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SirEDCaLot t1_ixekfn8 wrote

Good. Hope she signs it.

The less e-junk we have the better. Always better to fix than to replace.

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SparkStormrider t1_ixemoxe wrote

I firmly agree. The amount of e-waste is staggering where I am in a rural area, can only imagine what it's like for a city. The fact that we even need to discuss "Right to Repair" tells us something is definitely wrong, not to mention screwed up, with our legal system.

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SirEDCaLot t1_ixepifl wrote

It's not just the legal system. It's the whole economy.

Apple makes their billions selling everyone a new iPhone every year. So does Samsung and everyone else. If the machine is repairable (vs being just glued together as a solid lump of epoxy), it adds to the manufacturing cost, which means either less profits or higher price (and less sales). So it's easier to just say 'it's broken and it can't be fixed, throw it in the garbage and buy a new one' and everyone except the consumer makes more money that way.

Thus everyone has a drawer somewhere with an old phone that has a broken screen or a worn out battery or some other ailment that would be entirely fixable, if it was fixable.

On a societal scale though you're talking literally thousands of truckloads of broken phones and gadgets, many of which could be fixed if they were designed to be fixed. Or which could be fixed but the owner didn't want to decide between an overpriced 'authorized repair' and a cheap but 'unsafe' 'unwarranted' 3rd party fix.
And they all end up in 3rd world countries where little kids split them apart and boil the circuit boards in acid to strip the gold plating off the contacts.

I think the disease goes even deeper though. Look at clothing for example. Gotta keep up with the trend, gotta buy new outfits every year. The old ones are still perfectly good but because some asshole designer says they are out of fashion, they're no good. So they all go in the trash and we grow more cotton and make more synthetics to make more clothes to replace the perfectly good ones we already had because they were last year's color.

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Jaivez t1_ixfuvzi wrote

> If the machine is repairable (vs being just glued together as a solid lump of epoxy), it adds to the manufacturing cost

This isn't even the truth of it though. Nothing about proposed right to repair regulations is about forcing companies to make changes to how a device is manufactured to make them repairable. It's about preventing companies from putting up roadblocks like permanently pairing a part to a specific device, preventing manufacturers from forcing suppliers to make parts or support software unavailable to third parties, and otherwise preventing companies from making the only option the manufacturer for after-sale support. Their manufacturing costs would actually go down, as they spend R&D and other resources creating these controls.

It does mean that their revenue will drop as people make use of repair options, but that's tangential and honestly not something that consumers should care about at all. All in all, the thing that RTR hopes to achieve is giving consumers the option to repair themselves, or use third party repair shops. For how much people hate capitalism it's wild how okay people are with what the state of the industry is when it comes to their preferred brands considering they don't even have to make use of it.

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BumderFromDownUnder t1_ixh7x47 wrote

The only problem with what you’ve just said is both fixing the screen and replacing the battery are both doable. The treason they aren’t in some cases is because of software blocks, not because of how they’re manufactured.

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SirEDCaLot t1_ixhqd7u wrote

Oh for sure. But I suspect if they could get away with it both Apple and Samsung would fill their casings with epoxy.

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Lordnerble t1_ixg7mol wrote

I wish recycling was easier in cities. I try to recycle when I can. But regulations and fees make it stupid. No wonder people just dump that shit on the side of the road and in alleys. Need more areas to have free for all recycling or reuse programs. No fees no stupid rules

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my3sgte t1_ixfhm4q wrote

We talk about this at work quite a bit - about cheap electronics and how things are made to be just thrown away now :/ …sad….

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Worried_Lawfulness43 t1_ixfmrmz wrote

I feel like this a matter climate activists and right to repair activists can work together on. This is a great argument for reducing environmental waste and it should be picked up as an argument. I’d love to see right to repair gain even more traction.

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SirEDCaLot t1_ixfog0l wrote

Agreed. This SHOULD be the type of thing EVERYONE can get behind. Of course those who benefit from selling disposable phones will make a stink like 'this unnecessary government intrusion into the private market will make your next cell phone more expensive' and some people will buy that :\

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Worried_Lawfulness43 t1_ixfoz4q wrote

I think I’m optimistic about where we are in terms of technology for this to work. Right to repair can also mean, better quality resellers with phones being sold for cheaper prices due to there being an abundance of decent quality secondhands on the market.

It could help people who wouldn’t ordinarily have the means to get a phone every couple years hold onto a phone for longer, therefor allowing them to be more comfortable in making an investment with getting a smartphone. This could lead to a great reduction in the amount of prepaid phones people actually use.

I’d love to see how it shakes out, but ultimately it’s hard not see how it’s better for the consumer and the earth. I think prepaid phone people would have a hard time creating a solid argument.

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SirEDCaLot t1_ixfrmm8 wrote

> Right to repair can also mean, better quality resellers with phones being sold for cheaper prices due to there being an abundance of decent quality secondhands on the market.

Hell yes. I'd love to see that.

I'd also like to see phones just built better. EVERYone puts one in a case. So why not make the phone a few mm bigger in each dimension and make it naturally indestructible?

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Worried_Lawfulness43 t1_ixfs7x9 wrote

I think right to repair is a fantastic step in incentivizing companies to make better quality devices. For what I envision, I think legislation on both the environmental side and technology side could absolutely strong arm companies into having standards for their devices out the gate. We’re already seeing this in the EU with the way they’re forcing companies to have a similar charging cable standard. I’m really hoping this swings the way I want it to, and I’m not being overly optimistic.

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SirEDCaLot t1_ixftxx0 wrote

I agree. The USB-C legislation is a great step. I just wish it went further- earlier versions of it included personal mobility devices like e-bikes and scooters. With USB-C up to like 240 watts now there's no reason those devices shouldn't be included (with a provision for allowing proprietary connectors for higher wattages, although I think USB-C should still be required so you can 240w charge when the proprietary connector isn't available).
My understanding is that this got dropped and it's just electronic gadgets for now.

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Worried_Lawfulness43 t1_ixfy29m wrote

I have hope that it’ll show up in the future. I do still find it a bit weird that it was dropped for the present time though.

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MakesShitUp4Fun t1_ixhmmpu wrote

They'd stand a far better chance if they sent her a nice fat "campaign" check. That's the only thing that seems to work in NY these days.

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SirEDCaLot t1_ixhq748 wrote

You're not wrong :\

This is why I'm against single-party rule, no matter which party is doing the single-party ruling. Reds and blues can be equally fucked up when they are guaranteed re-election.

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NoGoodDM t1_ixgd2vn wrote

Ehhh. I agree with the general sentiment, but I have reasonably receive 3 faulty screen replacements from iFixit in a row. I haven’t even requested a replacement for my latest crappy screen from them because I’m just tired of the hassle, and I decided to just live with the dime-sized burn mark in my screen.

For me personally, iFixit has contributed more to e-waste than the OEM.

But apart from that, yes, obviously let people fix their own crap if they’d like to. I’m not in the least opposed to that, I’m just critiquing the e-waste portion.

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doxx_in_the_box t1_ixhrdc9 wrote

Yea I want OEM authentication along with right to repair. One is useless without the other.

IFixit is a money grab using cheap replacement parts because companies like Apple don’t give them a choice.

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Aleucard t1_ixif7xz wrote

The repair people have to choose between cannibalizing new products for parts and reenacting Lord of War to get what they need for your stuff. Blame the corporations for forcing this, and vote for people willing to pass laws banning that shit.

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