Do you really own something?

In this episode of The Wealth Effect, we go far beyond smartphones and tractors to unpack a massive shift happening to modern technology—where ownership is no longer defined by what you can hold, but by what a server is will give you permission.

From Apple’s parts pairing to locked-down farm equipment, we break down the rise of the “cryptographic handshake”—a system where hardware and software must constantly verify each other just to function. The result? Devices you paid for that you can’t fully repair, modify, or even trust to keep working without permission.

We explore how these digital lock-ins are:

Reshaping the true total cost of ownership
Destroying the margins of the refurbishment economy
Accelerating e-waste at a global scale
And quietly turning owners into long-term renters

You’ll hear how a $5 part failure can become a $500 problem, why repair costs are being engineered to push you into the replacement cycle, and how entire industries, from independent repair shops to agriculture, are being squeezed by software controlled monopolies.

If you can’t fix it… do you really own it?

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Right to Repair | Pocket Byte #47