#bricked

[mostlysignssomeportents]

Cars bricked by bankrupt EV company will stay bricked

On OCTOBER 23 at 7PM, I'll be in DECATUR, presenting my novel THE BEZZLE at EAGLE EYE BOOKS.

There are few phrases in the modern lexicon more accursed than "software-based car," and yet, this is how the failed EV maker Fisker billed its products, which retailed for $40-70k in the few short years before the company collapsed, shut down its servers, and degraded all those "software-based cars":

https://insideevs.com/news/723669/fisker-inc-bankruptcy-chapter-11-official/

Fisker billed itself as a "capital light" manufacturer, meaning that it didn't particularly make anything – rather, it "designed" cars that other companies built, allowing Fisker to focus on "experience," which is where the "software-based car" comes in. Virtually every subsystem in a Fisker car needs (or rather, needed) to periodically connect with its servers, either for regular operations or diagnostics and repair, creating frequent problems with brakes, airbags, shifting, battery management, locking and unlocking the doors:

https://www.businessinsider.com/fisker-owners-worry-about-vehicles-working-bankruptcy-2024-4

Since Fisker's bankruptcy, people with even minor problems with their Fisker EVs have found themselves owning expensive, inert lumps of conflict minerals and auto-loan debt; as one Fisker owner described it, "It's literally a lawn ornament right now":

https://www.businessinsider.com/fisker-owners-describe-chaos-to-keep-cars-running-after-bankruptcy-2024-7

This is, in many ways, typical Internet-of-Shit nonsense, but it's compounded by Fisker's capital light, all-outsource model, which led to extremely unreliable vehicles that have been plagued by recalls. The bankrupt company has proposed that vehicle owners should have to pay cash for these recalls, in order to reserve the company's capital for its creditors – a plan that is clearly illegal:

https://www.veritaglobal.net/fisker/document/2411390241007000000000005

This isn't even the first time Fisker has done this! Ten years ago, founder Henrik Fisker started another EV company called Fisker Automotive, which went bankrupt in 2014, leaving the company's "Karma" (no, really) long-range EVs (which were unreliable and prone to bursting into flames) in limbo:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fisker_Karma

Which raises the question: why did investors reward Fisker's initial incompetence by piling in for a second attempt? I think the answer lies in the very factor that has made Fisker's failure so hard on its customers: the "software-based car." Investors love the sound of a "software-based car" because they understand that a gadget that is connected to the cloud is ripe for rent-extraction, because with software comes a bundle of "IP rights" that let the company control its customers, critics and competitors:

https://locusmag.com/2020/09/cory-doctorow-ip/

A "software-based car" gets to mobilize the state to enforce its "IP," which allows it to force its customers to use authorized mechanics (who can, in turn, be price-gouged for licensing and diagnostic tools). "IP" can be used to shut down manufacturers of third party parts. "IP" allows manufacturers to revoke features that came with your car and charge you a monthly subscription fee for them. All sorts of features can be sold as downloadable content, and clawed back when title to the car changes hands, so that the new owners have to buy them again. "Software based cars" are easier to repo, making them perfect for the subprime auto-lending industry. And of course, "software-based cars" can gather much more surveillance data on drivers, which can be sold to sleazy, unregulated data-brokers:

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

Unsurprisingly, there's a large number of Fisker cars that never sold, which the bankruptcy estate is seeking a buyer for. For a minute there, it looked like they'd found one: American Lease, which was looking to acquire the deadstock Fiskers for use as leased fleet cars. But now that deal seems dead, because no one can figure out how to restart Fisker's servers, and these vehicles are bricks without server access:

https://techcrunch.com/2024/10/08/fisker-bankruptcy-hits-major-speed-bump-as-fleet-sale-is-now-in-question/

It's hard to say why the company's servers are so intransigent, but there's a clue in the chaotic way that the company wound down its affairs. The company's final days sound like a scene from the last days of the German Democratic Republic, with apparats from the failing state charging about in chaos, without any plans for keeping things running:

https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2023/03/07/east-germany-stasi-surveillance-documents/

As it imploded, Fisker cycled through a string of Chief Financial officers, losing track of millions of dollars at a time:

https://techcrunch.com/2024/05/31/fisker-collapse-investigation-ev-ocean-suv-henrik-geeta/

When Fisker's landlord regained possession of its HQ, they found "complete disarray," including improperly stored drums of toxic waste:

https://techcrunch.com/2024/10/05/fiskers-hq-abandoned-in-complete-disarray-with-apparent-hazardous-waste-clay-models-left-behind/

And while Fisker's implosion is particularly messy, the fact that it landed in bankruptcy is entirely unexceptional. Most businesses fail (eventually) and most startups fail (quickly). Despite this, businesses – even those in heavily regulated sectors like automotive regulation – are allowed to design products and undertake operations that are not designed to outlast the (likely short-lived) company.

After the 2008 crisis and the collapse of financial institutions like Lehman Brothers, finance regulators acquired a renewed interest in succession planning. Lehman consisted of over 6,000 separate corporate entities, each one representing a bid to evade regulation and/or taxation. Unwinding that complex hairball took years, during which the entities that entrusted Lehman with their funds – pensions, charitable institutions, etc – were unable to access their money.

To avoid repeats of this catastrophe, regulators began to insist that banks produce "living wills" – plans for unwinding their affairs in the event of catastrophe. They had to undertake "stress tests" that simulated a wind-down as planned, both to make sure the plan worked and to estimate how long it would take to execute. Then banks were required to set aside sufficient capital to keep the lights on while the plan ran on.

This regulation has been indifferently enforced. Banks spent the intervening years insisting that they are capable of prudently self-regulating without all this interference, something they continue to insist upon even after the Silicon Valley Bank collapse:

https://pluralistic.net/2023/03/15/mon-dieu-les-guillotines/#ceci-nes-pas-une-bailout

The fact that the rules haven't been enforced tells us nothing about whether the rules would work if they were enforced. A string of high-profile bankruptcies of companies who had no succession plans and whose collapse stands to materially harm large numbers of people tells us that something has to be done about this.

Take 23andme, the creepy genomics company that enticed millions of people into sending them their genetic material (even if you aren't a 23andme customer, they probably have most of your genome, thanks to relatives who sent in cheek-swabs). 23andme is now bankrupt, and its bankruptcy estate is shopping for a buyer who'd like to commercially exploit all that juicy genetic data, even if that is to the detriment of the people it came from. What's more, the bankruptcy estate is refusing to destroy samples from people who want to opt out of this future sale:

https://bourniquelaw.com/2024/10/09/data-23-and-me/

On a smaller scale, there's Juicebox, a company that makes EV chargers, who are exiting the North American market and shutting down their servers, killing the advanced functionality that customers paid extra for when they chose a Juicebox product:

https://www.theverge.com/2024/10/2/24260316/juicebox-ev-chargers-enel-x-way-closing-discontinued-app

I actually owned a Juicebox, which ultimately caught fire and melted down, either due to a manufacturing defect or to the criminal ineptitude of Treeium, the worst solar installers in Southern California (or both):

https://pluralistic.net/2024/01/27/here-comes-the-sun-king/#sign-here

Projects like Juice Rescue are trying to reverse-engineer the Juicebox server infrastructure and build an alternative:

https://juice-rescue.org/

This would be much simpler if Juicebox's manufacturer, Enel X Way, had been required to file a living will that explained how its customers would go on enjoying their property when and if the company discontinued support, exited the market, or went bankrupt.

That might be a big lift for every little tech startup (though it would be superior than trying to get justice after the company fails). But in regulated sectors like automotive manufacture or genomic analysis, a regulation that says, "Either design your products and services to fail safely, or escrow enough cash to keep the lights on for the duration of an orderly wind-down in the event that you shut down" would be perfectly reasonable. Companies could make "software based cars" but the more "software based" the car was, the more funds they'd have to escrow to transition their servers when they shut down (and the lest capital they'd have to build the car).

Such a rule should be in addition to more muscular rules simply banning the most abusive practices, like the Oregon state Right to Repair bill, which bans the "parts pairing" that makes repairing a Fisker car so onerous:

https://www.theverge.com/2024/3/27/24097042/right-to-repair-law-oregon-sb1596-parts-pairing-tina-kotek-signed

Or the Illinois state biometric privacy law, which strictly limits the use of the kind of genomic data that 23andme collected:

https://www.ilga.gov/legislation/ilcs/ilcs3.asp?ActID=3004

Failing to take action on these abusive practices is dangerous – and not just to the people who get burned by them. Every time a genomics research project turns into a privacy nightmare, that salts the earth for future medical research, making it much harder to conduct population-scale research, which can be carried out in privacy-preserving ways, and which pays huge scientific dividends that we all benefit from:

https://pluralistic.net/2022/10/01/the-palantir-will-see-you-now/#public-private-partnership

Just as Fisker's outrageous ripoff will make life harder for good cleantech companies:

https://pluralistic.net/2024/06/26/unplanned-obsolescence/#better-micetraps

If people are convinced that new, climate-friendly tech is a cesspool of grift and extraction, it will punish those firms that are making routine, breathtaking, exciting (and extremely vital) breakthroughs:

https://www.euronews.com/green/2024/10/08/norways-national-football-stadium-has-the-worlds-largest-vertical-solar-roof-how-does-it-w

Tor Books as just published two new, free LITTLE BROTHER stories: VIGILANT, about creepy surveillance in distance education; and SPILL, about oil pipelines and indigenous landback.

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/2024/10/10/software-based-car/#based

[boredtechnologist]

Hey thanks CrowdStrike for your latest update - my corporate laptop is now bricked!

The unofficial workaround to removing the faulty agent/probe only works if you:

A) Know your Bitlocker key (which corporate users usually don’t know)

B) Have a full administrators account that works in SafeMode - which 95% of corporate users don’t have.

If both are true, then you execute the following:

1. Boot Windows into Safe Mode or WRE.

2. Go to C:\Windows\System32\drivers\CrowdStrike

3. Locate and delete file matching "C-00000291*.sys"

4. Boot normally.

[karamellisokeri]

Chibi 🌰❄

Damn khun looking all fab and viole is just depressed

[whitelightremains]

"I want a child tonight. I am like a mother, I want a child!"

"Your wounded one. Your daughter" - forever.

[purgefluidz]

Hashtag normal

[cinnamonpb]

I just licked my screen </3 og post linked below :3

But on a more serious note, I don’t know if I want him bent over in front of me or if I need to be bent over in front of him 🤔 backshots? frontshots? sideshots? shotshots?

[thon717-y2rapidprototyping]

Brick Breaker games research - brick breaker

Core Game Loop:

Initialization: Set up the game environment, including the paddle, ball, and bricks. Initialize score counters and any power-ups.

Input Handling: Read player inputs to control the paddle’s movement, usually through keyboard or mouse controls.

Update: Move the ball according to its current trajectory and speed. Update the paddle’s position based on player input.

Collision Detection: Check if the ball has collided with any bricks, the paddle, or the edges of the screen. Also, handle collisions between the ball and the bricks to determine if a brick should be destroyed.

Brick Destruction and Score Update: When a brick is hit by the ball, remove the brick from the screen and update the score. Check for the completion of levels or stages based on the number of remaining bricks.

Render: Draw the updated positions of the paddle, ball, bricks, and any other game elements on the screen.

Repeat: Continue the loop, handling inputs, updating positions, and checking collisions until all bricks are destroyed or the player loses (e.g., the ball falls below the paddle).

Unique Selling Point (USP):

The USP of Brick Breaker, also known as Breakout, lies in its engaging combination of mechanics and its evolutionary impact on the puzzle and action genres:

Engaging Mechanics: The gameplay involves bouncing a ball off a paddle to destroy bricks arranged in various patterns. This mechanic creates a satisfying loop of aiming, hitting, and clearing bricks, with a mix of reflex-based action and strategic planning. The game often includes power-ups and special bricks (such as multi-ball or explosive bricks), adding variety and depth to the gameplay.

Innovative Design: Brick Breaker introduced a unique twist to the classic Pong mechanics by incorporating a destructible environment (the bricks). This was a significant innovation at the time, moving beyond simple paddle-and-ball gameplay to include objectives and progressive challenges. The game’s design paved the way for many other games in the "breakout" genre and inspired numerous clones and variations.

Overall, Brick Breaker's combination of simple yet addictive gameplay, along with its historical influence on the genre, sets it apart from other games of its time and continues to make it a classic favorite.

[allanodyne]

As voices echo in empty halls

by AllanOdyne

[boredtechnologist]

In my opinion, the CrowdStrike CEO claiming to ‘understand the gravity of the situation’ falls woefully short.

Being ‘deeply sorry’ doesn’t restore hospitals’ ability to perform life-saving surgeries, compensate employees for lost wages when they’re sent home, or enable the military to fulfill their mission with bricked computers.

Apologies don’t cut it.

[mangoposts]

god i need you amina

Woah where my clothes at 😂😂😂😂😂😂😂

[anoxidd]

♫ My Songs Know What You Did in the Dark ♫

[chadillacboseman]

OOOOH THAT LITTLE GLIMPSE OF THE MAKKKKKK!!!!

[cinnamonpb]

the world is lucky nanami only exists in my heart! as soon as i figure out how to get that man in my twin xl it’s fucking wraps.

Nanami smut + suggestive audio

• minors do not interact! 

──── Nanami, determined to make your first time memorable, dedicates himself to providing your with as much pleasure as possible, even taking care of the foreplay.

Lying side by side, your moisture glistens over your intimacy, with your head resting on Nanami's outstretched arm, one leg resting on his waist, keeping you open and vulnerable. Nanami's skilled fingers play incessantly with your clitoris.

"Kento... Please, I need more" you plead, lifting your hips in search of more contact with Nanami's rough fingers.

"Shh, you need to be well-prepared to receive me. I don't want to hurt your beautiful virgin pussy."

"Ugh, Kento, but I'm already ready" you grumble petulantly, with an annoyed expression that elicits a persuasive smile from Nanami.

"Oh, are you really?" Before you can respond, Nanami inserts two of his slender fingers into your untouched interior. He can barely move them due to the way you squeeze them; your eyes roll back in surprise and you moan sharply. Nanami feels the moisture in his boxer increase; if he weren't so skilled at controlling himself, he would have come just from the way he's touching you.

"You see? Your little pussy can barely handle my fingers, and you already want my cock? Don't be so eager, sweetie" Nanami intimidates you, chuckling softly as he sees you shrink back and then kissing your cheek.

He keeps his fingers moving slowly inside you, exploring your soft and tight walls. His thumb continues to stimulate your clit, applying enough pressure to make you see stars.

Your stomach knots tighten; you grip the sheet with one hand and squeeze Nanami's bicep with the other. Your doe-like eyes meet Nanami's cloudy gaze, both full of desire and excitement. He almost growls at the sight of you so surrendered to him.

"Yeah, good girl. Don't worry, the more aroused you get, the better you'll feel good. I promise, after you cum on my fingers, I'll fill you up completely. That's what you want, isn't it?" Nanami whispers near your ear, watching you nod frantically in agreement as you surrender to pleasure. He plants kisses along your jawline, moving up to your cheek and heading towards your mouth, where they start a slow and furtive kiss, savoring every second, every millisecond.

⠀

(Reposting)

I hope you're wearing headphones 🤭 Your interaction is very important to me, reblogs and comments are always welcome 🫶🏻💕

[allanodyne]

Alive through the cold’s clеansing

by AllanOdyne

[misterbrick42]

hey guys i made the tumblr default pfps but they're looking directly at you

hey while you're here check out the second series i made based on your feedback here