An anonymous reader shared this report from Electrek:
When Fisker Inc. filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in June 2024, it left roughly 11,000 Ocean SUV owners holding the keys to vehicles that cost them anywhere from $40,000 to $70,000 — and that were rapidly losing the software brains that made them work. No more over-the-air updates. No more connected services. No more warranty. The manufacturer was dead.
What happened next is one of the most remarkable stories in the history of the electric vehicle industry. Instead of accepting that their cars would become rolling paperweights, Fisker Ocean owners organized, reverse-engineered their vehicles' proprietary software, hacked into CAN bus networks, built open-source tools on GitHub, and effectively stood up a volunteer-run open-sourced car company from the ashes of Fisker...
Within months of the bankruptcy filing, thousands of Ocean owners formed the Fisker Owners Association (FOA) — a nonprofit that quickly grew to 4,000 members and began operating as something between a car club, a tech startup, and an independent automaker. The FOA hired independent tech experts who began reverse-engineering Fisker's proprietary software patches. Members taught each other how to flash firmware. They organized bulk purchases of replacement parts — negotiating the price of key fobs down from roughly $1,000 each to a fraction of that through coordinated group buys. They hosted free global key fob pairing events, saving each owner $100 to $250...
What started as desperate troubleshooting has evolved into a genuine open-source ecosystem around the Fisker Ocean. On GitHub, a developer named MichaelOE reverse-engineered the API behind Fisker's official "My Fisker" mobile app and built a Home Assistant integration that exposes every cloud API value as a sensor — with all the app's buttons available as Home Assistant controls... [Community members have also been systematically mapping CAN bus files.]
The article noes this "is not an isolated incident. Nikola also filed for bankruptcy, leaving its owners in a similar bind. Canoo and Arrival are headed for liquidation auctions..."
Consumer advocates are now pushing for structural changes: mandatory software escrow funds that would keep vehicle software running even if the manufacturer disappears, open-source mandates in bankruptcy proceedings, and shared repair data requirements... European automakers, meanwhile, are moving in a different direction entirely — Volkswagen, BMW, Mercedes-Benz, and eight suppliers signed a memorandum in 2025 to develop a shared open-source automotive software platform....
The Fisker Owners Association has proven that a dedicated community can keep orphaned EVs on the road. But they shouldn't have had to... [O]wners shouldn't need to become hackers and parts brokers and quasi-manufacturers just to keep driving the cars they already paid for.
When Fisker Inc. filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in June 2024, it left roughly 11,000 Ocean SUV owners holding the keys to vehicles that cost them anywhere from $40,000 to $70,000 — and that were rapidly losing the software brains that made them work. No more over-the-air updates. No more connected services. No more warranty. The manufacturer was dead.
What happened next is one of the most remarkable stories in the history of the electric vehicle industry. Instead of accepting that their cars would become rolling paperweights, Fisker Ocean owners organized, reverse-engineered their vehicles' proprietary software, hacked into CAN bus networks, built open-source tools on GitHub, and effectively stood up a volunteer-run open-sourced car company from the ashes of Fisker...
Within months of the bankruptcy filing, thousands of Ocean owners formed the Fisker Owners Association (FOA) — a nonprofit that quickly grew to 4,000 members and began operating as something between a car club, a tech startup, and an independent automaker. The FOA hired independent tech experts who began reverse-engineering Fisker's proprietary software patches. Members taught each other how to flash firmware. They organized bulk purchases of replacement parts — negotiating the price of key fobs down from roughly $1,000 each to a fraction of that through coordinated group buys. They hosted free global key fob pairing events, saving each owner $100 to $250...
What started as desperate troubleshooting has evolved into a genuine open-source ecosystem around the Fisker Ocean. On GitHub, a developer named MichaelOE reverse-engineered the API behind Fisker's official "My Fisker" mobile app and built a Home Assistant integration that exposes every cloud API value as a sensor — with all the app's buttons available as Home Assistant controls... [Community members have also been systematically mapping CAN bus files.]
The article noes this "is not an isolated incident. Nikola also filed for bankruptcy, leaving its owners in a similar bind. Canoo and Arrival are headed for liquidation auctions..."
Consumer advocates are now pushing for structural changes: mandatory software escrow funds that would keep vehicle software running even if the manufacturer disappears, open-source mandates in bankruptcy proceedings, and shared repair data requirements... European automakers, meanwhile, are moving in a different direction entirely — Volkswagen, BMW, Mercedes-Benz, and eight suppliers signed a memorandum in 2025 to develop a shared open-source automotive software platform....
The Fisker Owners Association has proven that a dedicated community can keep orphaned EVs on the road. But they shouldn't have had to... [O]wners shouldn't need to become hackers and parts brokers and quasi-manufacturers just to keep driving the cars they already paid for.
Read more of this story at Slashdot.
It was a decision that threatens to keep Nuno Espírito Santo awake for many nights to come. Why, oh why, West Ham’s manager will doubtless wonder, did he opt to start with a back three on Tyneside?
Instead of subduing Eddie Howe’s players it simply served to remind Nick Woltemade precisely why he is Newcastle’s record signing. By the 26th minute, when Nuno scrapped that configuration for a much more effective back four, West Ham were 2-0 down and had one foot in the Championship.
Continue reading...Reform, which won more than 50% of the local election vote, is likely to focus heavily on immigration and Brexit
Andy Burnham faces a perilous race to win the Makerfield seat, his allies have warned, as he gears up to fight a byelection that could decide the long-term future of Labour and the country.
The Greater Manchester mayor is likely to be confirmed as Labour’s candidate for the north-west constituency later this week, but those close to him say he faces an uphill battle to beat Reform UK. Nigel Farage’s party won more than 50% of the vote at the local elections and polling suggests Burnham is only marginally ahead.
Continue reading...Canal+ head says he will not work with hundreds of actors and directors who signed protest against Vincent Bolloré’s political sway
The head of France’s biggest film producer, Canal+, has said the group will no longer work with hundreds of cinema figures who signed a petition voicing concern over the growing influence of the rightwing billionaire owner Vincent Bolloré.
The open letter, published earlier this week to coincide with the opening of the Cannes film festival, was signed by more than 600 figures, including the actor-director Juliette Binoche, the director and photographer Raymond Depardon, the French-Iranian film-maker Sepideh Farsi and the director Arthur Harari, who co-wrote the Oscar-winning Anatomy of a Fall and is premiering his film The Unknown in the main competition in Cannes.
Continue reading...
SergioQ79 - Osanpo Photographer - has added a photo to the pool:
Tokyo, Adachi. A pochi minuti dalla stazione.
Basta allontanarsi leggermente dalle strade piene di neon e insegne luminose per ritrovarsi in una città diversa.
Più lenta, più silenziosa, più vera.
Questo izakaya sembra rimasto fermo nel tempo.
Legno consumato, casse di bottiglie accatastate fuori, ombrelli all’ingresso, clienti abituali e una porta che resta aperta verso la strada.
Niente design moderno, niente effetti studiati.
Solo un locale che continua a fare il suo lavoro ogni sera.
Ed è proprio questa semplicità a renderlo appariscente.
東京、足立区。駅から少し歩いた場所。
ネオンと人混みの通りから少し離れるだけで、東京は急に別の顔になる。
もっと静かで、もっとゆっくりしていて、もっと普通。
この居酒屋は昔のまま残っているように見える。
古い木、外に積まれた瓶ケース、入口の傘、常連客、そして通りに向かって開いたままの扉。
派手なデザインも、観光向けの雰囲気もない。
毎晩いつも通り営業しているだけ。
でも、その普通さが逆に目を引く。
Tokyo, Adachi. Just a few minutes from the station.
Walk slightly away from the neon-filled streets and the city suddenly changes.
Slower, quieter, more authentic.
This izakaya looks untouched by time.
Worn wood, stacked bottle crates outside, umbrellas by the entrance, regular customers and a door always open toward the street.
No modern design, no carefully crafted atmosphere.
Just a place doing its job every evening.
And that simplicity is exactly what makes it stand out.
SergioQ79 - Osanpo Photographer - posted a photo:
Tokyo, Adachi. A pochi minuti dalla stazione.
Basta allontanarsi leggermente dalle strade piene di neon e insegne luminose per ritrovarsi in una città diversa.
Più lenta, più silenziosa, più vera.
Questo izakaya sembra rimasto fermo nel tempo.
Legno consumato, casse di bottiglie accatastate fuori, ombrelli all’ingresso, clienti abituali e una porta che resta aperta verso la strada.
Niente design moderno, niente effetti studiati.
Solo un locale che continua a fare il suo lavoro ogni sera.
Ed è proprio questa semplicità a renderlo appariscente.
東京、足立区。駅から少し歩いた場所。
ネオンと人混みの通りから少し離れるだけで、東京は急に別の顔になる。
もっと静かで、もっとゆっくりしていて、もっと普通。
この居酒屋は昔のまま残っているように見える。
古い木、外に積まれた瓶ケース、入口の傘、常連客、そして通りに向かって開いたままの扉。
派手なデザインも、観光向けの雰囲気もない。
毎晩いつも通り営業しているだけ。
でも、その普通さが逆に目を引く。
Tokyo, Adachi. Just a few minutes from the station.
Walk slightly away from the neon-filled streets and the city suddenly changes.
Slower, quieter, more authentic.
This izakaya looks untouched by time.
Worn wood, stacked bottle crates outside, umbrellas by the entrance, regular customers and a door always open toward the street.
No modern design, no carefully crafted atmosphere.
Just a place doing its job every evening.
And that simplicity is exactly what makes it stand out.