DRM Chair Self-Destructs After 8 Uses 215
unts writes "Taking DRM further than it's gone before, a group of designers have built a DRM'd chair that will melt its own joints and destroy itself after 8 uses. The chair uses an Arduino and sensors to monitor the number of uses, then triggers the melting of a set of joints that hold it together, making the product unusable without some carpentry skills. The video of device at work is both amusing and a little disconcerting."
This might be... (Score:5, Insightful)
...excellent for congress.
That's not DRM (Score:4, Insightful)
This is not DRM; it is product-life expiration. DRM would be if the chair had GPS and would melt itself if moved further than 200ft from its location of first use.
Conference room chairs .... (Score:5, Insightful)
Re:This might be... (Score:5, Insightful)
I think in congress you might want to melt the occupants after 8 uses, not the chair.
Re:That's not DRM (Score:5, Insightful)
DRM is properly thought of as Digital Restrictions Management, instead of Digital Rights Management. A good example of a previous DRM that implemented something like this is the limited edition DVD like disks that were being several years back. They were pushed by Disney and called Flexplay [wired.com] and only made for a couple years.
Remember DRM is all about restricting how something is used, even if that restriction requires the destruction of the devices. Many tamper resistant crypto chips will self destruct instead of letting a user access their data without restriction.
Re:!DRM (Score:5, Insightful)
This is called Planned Obsolescence
No, this is Programmed obsolescence. Planned obsolescence depends on statistics. This is much more reliable, and should really help with the spreadsheets.
One Question? (Score:4, Insightful)
WHY?
Needed! (Score:2, Insightful)
We need this to protect the livelihoods of furniture makers in America. This will save millions of jobs. Imagine the horror of a person buying a chair and using it upwards to an infinite amount of times!
Re:How's this DRM? (Score:5, Insightful)
You wouldn't? (Score:3, Insightful)
You wouldn't download a movie that falls apart after 8 uses would you?