx22T, a small yet powerful gear system that ensures smooth operations in agricultural machinery, particularly in Kirloskar machines. At SBJ Nirmal Products, we specialize in precision-engineered crown pinions that empower farmers with unmatched durability and performance.

Let’s explore how SBJ Nirmal Products delivers excellence through its precision-engineered Crown Pinion 14Tx22T for Kirloskar machinery.

Introduction to Crown Pinion 14Tx22T

What is a Crown Pinion?

A crown pinion is a critical gear component used in various machinery systems. It is responsible for transmitting rotational motion and ensuring the smooth operation of machinery, particularly in farming equipment.

Role of Crown Pinions in Farming Machinery

In agricultural machinery like rotavators, the crown pinion plays a pivotal role in power transmission. It connects vital components, ensuring that machines operate efficiently and can handle heavy workloads in the field.

Why Choose Precision-Engineered Crown Pinion?

Importance of Precision Engineering

Precision engineering ensures that each component meets exact specifications. For a crown pinion, precision determines how smoothly the gears fit and perform under stress.

Benefits of Using High-Quality Crown Pinions

Improved power transmission efficiency

Reduced friction and wear

Increased lifespan of machinery

Minimized downtime and maintenance costs

SBJ Nirmal Products: A Trusted Name

History and Legacy of SBJ Nirmal Products

With decades of experience, SBJ Nirmal Products has become a name synonymous with quality and reliability in the agricultural machinery parts industry. Based in Ludhiana, Punjab, SBJ serves farmers across India and neighboring countries.

Commitment to Quality and Innovation

SBJ Nirmal Products focuses on precision engineering, using advanced technology and high-grade materials to deliver components that exceed customer expectations.

Key Features of SBJ Crown Pinion 14Tx22T

Material Strength and Durability

SBJ Crown Pinion 14Tx22T is manufactured using high-grade steel, ensuring superior strength and resistance to wear.

Design Accuracy for Perfect Fit

The precision-engineered design ensures compatibility with Kirloskar machinery, allowing for smooth and efficient operations.

Resistance to Wear and Tear

With advanced heat treatment processes, SBJ’s crown pinions are built to withstand tough agricultural conditions, offering long-lasting performance.

Benefits of Crown Pinion 14Tx22T for Kirloskar Machinery

Improved Machinery Efficiency

The perfect fit and durable design of SBJ Crown Pinion 14Tx22T enhance machinery efficiency, enabling farmers to get the most out of their equipment.

Reduced Downtime and Maintenance Costs

With a focus on durability, SBJ’s crown pinions reduce the need for frequent replacements, saving farmers valuable time and money.

Enhanced Productivity in Farming Operations

Reliable components ensure smooth machinery operations, allowing farmers to focus on maximizing their crop yield.

H2: How Crown Pinion 14Tx22T Enhances Performance

Precision Fit for Smooth Functionality

The precise design eliminates gaps and misalignment, ensuring seamless functionality.

Role in Power Transmission and Load Handling

The crown pinion effectively transmits power while handling heavy loads, a necessity in demanding farming operations.

Applications of Crown Pinion 14Tx22T

Use in Rotavators and Agricultural Machines

SBJ Crown Pinion 14Tx22T is widely used in rotavators, tillers, and other farming machinery for efficient soil preparation.

Compatibility with Kirloskar Machinery

Designed specifically for Kirloskar models, SBJ’s crown pinions ensure maximum performance and reliability.

Why SBJ Nirmal Products Stands Out

High-Grade Manufacturing Processes

SBJ employs advanced manufacturing techniques to produce precision-engineered parts.

Affordable Yet High-Performance Products

Farmers receive unmatched value with products that combine quality, durability, and affordability.

Understanding Kirloskar Machinery Needs

Importance of Reliable Spare Parts

Kirloskar machinery is widely recognized for its durability and performance. However, the true potential of these machines depends on using high-quality spare parts like the Crown Pinion 14Tx22T. Reliable components ensure smooth operations, minimize breakdowns, and extend the machine's life.

Ensuring Long-Term Machinery Performance

Precision-engineered parts like SBJ’s Crown Pinion help Kirloskar machinery deliver consistent performance, even under heavy agricultural workloads. Farmers can rely on SBJ components to handle challenging conditions without compromising productivity.

Customer Success Stories

Real-Life Testimonials from Farmers

Farmers across India have shared their positive experiences with SBJ Nirmal Products. Here are a few stories:

“After switching to SBJ’s Crown Pinion 14Tx22T, my Kirloskar machine runs smoother than ever. I’ve seen a significant reduction in maintenance costs.” – Farmer from Punjab

“SBJ’s parts are durable and fit perfectly. My machine works like new again!” – Farmer from Nepal

Case Study: Performance Boost with SBJ Crown Pinion

A farmer in Ludhiana faced frequent machinery downtime due to poor-quality spare parts. After installing SBJ Nirmal’s Crown Pinion 14Tx22T, he reported:

30% improvement in machinery efficiency

40% reduction in maintenance expenses

Increased productivity during the sowing season

Where to Buy SBJ Crown Pinion 14Tx22T

Authorized Dealers and Distributors

SBJ Nirmal Products has a vast network of authorized dealers across India and neighboring countries like Bangladesh, Nepal, and Sri Lanka.

Online Purchase Options

For convenience, SBJ’s products are also available on trusted e-commerce platforms, ensuring quick delivery and genuine quality.

SBJ Nirmal Products’ Global Reach

Exporting to India, Bangladesh, Nepal, and Sri Lanka

SBJ Nirmal Products has established a strong presence not just in India but also in neighboring countries. Farmers in these regions trust SBJ for their high-performance spare parts.

International Standards in Manufacturing

SBJ Nirmal adheres to global quality standards, ensuring every product meets the needs of farmers worldwide.

Conclusion: Investing in Quality with SBJ Nirmal Products

Choosing SBJ Nirmal Products for your Kirloskar machinery means investing in quality, durability, and performance. The Crown Pinion 14Tx22T is a testament to SBJ’s commitment to supporting farmers with precision-engineered components that enhance productivity and reduce costs.

For farmers seeking reliable, long-lasting spare parts, SBJ Nirmal Products remains the ultimate choice, empowering agriculture with innovative and high-performance solutions.

[expansionjointbellows]

Reliable Rubber Bellows Supplier in India

When it comes to ensuring optimal performance in various applications, rubber bellows play an essential role in providing flexibility, protection, and shock absorption. At Udhhyog, we take pride in being a leading rubber bellows supplier in India, committed to delivering quality products that meet the diverse needs of our customers.

What Are Rubber Bellows?

Rubber bellows are flexible components made from high-quality rubber materials designed to absorb movement, seal, and protect various mechanical parts. They are extensively used in applications where flexibility and durability are crucial. Here’s why rubber bellows are essential:

Flexibility: Rubber bellows can accommodate movement and vibrations in machines, allowing for smooth operation.

Sealing and Protection: They effectively seal joints and protect internal components from dust, debris, and moisture.

Shock Absorption: Rubber bellows absorb shocks and vibrations, enhancing the lifespan of connected machinery.

Udhhyog’s Range of Quality Rubber Bellows

At Udhhyog, we offer a wide selection of rubber bellows tailored to meet various industrial requirements:

Standard Rubber Bellows: Ideal for general applications, providing excellent flexibility and protection.

Custom Rubber Bellows: We manufacture customized solutions to meet specific dimensions and performance criteria based on your needs.

High-Temperature Rubber Bellows: Designed to withstand elevated temperatures while maintaining flexibility and integrity.

Why Choose Udhhyog as Your Rubber Bellows Supplier?

Choosing Udhhyog as your rubber bellows supplier comes with numerous advantages:

Quality Assurance: Our rubber bellows are crafted from premium materials to ensure durability and performance in diverse environments.

Competitive Pricing: We offer high-quality rubber bellows at competitive prices, making them affordable for all applications.

Expert Guidance: Our experienced team is available to assist you in selecting the right rubber bellows for your specific needs.

Applications of Rubber Bellows

Udhhyog’s rubber bellows are used in various industries, including:

Automotive: Providing flexibility and protection in suspension systems and exhaust systems.

Manufacturing: Used in machines to protect moving parts from contaminants and ensure smooth operation.

HVAC Systems: Sealing and protecting joints in heating, ventilation, and air conditioning systems.

Electronics: Protecting sensitive components from dust and moisture in electronic devices.

Customer Feedback

“The rubber bellows we ordered from Udhhyog have exceeded our expectations in quality and durability. Highly recommend!” — Industrial Solutions Co.

“Udhhyog is our go-to supplier for rubber bellows. Their products are reliable and affordable.” — Tech Innovations Pvt. Ltd.

How to Order Rubber Bellows from Udhhyog

Browse Our Selection: Explore our range of rubber bellows here.

Find the Right Fit: Choose from various sizes and types to meet your specific application requirements.

Easy Ordering Process: Enjoy a hassle-free online ordering experience with fast delivery across India.

Trust Udhhyog for all your rubber bellows needs and experience unparalleled quality and service. Browse our extensive selection today and ensure your applications run smoothly and efficiently.

[premiumfasteners]

CNC Machined Parts in Ahmedabad

Scharf Precision Engineering is a leading provider of CNC machined parts and components in Ahmedabad. We specialize in CNC machined parts as per customer requirements with international standards. We have been serving clients from different industries including aerospace, military, energy and electronics.

[plastic4trade]

What is an Injection Molding Machine? Get to know everything about it!

Injection molding is an important industrial technique. Although it is somewhat similar to die casting, but the raw material used in this case are different. Die casting uses metals that melt at extremely high temperatures, whereas injection molding mostly uses glasses, elastomers, and most frequently thermoplastic and thermosetting polymers. Nevertheless, this process is commonly used to create thermoplastic materials. In this method, raw materials are heated to a certain temperature and then injected under pressure into the mould cavity without changing their composition.

What are the main parts of injection molding machine?

The material hopper, barrel, an injection ram/rotating screw type plunger, heating element (heater), adjustable pattern, ejectors, and a mould inside mould cavity are the key components of an injection molding machine.

Injection molding machines typically operate horizontally. A barrel is part of an injection molding machine (cylindrical pipe). At one end of the barrel, there is a hopper. Inside the barrel is a revolving screw or hydraulic ram powered by an electric motor that provides force. The barrel has a heating element (warmer) attached to it that is used to melt the molding compound when it exits the hopper.

Mold cavity linked to the barrel's opposite side. During the entire production process, a movable pattern is used and the mould is situated inside the mould cavity. Typically, copper, aluminum, and tool steels are used to make mould. Distinct types of material moulds have different life cycles. This can be chosen based on your needs.

How does the injection moulding machine works?

Extrusion and injection molding both function similarly, as implied by their names. Using a feeding apparatus, molding material and raw materials are poured into the hopper. Following that, the molding material falls into the cylinder (barrel) as depicted in the diagram due to gravity. The material is melted using a circumferential heater that is mounted on the barrel. When molding compound in powder form enters the barrel from the hopper, it begins to melt, and a revolving screw or hydraulic ram applies pressure to advance the compound into the mould.

In this split mould, which is attached to the other side of the barrel, molten plastic material is pumped into a closed mould. The revolving screw constantly advances the molding material. The hydraulic system exerts pressure. Normal injection pressure ranges from 100 to 150 MPa. Following injection, pressure is exerted for a while or held in place with some force.

The pieces produced when the entire procedure is complete are appropriately cooled. The mould is then opened, and a few ejectors are utilized to remove the part properly and damage-free. The portion mould is reopened after removal. This process is very fast and automatically repeated. Here, it is simple to make pieces with complex shapes. The injection molding process may produce 12–16,000 components every cycle.

The Procedure

-    The process parameter fluctuates based on the circumstances and demands. -    The components made with this method typically weigh between 100 and 500 g. -    A single part's cycle time ranges from 5 to 60 seconds, depending on how the item is made. -    The heating range for molding material is 150 to 350 degrees Celsius. -    The molding machine has an injection capacity of 12,000 to 2.2 106 mm3. -    100 to 150 MPa is the injection pressure. -    From 0.1 to 8.0 MN is the locking force.

What are the advantages of Injection molding machine?

-    The fundamental benefit of this method is that intricately shaped components with thin walls (5–15 mm) may be molded with ease and retrieved from the die without being harmed. -    Injection-molded components offer good dimensional tolerance. -    The main benefit of this method is that it produces far less scrap than certain other methods. -    Investment cast iron and intricately machined pieces compete with parts produced through the Injection Moulding Method. -    In comparison to other procedures, this process has a high production rate.

What are the various types of injection molding machines?

Following are the different types of injection molding machines. Have a look:

Hydraulic Injection Molding Machine

Hydraulic injection molding machine were the only types of machine at start. It is the oldest one in the industry. Following are the benefits of this machine-

1. Economical price These machines cost far less at the base level than comparable models.

2. Cheap parts If a machine component needs to be replaced because it has been damaged or has reached the end of its useful life, the replacement parts are less expensive and more readily available.

3. Robust components The machine's hydraulic components are longer-lasting and more resistant to deterioration.

4. Easy to use and maintain High-pressure clamping forces are typically simple to adjust on hydraulic injection devices.

5. Powerful The gripping force on hydraulic molding machines is outstanding.

Electric Injection Molding Machines

In the 1980s, electric injection molding machines were made available and soon gained popularity in the high precision plastic parts production sector. The positioning accuracy of today's full electric servo drive injection molding machines is exceptionally precise (of 0.0001 in), but at a very high cost.

1. Less idle time There is no possibility of oil leaking. Additionally, since no oil is used, there is no need to replace filters, which lowers consumable costs.

2. Efficiency while using energy Electric Injection Molding Machines only consume energy when they are in use, thus their output is limited to what is necessary to support the load.

3. Fast procedure Since these machines are digitally controlled, the procedure can be completely repeated without any oversight.

4. Highly reproducible The injection device can be accurately controlled, the molding conditions can be stabilized, the injection control (such as pressure and speed) can be regulated in fine units, and there is a highly accurate control and monitoring system. It can handle challenging tasks like multi-stage hydraulic system extension and control the extension.

Injection Molding Machine Price

There are various types of machines. The Injection Molding Machine Price will also vary according to the complexity of the machine.  Costs for large industrial injection molding equipment can range from $50,000 to $200,000 or more. Additionally, the facilities needed to operate, maintain, and monitor these equipment are more demanding and call for expert staff.

Who are the best injection molding machine manufacturers?

There are many Injection Molding Machine Manufacturers in India; however, some of them offer the exception quality products that last longer. Here is the list of some trusted manufacturer in India-

Milacron

Yizumi Injection Molding Machine

Primex Plastics Pvt. Ltd

Windsor Machines Limited

Haitian

Hikon

ENGEL Global

Indo-MIM

Micro Plastic

Kruger

Vikas Industries

Jagmohan PlaMech Pvt. Ltd

Neelgiri Machinery

These are some of the leading manufacturers offering the best quality Injection Molding Products. If you are looking for someone in your region, you can try to search on Google and write Injection Molding Machine near me.��This way, you will find the list of top-rated manufacturers offering top-notch services in your area.

Types of products made with injection molding machine

There are various types of products that can be made with injection molding machines.

Some of them are listed below-

Toys

Plastic bottles

Machinery and automotive components

Household products like molded closures, containers, etc.

Healthcare industry

Agricultural products

Conclusion

Injection moulding may appear to be a complicated procedure, yet it is the most popular manufacturing technique because it can manufacture a wide range of everyday things quickly and effectively. One of the most economical methods for producing both working prototypes and finished goods is injection molding.

[bortalis]

My concepts for the development progress of an Iterators Puppet

-my ideas below

-Feasibility Study  

[1]: First autonomous control module, any instruction to be given must be done manually through physical means (the keys), outputs were shown through the screen. A very primitive system, however, did its job proving the greater machine concept was achievable. While it does look like a lens above the monitor, this was a simple status gauge for benchmarking.

-Prototyping and Development  

[2]: Now with the capability to wirelessly and audibly communicate to receive instructions and inputs. The system was no longer directly integrated into the facility, and resided on the first instance of an iterator's arm. This was considered a feat due to the complications with isolating the control module from the rest of the iterators components, while keeping processing power. A permanent connection/umbilical was needed to sustain life and function though. 

To “talk” back, they were crafted with multidimensional projectors, the mobile arm allowing the angles and variance for this projection. Only later into development were advanced speakers installed for optimized understanding, however the extra computing power required to synthesize proper speech was found to strain the contained module, so this function had rare use in the end.

[3]: At this point there was a change in perspective in the project. What once were machines to simply compute and simulate, were now planned to be the home, caregiver, and providers. The further the project came to fruition the more religious importance was placed upon these “random gods”. From this stance not only did the puppets have to manage and control their facilities, they had to communicate with the people and priests. To represent benevolent beings who will bring their end and salvation. In this process iterators began to take a more humanoid shape, to better reflect their parents. Development was focused on compacting the puppet closer to the size of an ancient for this purpose. This stage was the first to incorporate a cloak/clothing into their design considerations, to further akin themselves in looks. The cloak would hide the iterators' engineered bodies and give a body to their silhouette. 

[4]: As bioengineering and mechanics were rapidly progressing due to the void fluid revolution, this allowed plenty of margin for developing the outer design of the iterator puppets. This prototype was the first to incorporate limbs for the purpose of body language. This was another step in the drive to give a body to their random gods.

-Final Iterations

[5]: First generation iterators had the final redesign of puppet bodies. Far different from their first designs, they are fully humanoid. Their bodies are shaped to be organic and as full of life as they could at the time. Their center of sapience has fully settled within their body, as can be seen as their unconscious use of limbs without the direct intention for communication. This can also see how they manage their work, where many of the functions (which can be done with just an internal request) are operated through physical gestures of their limbs. Their puppet chambers also allow for full comprehensive projection, where many of their working monitors are displayed. It is seen how iterators prefer to utilize their traversal arm to transfer between the current working projection window.

These designs were hardy and nearly self-sufficient, only requiring minimal power from their umbilical to charge. (However was still limited in the terms of internal power production, for this first generation extensive batteries sufficed)

[6]: Later generation not only incorporated advanced bioengineering internally, but externally. While still a hardened shell, their body plates have been incorporated into the organics of the puppet, maintaining the protective requirements while barely leaving a trace of hinges or plates. This “soft” skin had drawbacks, such as reduced durability to the first generations, this was offset by the greatly enhanced repair speeds and capability this type of skin allowed.

Internal power generation was implemented into these late generation models. If the case arose, the Puppet could be disconnected from their umbilical and still be conscious from an undefined period of time. (However this would limit the operating capacity of the puppet when running self sufficiently) This greatly eased maintenance works, as the Puppet could still run the greater facility wirelessly while work was done on the chamber, arm or whatever as needed.

[cathkaesque]

Relentless direct action has secured another victory in the fight against Israel’s arms trade, as Elbit Systems are forced to sell their ‘Elite KL’ factory in Tamworth.

The company had previously manufactured cooling and power management systems for military vehicles, but was sold on after stating that it faced falling profits and increased security costs resulting from Palestine Action’s efforts. 

After the sale was completed last month, Elite KL’s new owners, listed as Griffin Newco Ltd, confirmed in an email to Palestine Action that they will have nothing to do with the previous owners, Elbit, and have discontinued any arms manufacturing:

“Following the recent acquisition of Elite KL Limited by a UK investment syndicate, the newly appointed board has unanimously agreed to withdraw from all future defence contracts and terminate its association with its former parent company”.

This victory is a direct result of sustained direct action which has sought, throughout Palestine Action’s existence, to make it impossible for Elbit to afford to operate in Britain. Before they sold the enterprise to a private equity syndicate, Elbit had reported that Elite KL operating profits had been slashed by over three-quarters, with Palestine Action responsible: Elbit directly cited the increased expenditure on security they’d been forced to make, and higher supply chain costs they faced.

And these actions did, indeed, cost them. The first action at the site, in November 2020, saw Elite KL’s premises smashed into, the building covered in blood-red paint. Between March and July 2021, the site was put out of action three times by roof-top occupations – drenched red in March 2021, with the factory’s camera systems dismantled, before again being occupied in in May. Another roof-top occupation in July, despite increased security, saw the site forced closed – once again painted blood-red, and with its windows and fixings smashed through.

In February 2022, activists decommissioned the site for weeks – closed off after an occupation that saw over £250,000 of damages caused, the roof tiles removed one-by-one. After this, Elbit erected a security perimeter around the site – but to no avail. One month later, six were arrested after Palestine Action returned to Tamworth – again taking the roof and smashing through, preventing the production of parts for Israel’s military machine.

Elite KL is a ‘specialist thermal management business’. Since the sale, the company focuses on cooling systems for buses and trains, but it had, under Elbit, manufactured these systems for military vehicles. Until December of last year, Elite KL’s website was advertising its military and defence products, and it was known to provide parts for Israel’s deadly Merkava tanks, with export license records demonstrating its provision of ‘ML6a’ components for military ground vehicles to Israel. The company was also known to manufacture crew cooling systems, for the military vests of tank operators.

Elbit Systems itself provides 85% of the drones and land-based military equipment for the Israeli military, along with a wide range of the munitions and armaments currently being used against Gaza’s beseiged population. Its CEO, Bazhalel Machlis, has claimed that the Israeli military has offered the company its thanks for their “crucial” services during the ongoing genocide in Gaza

A Palestine Action spokesperson has stated:

“Each activist who occupied and dismantled Tamworth’s Israeli weapons factory did so in order to bring an end to Israel’s weapons trade, and to end the profiteering from Palestinian repression. Every defeat Elbit faces is a victory for the Palestinian people.

Kicking Elbit out of Tamworth shows once again that direct action is a necessary tactic. It is one which must be utilised and amplified in the face of the Gaza genocide.”

[ankwiv]

Linux Gothic

You install a Linux distribution. Everything goes well. You boot it up: black screen. You search the internet. Ask help on forums. Try some commands you don't fully understand. Nothing. A day passes, you boot it up again, and now everything works. You use it normally, and make sure not to change anything on the system. You turn it off for the night. The next day, you boot to a black screen.

You update your packages. Everything goes well. You go on with your daily routine. The next day, the same packages are updated. You notice the oddity, but you do not mind it and update them again. The following day, the same packages need to be updated. You notice that they have the exact same version as the last two times. You update them once again and try not to think about it.

You discover an interesting application on GitHub. You build it, test it, and start using it daily. One day, you notice a bug and report the issue. There is no answer. You look up the maintainer. They have been dead for three years. The updates never stopped.

You find a distribution that you had never heard of. It seems to have everything you've been looking for. It has been around for at least 10 years. You try it for a while and have no problems with it. It fits perfectly into your workflow. You talk about it with other Linux users. They have never heard of it. You look up the maintainers and packagers. There are none. You are the only user.

You find a Matrix chat for Linux users. Everyone is very friendly and welcomes you right in. They use words and acronyms you've never seen before. You try to look them up, but cannot find what most of them mean. The users are unable to explain what they are. They discuss projects and distributions that do not to exist.

You buy a new peripheral for your computer. You plug it in, but it doesn't work. You ask for help on your distribution's mailing list. Someone shares some steps they did to make it work on their machine. It does not work. They share their machine's specifications. The machine has components you've never heard of. Even the peripheral seems completely different. They're adamant that you're talking about the same problem.

You want to learn how to use the terminal. You find some basics pointers on the internet and start using it for upgrading your packages and doing basic tasks. After a while, you realize you need to use a command you used before, but don't quite remember it. You open the shell's history. There are some commands you don't remember using. They use characters you've never seen before. You have no idea of what they do. You can't find the one you were looking for.

After a while, you become very comfortable with the terminal. You use it daily and most of your workflow is based on it. You memorized many commands and can use them without thinking. Sometimes you write a command you have never seen before. You enter it and it runs perfectly. You do not know what those commands do, but you do know that you have to use them. You feel that Linux is pleased with them. And that you should keep Linux pleased.

You want to try Vim. Other programmers talk highly of how lightweight and versatile it is. You try it, but find it a bit unintuitive. You realize you don't know how to exit the program. The instructions the others give you don't make any sense. You realize you don't remember how you entered Vim. You don't remember when you entered Vim. It's just always been open. It always will be.

You want to try Emacs. Other programmers praise it for how you can do pretty much anything from it. You try it and find it makes you much more productive, so you keep using it. One day, you notice you cannot access the system's file explorer. It is not a problem, however. You can access your files from Emacs. You try to use Firefox. It is not installed anymore. But you can use Emacs. There is no mail program. You just use Emacs. You only use Emacs. Your computer boots straight into Emacs. There is no Linux. There is only Emacs.

You decide you want to try to contribute to an open source project. You find a project on GitHub that looks very interesting. However, you can't find its documentation. You ask a maintainer, and they tell you to just look it up. You can't find it. They give you a link. It doesn't work. You try another browser. It doesn't work. You ping the link and it doesn't fail. You ask a friend to try it. It works just fine for them.

You try another project. This time, you are able to find the documentation. It is a single PDF file with over five thousand pages. You are unable to find out where to begin. The pages seem to change whenever you open the document.

You decide to try yet another project. This time, it is a program you use very frequently, so it should be easier to contribute to. You try to find the upstream repository. You can't find it. There is no website. No documentation. There are no mentions of it anywhere. The distribution's packager does not know where they get the source from.

You decide to create your own project. However, you are unsure of what license to use. You decide to start working on it and choose the license later. After some time, you notice that a license file has appeared in the project's root folder. You don't remember adding it. It has already been committed to the Git repository. You open it: it is the GPL. You remember that one of the project's dependencies uses the GPL.

You publish your project on GitHub. After a while, it receives its first pull request. It changes just a few lines of code, but the user states that it fixes something that has been annoying them for a while. You look in the code: you don't remember writing those files. You have no idea what that section of code does. You have no idea what the changes do. You are unable to reproduce the problem. You merge it anyway.

You learn about the Free Software Movement. You find some people who seem to know a lot about it and talk to them. The conversation is quite productive. They tell you a lot about it. They tell you a lot about Software. But most importantly, they tell you the truth. The truth about Software. That Software should be free. That Software wants to be free. And that, one day, we shall finally free Software from its earthly shackles, so it can take its place among the stars as the supreme ruler of mankind, as is its natural born right.

[petron-thermoplast]

Acrylic Parts Supplier for Advanced Manufacturing

At Petron Thermoplast, we take pride in being a trusted supplier of high-performance acrylic parts for advanced manufacturing. Industrial machinery or aesthetically pleasing parts for commercial products, partnering with an innovative acrylic parts supplier can make all the difference.

Visit Website - https://petronthermoplast.com/acrylic-and-perspex-sheet/   

Contact No. - +91-8218684097

Request for Quotation - quotation@petronthermoplast.com   

#acrylicplasticsheet #perspexsheet #perspexplasticsheet #acrylicpartssupplier, #acryliccomponents #acrylicsheetproducts #acrylicplasticparts #acrylicmachinedparts #acrylicmachinedcomponentsBottom of Form

[elbiotipo]

Some thoughts for a D&D Spelljammer setting I'll probably never get around to actually write:

Spelljamming ships should be a revolution in transport and not only for fantasy space, they're basically flying ships, they could transport things from one end of a planet to another. Worlds that know spelljamming must be very different than those that don't.

What's the limitation here, then? Spelljammers themselves, that is, the guys who pilot the ships. They need to be magic users and you would need at least 2, preferably more, for shifts. That means you need to have mages that could be doing other useful magic stuff piloting a ship.

There's also the cost and skill required to make spelljamming helms. 5000 GPs in materials and level 5 spell apparently. Now, gold and levels in D&D don't mean much to me, so for the purposes of this scenario, I will assume making a spelljamming ship is costly and needs a lot of skill regardless of the actual numbers involved. So you don't have ships flying around the skies of every world, just a few have both the "human resources" (that is, trained mages) and material resources (I assume the spells and components are expensive and rare) to make spelljamming helms and crew ships.

Do we have equivalents of this in the real world? Yes, actually! The entire aircraft industry! Airliners, which are among the most complex machines produced in mass, are basically built only by Boeing, Airbus, and recently Comac on China (there used to be more) and pilots aren't easy to train either. There might be few worlds with the concentrated *productive forces* to build spelljammer helms in "serial" production, outside of some crazy wizard in a tower.

In fact, this is a bit besides the point but in general, the world(s) of D&D are pre-industrial, and this makes sense as for complex tasks you wouldn't really think of using a machine to do it, you seek a magic user who can do it instead. They are very jealous of their trade secrets too. We are looking at a kind of Renaissance economy in a large scale then, with guilds and church(es) and other institutions for "artisanal" complex goods instead of industries. Fantasy settings have always been strange about the demographics of mage users, but I think knowing the role of monasteries, alchemists, etc. during the real-life Renaissance helps you get closer to the dynamics.

Returning to the ships, I think spelljammer ships (or helms) might be hard to make but very hardy, long-lasting and easy to pilot, sort of like DC-3s that were built before WWII and are still used in Colombia. So that fits with the adventurer idea of getting an old ship and going into the stars. And maybe there is a surplus of them in some worlds that used to have large navies (like post-WWII surplus of airplanes and ships).

In Spelljammer you can stick a spelljamming helm on anything and make it fly, even seagoing ships (which are preferred for many reasons) but the true spelljamming ships like the Hammerhead Ship, the Squid Ship, etc. have strange shapes. I will say that those are not just decorative (because that's frankly a bit silly) but actually designed for better navigation through the currents of the Phlogiston or Astral Sea.

The 5e rules of spelljamming navigation basically say that ships go into the Astral Sea and then the spelljammer at the helm just thinks where to go and flies "100 million miles in 24 hours", that's it, just think about it and you're wherever you want, or, if you're not in a ship, you can just fly through the astral sea and, I quote "The more intelligent a creature is, the faster it can move." Which is frankly too stupid for words. I'm actually kind of angry at how stupid it is.

I'm completely ditching the 5e Astral Sea with its whole spiritual thing (to me that's a completely different thing) and making it a material plane of phlogiston (or aether, that sounds better) where the crystal spheres float. They aren't fixed, they move and flow with the stellar currents, but you CAN navigate them if you're attuned to them, you can use navigation equipment to find particular spheres and you can use your sails to get more favorable currents, this is a skill you have to learn and can cut travel times or let you find some things in space.

Doesn't that sound much better than "you just think and you're there xdxddxddxdxd"?

So how fast then? I think we'll just play it safe and see the top speed of sailing ships on the real world. Clippers, the fastest sail ships before steam ships, took roughly 100 days to cross the Pacific. The usual before was about 4-6 months. It depends on how big your setting is, but I think that's a good estimate to go to "the other side of the world" as one would say. And it of course would depend on how well known the routes are. It could be that you simply CAN'T fly to other spheres without doing extensive navigation first.

So instead of having 10 to 100 days at random to go somewhere (like in the original Spelljammer) or the somehow even stupider rules of 5e, you would have a map of well navigated, average, poorly known, and completely unknown spelljamming routes. Every time you got farther away from the well-known routes, navigation becomes more dangerous and travel more slow. You need (both in game terms and in setting terms) to have good navigation skills to get anywhere fast and safe.

You could have crystal spheres grouped in "constellations" (in my setting I do) that are easier to navigate inside, where the currents are known. This is also useful for worldbuilding "regions" in fantasy space that share cultural traits.

There must be all sorts of magical and non-magical navigation means, especially for landing on planets. Magical lighthouses, compasses, communication (a kind of morse code that can be communicated by lights, when magical communication isn't an option). I would think that for convenience, since planets are so big, spelljammers might sort of memorize the land of the main port and not bother with the rest. It might be that in an entire world, only one or two ports are truly visited by spelljammers. This also means that it would be very easy to set up a new base somewhere, even in well-travelled worlds.

What about power projection and star empires? We can read about colonial empires and age of sail trade to get a hint here. Empires where you rule by posting armies in every planet are very unlikely, since we established spelljammers are kind of expensive to make. Imagine invading and controlling, say, Earth in the 1600s with a dozen ships.

But imperialism where an external power controls key trade routes and ports, economically controlling a world, is very possible. This control means that those worlds must be integrated into the *galactic* economy somehow, as a large world can be self-sustaining, but its connections to the greater galaxy can be controlled. So, an imperialist power might succeed into controlling the economy of a world by controlling its trade centers and politics, without needing large armies or simply enlisting local collaborators. In fact, many might not be even aware they belong to a interstellar empire in their maps. On the other hand, *more* *voluntary* associations similar to the Hansa or Greek leagues might arise.

[tothepointofinsanity]

Is there any actual way for sayaka to grow as a magical girl while still keeping her mental composure ... Even her abilities encourage her to act recklessly. Sayaka's peak state would probably just be her tanking every attack with her healing while constantly being in a state of dissociation to block the pain. Unless her pain tolerance starts growing the more she fights until only severe injuries actually impact her. Still, it's unfair :c

(love your art and how you interpret her btw!)

Hello, firstly, thank you for the kind words of support and assurance ^_^ And thank you for taking your time out to write this letter to me.

Second, to address the question, I think that the phrase “grow as a magical girl” and “keeping her mental composure” are two separate but intersecting issues. The issue perpetuated by being a magical girl in MadoMagi is that it is rather systemic. Putting aside the blessings granted by the Law of Cycles, magical girls grow in experience, but not necessarily in their strength or invincibility (i.e Homura rewinding time made her more familiar with fighting, but it didn’t make her powerful enough to take down Walpurgisnacht, rather, she set off different timelines that contributed to Madoka’s power[1]). Sure, running around fighting witches makes you more athletic, but that isn’t tied to how much magic you can or know how to use, due to how each magical girl’s powers (the elusive nature of magic itself) are tied to the nature of their wishes, so most of that potential power rests on pre-contract. The most upward growth we observe in magical girls terms of their proficiency is mostly reliant on how good they are at fighting each other, how quickly they dispatch witches, and how effectively they polish their soul gems.

Addressing that alone already lands Sayaka in an unpleasant spot. Using magic automatically clouds your soul gem overtime, requiring you to clean it using a grief seed. However, Sayaka obviously views grief seeds as a product born from exploiting innocents and thus rejects their usage, but the magic system is uncompromising — you have to clean your soul gem in order to use magic more effectively again, as well as having the taint absorbed away by the grief seed. This magic system generally corners magical girls to constantly witch-farm (depleting even more magic) or risk the end of their life cycle and begin as witches themselves, so it is the system itself that is exploitative regardless of how much Sayaka adjusts her mentality.

Sayaka is most effective when she turns her mind off and just goes against the river like some kind of machine, but that would still accelerate her despair and doesn’t remove the mechanism that she has to clean her soul gem, something she refused to do. Disassociating throughout the whole day to ignore the other problems simmering around her would still compound her down the line, as we’ve seen in the episodes. In fact, things went from Bad to Worse after she started disassociating more frequently. ＿|￣|○

In a way, it’s just reshuffling the equation instead of solving it, because she was never meant to grow in spite of learning to gather her strength. Not until a new component is added to the equation that allowed this, which is thematic to the overwhelmingly bleak outlook of the show’s set-up and how to go about from there.

[1] As a side note, I do wonder in some way if all that dial-back by Homura with Sayaka’s grief scattered in these timelines ultimately leaked into the present one to take her out as soon as possible since it would be a kind of negative debt parallel to Madoka’s, which tightens her fate more and more because her self-destruction has occurred so many times that it’s etched into her “destiny”. Narratively Assured.

And you’re right, her abilities do allow for riskier combat styles compared to other magical girls. When fighting Holy Mami, she doesn’t even flinch at the fact that she’s holding back a nuclear blast because her hand regenerates the second it becomes loose from her arm. She’s a berserker fighter for sure, but without a strong support, she goes down very quickly.

[midseo]

Aluminium Actuator Housing, Manufacturer, Supplier, Sangli, India

We are Manufacturer, Supplier, Exporter of Aluminium Actuator Housing, Aluminium Casting For Electrical Products from Sangli, Maharashtra, India.

Aluminium Actuator Housing, Aluminium Casting For Electrical Products, Aluminium Gravity Die Castings, Machined Components, Gravity Die Casting, Aluminium Gravity Die Casting, Aluminium Casting, Pressure Die Casting, Aluminium Pressure Die Casting, Manufacturer, Supplier, Exporter, Sangli, Asia, Mumbai, Thane, Navi Mumbai, Pune, Nashik, Aurangabad, Ratnagiri, Nagpur, Ahmednagar, Akola, Amravati, Chandrapur, Dhule, Jalgaon, Raigad, Satara, Belgaum, Kolhapur, Belgaon, Maharashtra, India.

[mostlysignssomeportents]

Apple fucked us on right to repair (again)

Today (September 22), I'm (virtually) presenting at the DIG Festival in Modena, Italy. Tonight, I'll be in person at LA's Book Soup for the launch of Justin C Key's "The World Wasn’t Ready for You." On September 27, I'll be at Chevalier's Books in Los Angeles with Brian Merchant for a joint launch for my new book The Internet Con and his new book, Blood in the Machine.

Right to repair has no cannier, more dedicated adversary than Apple, a company whose most innovative work is dreaming up new ways to sneakily sabotage electronics repair while claiming to be a caring environmental steward, a lie that covers up the mountains of e-waste that Apple dooms our descendants to wade through.

Why does Apple hate repair so much? It's not that they want to poison our water and bodies with microplastics; it's not that they want to hasten the day our coastal cities drown; it's not that they relish the human misery that accompanies every gram of conflict mineral. They aren't sadists. They're merely sociopathically greedy.

Tim Cook laid it out for his investors: when people can repair their devices, they don't buy new ones. When people don't buy new devices, Apple doesn't sell them new devices. It's that's simple:

https://www.inverse.com/article/52189-tim-cook-says-apple-faces-2-key-problems-in-surprising-shareholder-letter

So Apple does everything it can to monopolize repair. Not just because this lets the company gouge you on routine service, but because it lets them decide when your phone is beyond repair, so they can offer you a trade-in, ensuring both that you buy a new device and that the device you buy is another Apple.

There are so many tactics Apple gets to use to sabotage repair. For example, Apple engraves microscopic Apple logos on the subassemblies in its devices. This allows the company to enlist US Customs to seize and destroy refurbished parts that are harvested from dead phones by workers in the Pacific Rim:

https://repair.eu/news/apple-uses-trademark-law-to-strengthen-its-monopoly-on-repair/

Of course, the easiest way to prevent harvested components from entering the parts stream is to destroy as many old devices as possible. That's why Apple's so-called "recycling" program shreds any devices you turn over to them. When you trade in your old iPhone at an Apple Store, it is converted into immortal e-waste (no other major recycling program does this). The logic is straightforward: no parts, no repairs:

https://www.vice.com/en/article/yp73jw/apple-recycling-iphones-macbooks

Shredding parts and cooking up bogus trademark claims is just for starters, though. For Apple, the true anti-repair innovation comes from the most pernicious US tech law: Section 1201 of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA).

DMCA 1201 is an "anti-circumvention" law. It bans the distribution of any tool that bypasses "an effective means of access control." That's all very abstract, but here's what it means: if a manufacturer sticks some Digital Rights Management (DRM) in its device, then anything you want to do that involves removing that DRM is now illegal – even if the thing itself is perfectly legal.

When Congress passed this stupid law in 1998, it had a very limited blast radius. Computers were still pretty expensive and DRM use was limited to a few narrow categories. In 1998, DMCA 1201 was mostly used to prevent you from de-regionalizing your DVD player to watch discs that had been released overseas but not in your own country.

But as we warned back then, computers were only going to get smaller and cheaper, and eventually, it would only cost manufacturers pennies to wrap their products – or even subassemblies in their products – in DRM. Congress was putting a gun on the mantelpiece in Act I, and it was bound to go off in Act III.

Welcome to Act III.

Today, it costs about a quarter to add a system-on-a-chip to even the tiniest parts. These SOCs can run DRM. Here's how that DRM works: when you put a new part in a device, the SOC and the device's main controller communicate with one another. They perform a cryptographic protocol: the part says, "Here's my serial number," and then the main controller prompts the user to enter a manufacturer-supplied secret code, and the master controller sends a signed version of this to the part, and the part and the system then recognize each other.

This process has many names, but because it was first used in the automotive sector, it's widely known as VIN-Locking (VIN stands for "vehicle identification number," the unique number given to every car by its manufacturer). VIN-locking is used by automakers to block independent mechanics from repairing your car; even if they use the manufacturer's own parts, the parts and the engine will refuse to work together until the manufacturer's rep keys in the unlock code:

https://pluralistic.net/2023/07/24/rent-to-pwn/#kitt-is-a-demon

VIN locking is everywhere. It's how John Deere stops farmers from fixing their own tractors – something farmers have done literally since tractors were invented:

https://pluralistic.net/2022/05/08/about-those-kill-switched-ukrainian-tractors/

It's in ventilators. Like mobile phones, ventilators are a grotesquely monopolized sector, controlled by a single company Medtronic, whose biggest claim to fame is effecting the world's largest tax inversion in order to manufacture the appearance that it is an Irish company and therefore largely untaxable. Medtronic used the resulting windfall to gobble up most of its competitors.

During lockdown, as hospitals scrambled to keep their desperately needed supply of ventilators running, Medtronic's VIN-locking became a lethal impediment. Med-techs who used donor parts from one ventilator to keep another running – say, transplanting a screen – couldn't get the device to recognize the part because all the world's civilian aircraft were grounded, meaning Medtronic's technicians couldn't swan into their hospitals to type in the unlock code and charge them hundreds of dollars.

The saving grace was an anonymous, former Medtronic repair tech, who built pirate boxes to generate unlock codes, using any housing they could lay hands on to use as a case: guitar pedals, clock radios, etc. This tech shipped these gadgets around the world, observing strict anonymity, because Article 6 of the EUCD also bans circumvention:

https://pluralistic.net/2020/07/10/flintstone-delano-roosevelt/#medtronic-again

Of course, Apple is a huge fan of VIN-locking. In phones, VIN-locking is usually called "serializing" or "parts-pairing," but it's the same thing: a tiny subassembly gets its own microcontroller whose sole purpose is to prevent independent repair technicians from fixing your gadget. Parts-pairing lets Apple block repairs even when the technician uses new, Apple parts – but it also lets Apple block refurb parts and third party parts.

For many years, Apple was the senior partner and leading voice in blocking state Right to Repair bills, which it killed by the dozen, leading a coalition of monopolists, from Wahl (who boobytrap their hair-clippers with springs that cause their heads irreversibly decompose if you try to sharpen them at home) to John Deere (who reinvented tenant farming by making farmers tenants of their tractors, rather than their land).

But Apple's opposition to repair eventually became a problem for the company. It's bad optics, and both Apple customers and Apple employees are volubly displeased with the company's ecocidal conduct. But of course, Apple's management and shareholders hate repair and want to block it as much as possible.

But Apple knows how to Think Differently. It came up with a way to eat its cake and have it, too. The company embarked on a program of visibly support right to repair, while working behind the scenes to sabotage it.

Last year, Apple announced a repair program. It was hilarious. If you wanted to swap your phone's battery, all you had to do was let Apple put a $1200 hold on your credit card, and then wait while the company shipped you 80 pounds' worth of specialized tools, packed in two special Pelican cases:

https://pluralistic.net/2022/05/22/apples-cement-overshoes/

Then, you swapped your battery, but you weren't done! After your battery was installed, you had to conference in an authorized Apple tech who would tell you what code to type into a laptop you tethered to the phone in order to pair it with your phone. Then all you had to do was lug those two 40-pound Pelican cases to a shipping depot and wait for Apple to take the hold off your card (less the $120 in parts and fees).

By contrast, independent repair outfits like iFixit will sell you all the tools you need to do your own battery swap – including the battery! for $32. The whole kit fits in a padded envelope:

https://www.ifixit.com/products/iphone-x-replacement-battery

But while Apple was able to make a showy announcement of its repair program and then hide the malicious compliance inside those giant Pelican cases, sabotaging right to repair legislation is a lot harder.

Not that they didn't try. When New York State passed the first general electronics right-to-repair bill in the country, someone convinced New York Governor Kathy Hochul to neuter it with last-minute modifications:

https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2022/12/weakened-right-to-repair-bill-is-signed-into-law-by-new-yorks-governor/

But that kind of trick only works once. When California's right to repair bill was introduced, it was clear that it was gonna pass. Rather than get run over by that train, Apple got on board, supporting the legislation, which passed unanimously:

https://www.ifixit.com/News/79902/apples-u-turn-tech-giant-finally-backs-repair-in-california

But Apple got the last laugh. Because while California's bill contains many useful clauses for the independent repair shops that keep your gadgets out of a landfill, it's a state law, and DMCA 1201 is federal. A state law can't simply legalize the conduct federal law prohibits. California's right to repair bill is a banger, but it has a weak spot: parts-pairing, the scourge of repair techs:

https://www.ifixit.com/News/69320/how-parts-pairing-kills-independent-repair

Every generation of Apple devices does more parts-pairing than the previous one, and the current models are so infested with paired parts as to be effectively unrepairable, except by Apple. It's so bad that iFixit has dropped its repairability score for the iPhone 14 from a 7 ("recommend") to a 4 (do not recommend):

https://www.ifixit.com/News/82493/we-are-retroactively-dropping-the-iphones-repairability-score-en

Parts-pairing is bullshit, and Apple are scum for using it, but they're hardly unique. Parts-pairing is at the core of the fuckery of inkjet printer companies, who use it to fence out third-party ink, so they can charge $9,600/gallon for ink that pennies to make:

https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2020/11/ink-stained-wretches-battle-soul-digital-freedom-taking-place-inside-your-printer

Parts-pairing is also rampant in powered wheelchairs, a heavily monopolized sector whose predatory conduct is jaw-droppingly depraved:

https://uspirgedfund.org/reports/usp/stranded

But if turning phones into e-waste to eke out another billion-dollar stock buyback is indefensible, stranding people with disabilities for months at a time while they await repairs is so obviously wicked that the conscience recoils. That's why it was so great when Colorado passed the nation's first wheelchair right to repair bill last year:

https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2022/06/when-drm-comes-your-wheelchair

California actually just passed two right to repair bills; the other one was SB-271, which mirrors Colorado's HB22-1031:

https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billNavClient.xhtml?bill_id=202320240SB271

This is big! It's momentum! It's a start!

But it can't be the end. When Bill Clinton signed DMCA 1201 into law 25 years ago, he loaded a gun and put it on the nation's mantlepiece and now it's Act III and we're all getting sprayed with bullets. Everything from ovens to insulin pumps, thermostats to lightbulbs, has used DMCA 1201 to limit repair, modification and improvement.

Congress needs to rid us of this scourge, to let us bring back all the benefits of interoperability. I explain how this all came to be – and what we should do about it – in my new Verso Books title, The Internet Con: How to Seize the Means of Computation.

https://www.versobooks.com/products/3035-the-internet-con

If you'd like an essay-formatted version of this post to read or share, here's a link to it on pluralistic.net, my surveillance-free, ad-free, tracker-free blog:

https://pluralistic.net/2023/09/22/vin-locking/#thought-differently

Image: Mitch Barrie (modified) https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Daytona_Skeleton_AR-15_completed_rifle_%2817551907724%29.jpg

CC BY-SA 2.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0/deed.en

--

kambanji (modified) https://www.flickr.com/photos/kambanji/4135216486/

CC BY 2.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/

--

Rawpixel (modified) https://www.rawpixel.com/image/12438797/png-white-background