Techdirt: Home Depot Tech Will Brick Power Tools If They’re Stolen. What Could Possibly Go Wrong? . “Thanks to internet connectivity, hardware you own can be bricked or downgraded to the point where you lose essential features. Or, just as often, obnoxious DRM means you have to jump through all kinds of bizarre hoops to actually use the thing you thought you owned, whether that’s Keurig using DRM to prevent you from using competing coffee pods, to printer manufacturers using DRM to keep you from buying cheaper cartridges. Now Home Depot is experimenting further with DRM at the point of sale.”