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Apple's Proprietary Software Locks Kill Independent Repair on New MacBook Pros

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281–290 of 455 posts

Re: Apple's Proprietary Software Locks Kill Independent Repair on New MacBook Pros

#281

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Aftershot Pro could replace lightroom, Reaper appears to be suitable for music production although there are other options. Both run on windows and linux. Every other laptop maker in existence lets you repair your own machine. Lenovo and Dell make solid machines that are powerful and light. Microsofts are even supposed to be pretty good. The fact that your Apple phone/watch syncs with fewer platforms seems to be a po…

I'd mention darktable[1] and bitwig[2], both are cross-platform linux/win/macos. [1]: https://www.darktable.org/ [2]: https://www.bitwig.com/

Nothing like a cross-platform app for that real smooth user experience.

Re: Apple's Proprietary Software Locks Kill Independent Repair on New MacBook Pros

#282
post #93

The impact of this will be much bigger outside of the US, as most countries outside of North America do not have a single Apple Store. In those countries, usually there is a licensed repair provider, but the customer experience can be drastically different. In Bulgaria, I've had to wait of over 3 weeks for a simple in-warranty repair of a MacBook, like a keyboard replacement. Using unlicensed repair stores has been t…

Totally agree, and the more I think about it, the more I feel that apple products have started becoming inaccessible to me too. From what I understand they want to protect their brand by building quality and repairing with quality as well. Issue is that they are lacking on employees for what they want to do. A week ago I was in the apple store in London, a guy next to me bought one of their new flagships through o2 a…

> repairing with quality

relevant: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AUaJ8pDlxi8&t=703s

Re: Apple's Proprietary Software Locks Kill Independent Repair on New MacBook Pros

#283
post #19

What would it take to reverse this? How about protests at one of their events? Changing Tim Cook's mind is all that's needed.

The usual: make it public and viral, give them a bad rep, attack them on what matters to them: profits.

First grab attention of people on how this is gonna affect them, then enlarge on how apple makes huge profits, out of tax evasion, which impact well being of people around the world, also mention how their devices are made out of forced labour and degrading work conditions, and remind every other scandal.

Re: Apple's Proprietary Software Locks Kill Independent Repair on New MacBook Pros

#284

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I had a 2013 Samsung ATIV Book and when the keys began to fail, I attempted to replace the keyboard. This is something that took So this isn't a problem limited to Apple, apparently most manufacturers decided that devices need to be as unfixable as possible.

More likely they decided devices needed to be as light and cheap to manufacture as possible and a by-product of that is being unfixable.

It might be the result of a compromise but it is still an active choice. I think it is within the remit of a designer to think how the product will be serviced.

Re: Apple's Proprietary Software Locks Kill Independent Repair on New MacBook Pros

#285

Earlier quoted context omitted.

FWIW you might find that Windows 10 Pro + WSL can get you a lot of what you want in terms of desktop capabilities. MS have been improving the WSL/Windows Interop quite a bit. I find that for things like scripting, text file manipulation and connecting to Linux servers, WSL works fine.

But I'm not prepared to have Candy Crush adverts in my Start Menu, which counts Windows out. Additionally, I know I can deactivate them by jumping through a couple of hoops, but that's not the point.

It does take some setup and tweeks; but you can create a perfectly serviceable W10 laptop without the crappy start menu and advertising. I primarily use ClassicShell (www.classicshell.net), although others exist, coupled with Spybot's antibeacon (https://www.safer-networking.org/products/spybot-anti-beacon...)

Re: Apple's Proprietary Software Locks Kill Independent Repair on New MacBook Pros

#287
post #99

This is true for farmers in many places who buy or lease machinery from companies like John Deere. Using IOT, Deere can tell when a non-OEM part has been installed and they can remotely disable the machine until the "proper" part has been installed. Their customers are locked into their parts and service.

To be fair, there is a pretty big difference between something like a tractor, where most of the parts are simply large pieces of machined metal, and something like a computer where most of the parts are not repairable and, due to security concerns which benefit the customer , there are things like secure enclaves which may entail chain of custody concerns to be properly replaced.

Security is a completely baseless excuse here. Apple could easily provide a repair unlock key to users via their Apple accounts.

Re: Apple's Proprietary Software Locks Kill Independent Repair on New MacBook Pros

#288
post #271

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> my 2017 MBP keyboard is starting to become faulty. I've been dreading having to turn it in because I actually need this thing up and running. My '15 MBP retina had it's keyboard and trackpad shit itself about 12 months after I purchased it. It was becoming apparent at the time that a) apple wouldn't repair it (they told me that I must have damaged it myself so they wouldn't do a warranty job, before even inspecting…

Good luck with dell warranty/service.

The whole point of this story is that you can get such machines fixed at independent repair shops if the manufacturer is not playing ball. Apple is trying to stop that, Dell et al aren't (as far as i'm aware. )

Re: Apple's Proprietary Software Locks Kill Independent Repair on New MacBook Pros

#289
post #271

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> my 2017 MBP keyboard is starting to become faulty. I've been dreading having to turn it in because I actually need this thing up and running. My '15 MBP retina had it's keyboard and trackpad shit itself about 12 months after I purchased it. It was becoming apparent at the time that a) apple wouldn't repair it (they told me that I must have damaged it myself so they wouldn't do a warranty job, before even inspecting…

Good luck with dell warranty/service.

Have you had bad experiences with them (genuinely curious)? The only time I've had to use dell onsite service, they came out the same day... So I bought their 12 month onsite warranty, but I also figure that after 12 months I'll feel happy to start doing repairs myself.

Side note, I'm not normally a massive Dell fan by any stretch, but no one else had a 8750h/16gb ddr4/1060 geforce for the money I wanted to spend (and available on the shelf), even though the chassis is super plasticy and doesn't really inspire the same 'wow' factor I got from apple hardware's look and feel. It's a G3 17 I've landed on ($1,900 aud with a docking station included), as the G7 was out of stock, and I'm an impatient prick. I'm hoping I don't regret it, haha.

Re: Apple's Proprietary Software Locks Kill Independent Repair on New MacBook Pros

#290
post #91

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I’m not “blinded by [my] unwavering loyalty to the brand” but the suggestion that this sort of thing is going to send me over to Windows or Linux is ridiculous. I’m a normal guy who works in IT and does pretty much everything with my MBP. Work (Citrix, email, Office), play (Logic, Lightroom), development (Sublime, Chrome, the Terminal) ... I mean come on. For my “loyalty” to be considered “unwavering” there would hav…

Aftershot Pro could replace lightroom, Reaper appears to be suitable for music production although there are other options. Both run on windows and linux. Every other laptop maker in existence lets you repair your own machine. Lenovo and Dell make solid machines that are powerful and light. Microsofts are even supposed to be pretty good. The fact that your Apple phone/watch syncs with fewer platforms seems to be a po…

> Seriously BOSE makes bluetooth headphones.

With serious build quality issues. Mine are literally falling apart.

> So far legitimate criticisms include your iphone's playlists not syncing with a different laptop.

Neither windows nor linux come close to how seamless macOS is. Keyboard navigation with consistent shortcuts across apps and a fantastic touch pad. Watching someone use Windows (a developer even) is like nails on a blackboard. They move unbelievably slow and take forever to do something.

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