Europe Is Guaranteeing Citizens the Right to Repair

Post by Mediterraneo10 » Tue, Jan 12, 2021, 10:17 AM UTC

jeswin wrote: post #315

ogre_codes wrote: post #164

I kind of wonder if we're looking at solving this the wrong way. Instead of mandating that manufacturers take specific steps to fix the waste problem, maybe it would be better to tag items at manufacture and charge device makers a percentage based on how long before it enters the waste stream. Manufacturers could solve this by either: - Making their things easy to repair - Creating in house recycling programs - Makin…

> Few people care to repair Android phones because you can't upgrade the OS after 2 years regardless. This is a mistruth (add: unintentional I'm sure) - and I hope people stop repeating this. I'll explain in detail. 1. Older versions of Android aren't crippled in the way an older iOS version is. On iOS for instance, Safari is tied to the iOS, while on Android none of the apps are tied to the OS version. Any phone run…

Post by Mediterraneo10 » Tue, Jan 12, 2021, 11:07 AM UTC

jeswin wrote: post #332

Mediterraneo10 wrote: post #331

Earlier quoted context omitted.

LineageOS regularly ends support for old devices. Its builds are made by a handful of volunteers in their spare time, and any of those volunteers may lose interest and walk away. Because Android building is so byzantine, it is not trivial for someone else to come along and restore support for an abandoned phone. The LineageOS team has repeatedly emphasized that they do not owe anyone long-term support, so please stop…

They don't owe you anything, but for many popular devices support extends to years. There are many devices on their support list which are 8 years old or more. (eg: Galaxy S4 from 2013, yet running 17.1). PinePhone is great, but it certainly isn't for people expecting a smartphone to do regular smartphone things - run apps like Whatsapp/Signal etc.

Post by stretchcat » Tue, Jan 12, 2021, 1:08 PM UTC

varjag wrote: post #325

stretchcat wrote: post #318

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Getting appliances repaired is harder than it once was. Disposability culture drove many repair shops out of business. Many repair shops I and my family used to are now gone or dying. The guy who used to do sewing machine repairs for my mother is gone. The cobbler that used to repair my boots is gone. Furthermore, appliances that used to come with repair manuals no longer do, and finding the manual online is often a…

It's a good point, but it's not really a failure of product design. Appliances themselves now are not any less reliable than they were in mid-century. There is no grand conspiracy of manufacturers filing down screw threads to make them fail. I did not repair any of my fridges (they never failed in all of my adult life), but I did repair my washing machine (AEG 15y.o.) and my beans-to-coffee DeLonghi (10+ y.o). Both w…

Post by macspoofing » Tue, Jan 12, 2021, 1:24 PM UTC

tracnar wrote: post #230

macspoofing wrote: post #38

If you follow the laptop/smart-phone repair community [1], the problems they run into is lack of access to technical manuals, diagnostic tools and in cases, being prevented from buying replacement parts by suppliers under the direction of Apple (for example). To me, it seems that this is where government or industry regulation would be helpful and provide most value with minimal impact on innovation and market disrup…

Europe imposed a standard for phone chargers and thanks to that you don't need a different charger per brand, or even per model, like it was 15 years ago. AFAIK they did not specify the exact standard, except that it has to be some common industry standard, so it did not prevent moving from micro-USB to USB-C (and whatever Apple is using).

Post by narag » Tue, Jan 12, 2021, 1:50 PM UTC

TeMPOraL wrote: post #338

narag wrote: post #314

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Isn't it sad that right to repair needs to be framed this way? I mean, it's fine to look after the environment. But... It seems impossible to ask for individual rights. This is after all an individual right. My right to repair something that I paid for. But... It's presented as a collective benefit, the abstract save the planet thing. We're nothing important unless we're a part of the collective. Or even worse, some…

Why not push it on both fronts simultaneously? Right to repair has strong benefits for both individual freedoms and the environment.