mostlysignssomeportents:

Motherboard’s short documentary, “Tractor Hacking: The Farmers Breaking Big Tech’s Repair Monopoly” is an excellent look at the absurd situation created by John Deere’s position that you can’t own your tractor because you only license the software inside it,
meaning that only Deere can fix Deere’s tractors, and the centuries-old
tradition of farmers fixing their agricultural equipment should end
because Deere’s shareholders would prefer it that way.

The video delves into the weird world of bootleg Ukrainian firmware hacks for tractors, too.

The US Copyright Office is entertaining petitions to create exemptions to the law
that bans breaking DRM, even for lawful purposes and farmers are going
back to the agency, demanding the right to fix their own tractors and
make hay while the sun shines.

https://boingboing.net/2018/02/01/yoyot.html