Forget Just Locking Your Laptop's Wireless Modem, Now Operators Can Lock The Whole Machine
from the more-bars,-but-not-the-good-kind dept
Mobile operators are increasingly looking to sell non-phone devices like laptops and netbooks with embedded or add-on wireless modems as a way to boost their subscriber figures and generate extra income. Typically, consumers buy the device at a discounted upfront cost, then get tied in to a long-term contract for monthly data service (2 years at $60 per month seems to be the norm in the US). If users quit paying their bills, in theory, they've gotten a laptop on the cheap, though of course they're still subject to the terms of the contract, and damage to their credit, and so on. But Ericsson, which makes a lot of the embedded modems, has announced some new technology it's calling a "kill pill" that allows mobile operators to remotely lock a laptop by sending a signal to it over their network. The company says it's ideal if a data user quits paying their bills, but it's not hard to imagine mobile operators coming up with more nefarious uses for the device -- like shutting a machine down if a user closes their account, even if they've fulfilled their contract.Thank you for reading this Techdirt post. With so many things competing for everyone’s attention these days, we really appreciate you giving us your time. We work hard every day to put quality content out there for our community.
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Filed Under: laptops, locks, subsidies, wireless
Companies: ericsson
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Wait. $1440 is cheap for a laptop?
I seriously doubt the XPS is the model a mobile operator will offer.
A fool and his money are soon parted with this "cheap" laptop deal.
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Re: Wait. $1440 is cheap for a laptop?
Remember, this plan is for the laptop and two years connection. The laptop is $100 and the connection is the same as it would be if you just got the USB device.
It's like buying an iPhone and 2 year contract. The iPhone by itself is cheaper but you don't have a connection for it.
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Re: Re: Wait. $1440 is cheap for a laptop?
Mobile Operator solution one year in:
"Get a new Netbook! It will cost you more to replace the battery, plus this one's twice as fast!"
Netting +2 more years on contract.
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Re: Re: Re: Wait. $1440 is cheap for a laptop?
The Cell phone I have now would put any iPhone's battery to shame, but I would still be paying the same for a data plan.
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Re: Re: Re: Re: Wait. $1440 is cheap for a laptop?
Not really, Chronno.
It seems practical application of such a low-powered machine would be primarily in a mobile fashion to supplement on-the-go application. To contrast, people usually bring their phone wherever they go, and it remains relatively stable temperature-wise. But due to a laptop/netbook's size, it's possible such a device will be left in a car much more often.
To this end, it's known that leaving a LiION-powered devices in a hot environments (such as a car) can result in rapidly degraded energy density and decreased charging capability.
So it is quite possible to see netbooks/laptop batteries fail more often than phone batteries due to application/forgetfulness of maintaining the device in a room-temperature environment.
See: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/LiIon#Storage_temperature_and_charge
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Re: Re: Wait. $1440 is cheap for a laptop?
That's mistake #1, especially when WiFi is so abundant.
:P
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Seriously? Would this be the type of "expert" advice you would offer normally?
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Wait, you mean they don't?
Because Verizon did exactly this to one of our cell phones after our contract expired and we chose to move to AT&T.
Thinking we would sell our phones (notifying buyers phones were Verizon specific), imagine our surprise when one of the phones couldn't be re-activated because is was disabled by Verizon, despite being their branded phone.
The only thing which remained on it was 911 dialing out.
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Which touches that other issue, what if the provider goes out of business during the contract period? Who owns the machine? Can they remote detonate as they shut down?
Wonderful stuff.
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Re: Re: Re: The Love Of Class Action Suits
And class action suits are so fruitful for the consumers in the class. When the consumers "win" the case, they'll each get a $15 coupon for any goods in the carrier's retail store, and the class lawyer will get $7M.
Your theory seems to be "You lose, but you really win because now you can file a class action suit." That's silly. There's no "win" in needing to sue for justice (except if your an attorney).
But I appreciate your continuing to try to shift your argument after R. Miles proved your premise dead-wrong. It's more comforting than saying "Oops, my bad."
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Re: Re: Re: Re: The Love Of Class Action Suits
Oops. Typo. My bad.
See that wasn't so hard, was it.
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Just more proof that stupidity is more powerful than intelligence, because there are limits to intelligence...
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Stupidity is like nuclear power - it can be used for good or evil, and you don't want to get any on you.
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"Remote Detonate"
Whats next? Cars? Houses? Pace Makers?
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Re: "Remote Detonate"
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Re: Re: Re: Re: "Remote Detonate"
Again, if the contract says "at the end of the term or termination of your contract, your laptop will be disabled", well, then you should have known. But doing it without informing the end user would open a big can of legal worms.
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Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: "Remote Detonate"
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New Merger
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April Fools
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Trivial to bypass this ...
What about the potential for abuse ? What if someone figures out to send the "right" SMS message to targeted laptops (for fun or profit ?)
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like the community won't find a way to disable the remote lock ability....
The only ones who will get hosed are the shareholders of said companies.
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This will work real well on Linux
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Positive Applications of Kill Switch
I can understand the carrier's desire to have the ability to stop the laptop of someone who has stopped paying the bill. It's a contract. If the consumer doesn't honor their end, the carrier should have some remedy. I don't think they would abuse it past the 2-yr point, as a backlash would
definitely ensue (forget class action suits, a backlash is more useful). However, I see the risk of erroneous triggering, or malicious triggering of the kill switch by the carrier or by hackers.
For those of you who have done the math on $60 x 24 months = $1440, congrats on your math skill. But the average customer is able to match your 5th grade calculation, and decide if the deal is worth it for them. If not, buy an unsubsidized laptop, no whining required. But for some people who want both a new laptop, AND a cellular modem, why not take the $300 discount for a 2-year committment. Freedom of choice isn't a bad thing.
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Hacker's Fiesta
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