There is a particular anger that shows up when someone buys a machine, the vendor cloud shrugs, and the physical object becomes e-waste while still mechanically fine.
Unlocking a deactivated Cricut Maker sits in that genre. Craft hardware. Creative tools. A device that should have been scissors with a motor. Instead it is a subscription to permission.
I care about this beyond hobby cutters. The same pattern is spreading through routers, printers, tractors, medical accessories, and home batteries. Purchase becomes a revocable license. Repair becomes a gray art. Secondary markets get poisoned because buyers cannot know whether the object will still obey them next year.
The product promise and the control plane diverge
Hardware marketing still sells permanence. Buy this. Own this. Make things in your house.
