Home Depot is now selling power tools that require activation at checkout for them to work

[ravenshrike]

3 hours ago, 12345678 said:

just get a chepo drill on aliexpress

there is no reasons to pay a premium price for a brushless motor, and switch

 

often cheapo half/knock offs are even better than "branded" tools

like the "makita" one on aliexpress, recognizable because it's everywhere, and comes with different names (rebrands), costs around 30 without batteries

 

That is a bald faced lie.

2 hours ago, vetali said:

Yeah let me just sell my thousands of dollars of tools that have all worked fine and get some chinese knockoffs. Sounds like a great idea

The only reason to buy Cousin Eddie is to have a spare drill to lend to your neighbor.

 

Moreover, if your job actually mandates using a drill on a daily basis, going for the Made in Japan version is an even smarter idea.

 

 

 

[justpoet]

This concept of locking out power tools isn't really new, just doing so prior to sale.

https://onekeysupport.milwaukeetool.com/en/knowledge/ios-tool-lockout

 

[leadeater]

4 minutes ago, justpoet said:

This concept of locking out power tools isn't really new, just doing so prior to sale.

https://onekeysupport.milwaukeetool.com/en/knowledge/ios-tool-lockout

At the very least the user is able to use that after sale, good or bad idea usage extends beyond a nuisance at point of sale and later potential failure. HD should at least not half bake this and similarly create an app and offer ongoing usage of it to the user.

[Beskamir]

Ah yes, a step towards the "you will own nothing" future that seems to be increasingly pushed by everyone who sees their fellow humans as bags of money rather than actual people.

[staticpage]

I was just looking for new tools for the work site and DEWALT TOOL CONNECT has GPS, wifi and BT now so you can track the tool and it's usage on the job. I did not like that shit and it looks like it will be in everything Dewalt soon so I bought the Bosch system that was on sale and has none of it.

[Quinnell]

12 hours ago, Beskamir said:

Ah yes, a step towards the "you will own nothing" future that seems to be increasingly pushed by everyone who sees their fellow humans as bags of money rather than actual people.

Not sure this applies to that though.  This seems more akin to the little tags attached to clothes that must be removed by the cashier.  

[FmPhenom]

On 8/9/2021 at 6:00 PM, 12345678 said:

just get a chepo drill on aliexpress

there is no reasons to pay a premium price for a brushless motor, and switch

 

often cheapo half/knock offs are even better than "branded" tools

like the "makita" one on aliexpress, recognizable because it's everywhere, and comes with different names (rebrands), costs around 30 without batteries

 

LEAVE       THE       INTERNET         NOW!

 

I bet you use a butter knife instead of a flat head screwdriver. 

[Quinnell]

2 minutes ago, FmPhenom said:

LEAVE       THE       INTERNET         NOW!

 

I bet you use a butter knife instead of a flat head screwdriver. 

I mean... it technically works in a pinch

[12345678]

2 hours ago, FmPhenom said:

LEAVE       THE       INTERNET         NOW!

 

I bet you use a butter knife instead of a flat head screwdriver. 

as long it works why not

[Beskamir]

On 8/11/2021 at 12:55 PM, Quinnell said:

Not sure this applies to that though.  This seems more akin to the little tags attached to clothes that must be removed by the cashier.  

True, but those are attached and removed by the store. Clothes are not made with tags and nothing of the tag remains after purchase.

[FRSHPRNCFBLR]

I mean, I see a lot of comments about stealing in the stores, but I think it’s rather to render the tools useless if they get stolen earlier in the supply chain. 
 

 

[YellowJersey]

On 8/2/2021 at 11:23 AM, Fasauceome said:

Foot in the door for tools as a subscription, requiring authentication over and over for a fee.

Hit the nail on the head there.

[WolframaticAlpha]

On 8/3/2021 at 1:16 AM, Caroline said:

Yay, we're now 1 step closer to the cyberpunk dystopia! 

Just need the graphical glitches to make it authentic. 

[MageTank]

On 8/9/2021 at 10:14 PM, ravenshrike said:

That is a bald faced lie.

The only reason to buy Cousin Eddie is to have a spare drill to lend to your neighbor.

 

Moreover, if your job actually mandates using a drill on a daily basis, going for the Made in Japan version is an even smarter idea.

 

 

 

Don't know where Hitachi (now Metabo HPT) ranks on this list but I always preferred their power tools back when I worked at Lowes. Couldn't find anything with that amount of torque in such a small, lightweight package.

[Retro_R]

It seems like home depot is tryna like step up their loss prevention hard. (Or maybe its always been that way idk im a computer nerd i dont frequent home depot.) I saw a tiktok showing a home deopt security camera that showed u the people looking at the cameras. Maybe shrink is a big problem in hardware stores but like idk exactly why or at least why home depot in particular is tryna step up their loss prevention

[Jaesop]

On 8/17/2021 at 1:44 AM, FRSHPRNCFBLR said:

I mean, I see a lot of comments about stealing in the stores, but I think it’s rather to render the tools useless if they get stolen earlier in the supply chain. 
 

 

I'd imagine in store is the concern. Lowes and Home Depot get hit hard by organized retail crime rings.

[Guest willies leg]

I'm a big fan of this.

Something has to be done with all the theft and looting. Those are all hidden costs passed along to honest people.

This needs to be on everything. BTW Samsung is doing it too:

https://www.bleepingcomputer.com/news/security/samsung-can-remotely-disable-their-tvs-worldwide-using-tv-block/

 

I have sympathy for those wanting but can't, and regularly donate and help out. In fact I urge all of us who have the means to donate money or time to their favorite causes. Time is better in my opinion because it helps center you and it goes directly to those less fortunate. Money usually goes to administration and other stuff, not as much makes it down to those in need.

 

But those who just loot and steal, they can just go straight to hell and rot there, they ruin it for everyone else.

[Magada Da Skolin]

Can't wait till muricans praise this. So we can get isulin pumps and heart stimulators with  kill switches.

 

Also to use your power tool please pay subscription fee of 9.99$(it will happen, just watch)

[RoseLuck462]

How do people smuggle out power tools?

[Guest willies leg]

Some of those shoplifting videos are pretty funny, they're all over the net. I remember one guy riding a stolen bike out of a target store with a big bag full of stuff, amazing!

 

I guess the chip is one way to pretend to stop it. 

[IPD]

On 8/2/2021 at 3:27 PM, RejZoR said:

ALL li-ion powered devices have some sort of circuitry inside because it's needed for voltage control and charging. Either in battery pack or the device itself. Or both.

Worse.  What happens if they get the idea to chip the batteries, so they will NOT work with a device if the chip in that device has been removed or defeated illegally?  And cracking open a Li-Ion battery is not something I consider DIY friendly as a "fix".

[IPD]

On 8/25/2021 at 3:25 PM, willies leg said:

I'm a big fan of this.

Something has to be done with all the theft and looting. Those are all hidden costs passed along to honest people.

This needs to be on everything. BTW Samsung is doing it too:

https://www.bleepingcomputer.com/news/security/samsung-can-remotely-disable-their-tvs-worldwide-using-tv-block/

 

I have sympathy for those wanting but can't, and regularly donate and help out. In fact I urge all of us who have the means to donate money or time to their favorite causes. Time is better in my opinion because it helps center you and it goes directly to those less fortunate. Money usually goes to administration and other stuff, not as much makes it down to those in need.

 

But those who just loot and steal, they can just go straight to hell and rot there, they ruin it for everyone else.

Well theft is already illegal.  So I guess that means we just have to get better about enforcing what is already on the books...as distasteful as that is to some people.

[Guest willies leg]

49 minutes ago, IPD said:

Well theft is already illegal.  So I guess that means we just have to get better about enforcing what is already on the books...as distasteful as that is to some people.

 

Not really illegal in California, they made it ok to shoplift as long as it's less than $1000 or so I think. Watch, the security does nothing:

 

 

 

[IPD]

Oh I'm aware.  Just avoiding getting political on it.

[mr moose]

23 hours ago, IPD said:

Well theft is already illegal.  So I guess that means we just have to get better about enforcing what is already on the books...as distasteful as that is to some people.

So they are faced with several options:

 

1. report every single theft and expend resources trying to get the thief arrested and then hope the system results in them getting appropriately compensated.

2. increase the cost of the goods to account for the loses through theft.

3. do something cheap and easy to reduce the number of tools that get stolen.

 

 

1. will never happen

2 already does happen but is limited for them because increasing the price too much results in a drop in sales.

3. likely will reduce the number of thefts,  because the cost to implement is likely less than a few $ it doesn't have to reduce the number of thefts by much to pay off.

 

These things are not absolutes, there is no such thing as a black and white absolute in any technology that is designed to reduce theft (piracy or hardware), it is purely a numbers game and for the most these companies have crunched the numbers enough to know if it's worth trying.