The main aim of Stop Killing Games is to ensure the practice of rug-pulling eventually comes to an end. They are not trying to save MMOs, for example.

Moreover they don't demand that every game currently on the market comply with open-sourcing requirements: at a minimum, companies always have the option of simply providing customers with adequate notice before shutdown. Open-sourcing the server would be nice, but it's hardly the only way to protect consumers' interests. Scott has, for example, suggested game boxes being marked with an estimated expiry date for online service functionality.

But most importantly: because this is about future games, not the present, the market has time to change. If studios and publishers are designing their games with a fair EOL in mind, then they can make decisions from the get-go to avoid licensing dependencies that they won't be able to release in a possible 'afterlife' version of the game. As suggested by your example of GameSpy in C&C: Generals, when a commercial dependency is crucial to a game's success, it tends to be a client-side library, but typically the problematic dependencies aren't crucial; they're e.g. add-ons for Unity or Unreal that the studio bought to save time. In a world with SKG laws, the providers of these dependencies aren't going to be a stagnant target either—demand for compliant libraries will motivate development of open-source versions.

Interestingly, the will for doing this does exist among game developers; they just need the institutional support from legislation to twist the arms of the studios and publishers. Ross Scott has talked to a lot of devs who are burnt out from having their projects cancelled, leaving them with huge gaping holes in their resumes and portfolios where they've spent years on unreleased projects that are stuck under NDA. In general they tend to see SKG as a path to ensuring the games that do see the light of day aren't also scrapped, which would erode their work histories even further. (Apparently it also just plain feels bad to have your work erased from history. Shocking, I know.)

Full uBlock Origin on Firefox seems to take care of it. Firefox is now the only browser capable of running uBlock Origin.

No Mahindra is in a different market entirely, like Zetor. This is the first class 7 tractor introduced in North America that's not from the major players. And it's not exactly "made in Canada" (unlike Versatile which actually mostly is), it's assembled in Canada. It's manufactured in China. That said, I'm impressed he can assemble so many tractors in his tiny shop.

California is not nearly as big a market as the US midwest. Besides that, all new tractors are already Tier 4 and 5, which is acceptable to california.

It's the old tractors, as you say, that they are wanting to regulate, which is pretty short-sighted because they are responsible for such a tiny percentage of california's renowned air pollution. I've long maintained that Australia's carve out for ag engines makes a lot of sense.

I don't think you understand what farmers are complaining about, nor do you seem to understand how modern tractors are put together. In this case they mean the operation of the tractor itself requires no computer control (other than the self-contained engine). No tractor CAN bus, no electric over hydraulic controls, no digital electric cab controls of any kind. Everything is mechanically linked. Gear shift lever, clutch, hydraulic controls, steering, etc. No computers involved whatever. The engine itself is self-contained. Just provide it 12V ignition power and a signal to run the shutoff solenoid.

Engine ECU problems are incredibly rare, more rare than problems you'd have with an old-school injector pump. Besides that, it's not legal to sell brand new diesel engines that don't meet Tier 4 emissions for on road or farm use.

From John Deere's perspective, the optimal strategy is to corner the market on farm equipment that are strictly necessary for society as we know it to continue to exist, locking out all competition from all related revenue streams.

Well they failed then. They certainly don't have a corner on the market! Far from it. There are various red, yellow, blue, and green shades out working in the fields right now and dealers selling them. Big farms cycle back and forth between the various colors.

While Deere is the most egregious at DRMing everything, all the major brands do it to one degree or another. CNH, AgCo, Deere, Kubota, Versatile, etc.

I just traded off an older Deere tractor that I actually loved on a Case quadtrac tractor. I needed a bit more horsepower, traction, and hydraulic capacity (modern implements require a lot more continuous hydraulic flow now). The quadtrac is a nice machine, nearly as comfortable and does the job with ease.

Yes you're right. As a farmer myself it drives me a bit crazy to see.

The largest Zetor tractor is 148 HP. The Ursa tractors are 180 and 260 hp, considered class 7 tractors. Zetor appears to only make class 5 and 6. So different markets.

No they are using Tier 4, late model 8.3s, probably the QSC series.

2020 time frame. 10.7L engine. OM 470 or something. I understand this engine is widely used in trucks, tractors, construction equipment. If I'm not mistaken it was introduced in 2016.

The market for electric tractors is incredibly small. They certainly do fill a small niche, though. Chore tractors for feeding cattle, small excavators, etc. See a US company called Nesher Equipment, for example.

Meanwhile for broad-acre tillage,planting, and harvesting, your average machine has at least 500L of fuel that lasts a day or two (or much less for some operations), which is, counting for thermal efficiency, the equivalent of at least 2500 kWh of battery storage.

We've been dealing with strict emission standards for agricultural vehicles since 2006. Current US regulations are Tier 4 and Tier 5. Unlike cars where the California market is huge and auto companies build for that market exclusively (thus setting the standard for the entire nation regardless of EPA), there is no reason for ag engine makers to target California, so they will have to be content with Tier 5.

Only a problem in the US?! Hardly. Problems with diesel emissions control systems are a plague for farmers (and truckers and auto owners) in Europe too. The main difference is that deleting is strictly forbidden there.

The Kirovets tractor? No of course not. Other than the ECU itself on the German engine, there are no electronics on that tractor. No CAN bus, no cell modem.

Deere tractors (and the other major brands), on the other hand, all now ship with cell modems that continuously report in to the mother ship to enable subscriptions for things like syncing GPS lines and coverage data between tractors working in the same field, or sending jobs from the OpCenter to the various tractors. This serves a very real purpose for farmers, but it can also be used by mother Deere for any purpose they deem appropriate including remote kill switch, as we saw in the tractors stolen from Ukraine.

Wow that's pretty cool you allow slashdot to show you ads. Very loyal of you!

Not sure why you would think Alibaba is blocked in the US. Many businesses in the US import goods from Chinese manufacturers, often through B2B transactions on Alibaba. As the importer they pay duties and tariff taxes to the US government.