This is the dumbest shit ever. Of course it'll work for them because so many of their cars are leased, so people won't want to bypass computer control with a relay or custom firmware.
But the idea of installing hardware, then charging a recurring fee to use it is just horrible. It's a sign of how capitalism is simply broken. It was one thing when IBM did it on their computers when there were a few hundred or perhaps a few thousand of them on the planet, but now we're intentionally using resources to make things that may never get used, with no consideration for the environmental impact?
So who's going to be running the "feature activation" servers for older models when they're no longer "supported" by BMW? Do we really think BMW will simply unlock the features on cars about to go out of "support", or do we think they'll lock everything off regardless of what people have paid?
But the idea of installing hardware, then charging a recurring fee to use it is just horrible. It's a sign of how capitalism is simply broken. It was one thing when IBM did it on their computers when there were a few hundred or perhaps a few thousand of them on the planet, but now we're intentionally using resources to make things that may never get used, with no consideration for the environmental impact?
So who's going to be running the "feature activation" servers for older models when they're no longer "supported" by BMW? Do we really think BMW will simply unlock the features on cars about to go out of "support", or do we think they'll lock everything off regardless of what people have paid?