Unauthorized Bread
by Cory Doctorow · first published 2019
45% recommend50% neutral5% critical
Why HN recommends it
Near-future novella about locked-down smart appliances, DRM and subscription control, where a renter's toaster only accepts approved bread. Suits readers worried about devices they pay for but don't control.
Summarised by Claude from recommending comments
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Mentions per year
What Hacker News says
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For those unaware, this is exactly the main point of the story "Unauthorized Bread" by Cory Doctorow. I liked the story and would recommend it.
on “Sorry, we replaced that old technology, “see-through glass”” ↗I highly recommend the story "Unauthorized Bread" by Cory Doctorow, for a look at a world where toasters are "smart" IoT devices. https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/41085118-unauthorized-br...
on “Keep Your Internet Off My Things” ↗Let's see: Cory Doctorow's Unauthorized Bread and Walkaway, Arthur C. Clarke's The Nine Billion Names of God and The City and the Stars.
on “Hard comp-fi reading list” ↗Cory Doctorow book "Radicalized" has the "Unauthorized Bread" story and more: https://craphound.com/category/radicalized-full/ Buy it, or read it for free.
on “My fridge has an RFID chip in the water filter, so a generic filter doesn't work” ↗You should check out the book "Radicalized" by Cory Doctorow! It's four short stories. The first one - "Unauthorized Bread" was published online: https://arstechnica.com/gaming/2020/01/unauthorized-bread-a-...
on “Apple is sued for telling you that you're “buying” movies” ↗…of the Boulangism toaster to let it scan it. Your Boulangism toaster will open when it recognizes compatible food from producers from its partner program. Paraphrased from Doctorow's excellent novella Unauthorized Bread.
on “ISP announces 86% slowdown “in line with others”” ↗Cory Doctorow has an excellent short story Unauthorized Bread about this very topic.
on “Why our economy may be headed for a decade of depression” ↗Check out Cory Doctorow's novella "Unauthorized Bread". It's about _exactly_ this problem.
on “GE Fridge DRM Workaround” ↗Oh, you _really_ want to read Cory Doctorow's, "Unauthorized Bread". First story in the four-part book, "Radicalized". And if you buy it directly from him, the ebook version is DRM-free.
on “Massachusetts voters pass right-to-repair expansion opening up car data” ↗There have been stabs in that general direction, though I'm not aware of anything exactly like what you're describing. Check out The Machine Stops by E. M. Forster, Unauthorized Bread by Cory Doctorow, Permanence by Karl Schroeder.
on “Ask HN: Books on Techno-Dystopias” ↗Reminds me a lot of "Unauthorized Bread"[0] by Cory Doctorow, worth a read (or listen). [0] https://craphound.com/category/unauthorizedbread/
on “KrebsOnSecurity Hit by Huge New IoT Botnet “Meris”” ↗Relevant (and worth reading, if you haven't seen it): "Unauthorized Bread" by Cory Doctorow
Required reading: Unauthorized Bread by Cory Doctorow (excerpt: [0]; part of his book Radicalized [1]) [0]: https://arstechnica.com/gaming/2020/01/unauthorized-bread-a-... [1]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Radicalized_%28Doctorow_book%2...
on “I won't connect my dishwasher to your cloud” ↗Obligatory link to Doctorow’s Unauthorized Bread (2019), a DRM-themed, uh… thriller? polemic?… of a novella. Deals with the themes you discuss: large appliance manufacturer malfeasance, intrusive exploitation beyond the scope of the product’s purpose,…
on “I thought I bought a camera, but no DJI sold me a license to use it [video]” ↗…we can reclaim control of an appliance that we paid for with our own money, one that won't work because the maker can't be arsed enough to make it work without a mobile app. Related: Cory Doctorow's [Unauthorized Bread](https://arstechnica.com/gaming/2020/01/unauthorized-bread-a-...)
on “I Hacked into the Worst E-Bike and Fixed It [video]” ↗