99% Invisible Enshittification
203 snips
May 5, 2026 
Cory Doctorow, sci-fi writer and digital rights advocate, joins Jared Wilson, a Missouri farmer fighting for right to repair. They dig into why smart gadgets make simple tasks harder. Tractors become locked software platforms. Repair delays can wreck a harvest. Phones, printers, and appliances get caught in the same trap, with parts pairing and anti-circumvention laws tightening the screws.
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Roman Mars Versus His Smart Thermostat
- Roman Mars hates his smart thermostat because it repeatedly disconnects from the heater when he only needs heat a few times a year.
- He says he would rather have an old brass Honeywell dial than a device that adds confusion instead of convenience.
Auto Steer Shows Why Farmers Adopted Software
- Jared Wilson says modern tractor software helps in real ways, especially auto steer during exhausting 20-hour workdays.
- He can create lines in a field and let the tractor drive itself, leaving him in far better shape when he gets off.
A Software Lockout Cost Jared Wilson Harvest Time
- A failed sensor triggered a tractor derate, but the machine gave Jared Wilson only an error code, not a real diagnosis.
- While he waited days for a technician, he heard dry soybean pods popping open and dropping unrecoverable crop onto the ground.
