HN Theater @HNTheaterMonth

⬐ nacs

Are there really so many people casually stealing a giant box with a heavy power-tool to make it worth it to add all this DRM with Bluetooth and other crap in it?

Can't believe this is not a parody.

And for what I thought was a technologically competent company like Home Depot to be doing it makes it even worse.

⬐ wiseleo

There are organized retail theft groups who hit stores very hard. Then there's the construction site and from the truck theft. Tradespeople invest heavily into their tools and rendering them useless if stolen is a desired feature. Even the toolbox to store them is often very expensive, especially if it's the Milwaukee Packout system that is optimized for jobsite productivity.

⬐ josephcsible

> Are there really so many people casually stealing a giant box with a heavy power-tool

Sadly, yes there are.

⬐ thatcat

lol its very meta.. we'll need a right to repair our own tools soon

⬐ sitkack

We should be building our tools that build our own things. This is the only way that humanity can collectively own its own future.

The right to repair is absolutely critical, but we should be using our right to build, to build a fairer future.

⬐ Dma54rhs

It's a massive black market yes, if you want to steal something and you cold choose its always power tools. They are expensive and easy to sell. Just talk to working class people who do labour and they will explain you further.

⬐ Avatars

On the face of it it's a terrible idea. Adding complexity, BT, to a construction workers table saw. I mean, you can't just add BT to every expensive tool to begin with. This will cause more problems than it solves. It'd be much simpler to simply remove items from display that are prone and leave just empty boxes. The look but don't touch approach kinda like they already do in a lot of places. Really it's a just a lazy attempt at theft deterrence. Considering HD likes to buy in bulk and so receives and then sells a generally inferior product (simple to do), makes perfect sense.

⬐ josephcsible

I don't think it's fair to call this DRM. Real DRM imposes some sorts of restrictions on what you can do with something you bought, but this seems to be completely and permanently deactivated upon purchase.

⬐ syshum

If they have the technology to deactivate the device before sale. That same technology can be used to deactivate the device post sale.

I would want more technical details on how this is actually working

⬐ xt00

Presently if you go to buy a power tool at Home Depot you have to find somebody who will open up a locked cabinet where the tools are on the shelf, which burns manpower to do that. If they don’t do that yes organized groups will steal a large number per day in certain areas. If it’s truly just an anti theft thing then it’s not a big deal. If they try to turn it into something “value add” then likely it’ll be an obnoxious headache for customers when their battery powered saw stops running because it says you need to buy an authentic dewalt blade to continue..

⬐ ClumsyPilot

> saw stops running because it says you need to buy an authentic dewalt blade to continue..

Thats what i am afraud of

⬐ BizarroLand

Sorry, you're using a Gen 2 Dewalt blade, this firmware is only compatible with gen 2.1+ blades. Also, we've slowed your 3500 rpm sawz-all to 2800 rpm to protect your battery.