We're putting software in places it doesn't belong

Two short rants about software making things worse.

Making things less thingy

A little while back BMW tried to charge people to use the seat heaters that were already installed in their cars. They reneged after some bad press, but the trend continues. Here's Audi's page on features you can pay to unlock.

This is possible because software is used to artificially hamstring the car. Imagine if you bought a car with a sun roof that was bolted in place because you didn't pay to "unlock" it upfront. Enthusiasts would figure out how to cheaply remove those bolts, and the car company would eventually give up on the idea. Unfortunately, software is notoriously difficult to alter in place, and circumvention of "digital locks" is generally considered illegal.

Businesses can use software to hold their product's essence for ransom.

In 2019 Nike released some high-tech shoes that you could control with an app, and last year they discontinued the app. Some of the features of the shoes don't work without the app. Until someone reverse engineers the setup, fans of the shoes will have to keep the app around on an old phone and make sure nothing gets automatically updated and removed.

The product is less useful because the business got sick of maintaining the software interface.

It's convenient but it's less good

Many restaurants around here (Brisbane, Australia) have adoped online ordering. Instead of talking to staff, you tap on your phone. It can break in silly ways when compare to talking with a person; it's extremely unlikely that the colour of your t-shirt is going to give the waitress a seizure, but it's not uncommon for the "order" button on the menu app to freeze because of some quirk in your phone's web browser.

It's certainly more convenient, in some respect, but I've been starting to think that not every convenience is worth it. I've been struggling with feelings of isolation for a little while, and I've been noticing the way that convenience can be at odds with connection. In 2025 it's extremely convenient to not engage with other people.

It's also convenient to type out a big rant while sitting at my desk in my house. It would be much less convenient to commiserate with friends over dinner or beers. I worry that "social media" (including UpTrust) will become the dominant social substrate out of convience, even though there are much better non-software alternatives.