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Apple, Google & Microsoft Have Teamed up to Block the Right-to-Repair Law
Apple, Google & Microsoft Have Teamed up to Block the Right-to-Repair Law:
Bloomberg today released a report on how companies like Apple, Microsoft, Amazon, and Google are working together to put a stop to laws that would make it necessary for companies to provide device schematics, genuine repair parts, and repair manuals to independent repair technicians.
Almost 27 states have considered the laws in 2021 alone, but in more than half of them, the laws have been voted down or dismissed. Many lobbyists and trade groups representing tech companies have fought hard against this law with Apple pointing out that such measures could lead to device damage or consumers harming themselves when attempting to repair their devices.
In Washington, for example, Washington House of Representatives Democrat Mia Gregerson sponsored a Right to Repair measure that was fought by Microsoft, Google, Amazon, along with lobbyists representing Apple. Lobbyists later said that Apple would endorse repair programs at local colleges if the bill was dropped.
Also at Bloomberg and MacRumors.
See also: Leaked Apple Documents Inadvertently Helped the Right-to-Repair Movement
Louis Rossmann Starts a GoFundMe to Get "Right to Repair" Legistation Passed Through a Direct Ballot
Summary Louis Rossmann, electronics repairman and YouTuber, has started a nonprofit and GoFundMe campaign to fight to get right to repair legislation passed through direct ballot initiatives. For years Louis has talked about the importance of right to repair and how it has become more difficult t...
Right to repair series - Louis Rossmann
In this series he specifically explains why we need better right to repair laws.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KyM7FxEaShI
Original Submission #1 Original Submission #2 Original Submission #3
(Score: 5, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Friday May 21 2021, @06:32PM (9 children)
The fundamental problem is that this anti-repair cancer is spreading to basically all industries. The reality is that if companies like Apple can get away with things like contracting with suppliers to prevent them from selling chips to anyone else, or obligating disposal companies to destroy perfectly working products just to make sure that nobody can possibly get anything functional from the garbage, then basically everyone else is incentivised to operate in the same way.
"Just don't buy Apple" doesn't help you fix your tractor when all the tractor manufacturers are doing the same thing.
"Just don't buy Google" doesn't help you fix your washing machine when all the washing machine manufacturers are doing the same thing.
"Just keep using products built in the 1980s that don't have any of these problems" can help, but is not a long-term solution.
(Score: 2) by Taxi Dudinous on Friday May 21 2021, @06:46PM (8 children)
Alright! I'm busted. Was just being snarky because these companies upset me on such a regular basis. iPhone would be nicer if one could easily change the battery. But being able to open the case means less reliable water resistance, and perhaps a slightly larger form factor. For a laptop, I would rather have that slightly larger form factor and be able to upgrade/repair, but Apple says "better get what you want when you buy, because what you get is what you get".
As far as Microsoft and Google, well I am a little worried if I can not get their things fixed. I mean, I am pretty certain my stuff is broken
My windows has not been hampering my productivity as much as usual. I am worried. And I am worried about google, since they have not been tracking me as much as I think they should. I don't feel safe anymore. What ever shall I do? /s
(Score: 3, Insightful) by sjames on Friday May 21 2021, @10:00PM (7 children)
The form factor thing is funny. I have an actually waterproof and impact resistant phone where the battery compartment is sealed with a gasket and screws. It's thicker than a bare iPhone, but thinner than an iPhone held in a protective cover that so many people buy at the same time as their iPhone. There's an iFixit page with instructions for changing the battery (which is available on Amazon).
(Score: 5, Insightful) by Runaway1956 on Saturday May 22 2021, @12:25AM (6 children)
O-rings and gaskets were something of a problem for me as a young person. It took some time for me to understand, "If you disturb a gasket, REPLACE IT!!" You can study an O-ring under a nice powerful magnifying glass, and it looks perfect, but reusing it means that your gadget is going to leak - oil, water, or whatever.
If your gadget/appliance/whatever is worth 2 hours of your time to repair it, it's worth a new gasket.
Abortion is the number one killed of children in the United States.
(Score: 3, Insightful) by mhajicek on Saturday May 22 2021, @05:19AM (4 children)
I'm typing this on a Caterpillar S60. Nice big metal gasketed hatch for the sim and microSD, but still no replaceable battery. Water has nothing to do with it. They want you to throw your phone away every two years and buy a new one.
First battery puffed up within warranty, so they replaced the whole phone for free. About another year and the second one puffed up. Had a local repair shop do it for about $150.
The spacelike surfaces of time foliations can have a cusp at the surface of discontinuity. - P. Hajicek
(Score: 2) by bzipitidoo on Saturday May 22 2021, @07:40PM (3 children)
After about 2 years, the battery in my first smartphone puffed up. And somehow took the phone with it. When I installed a replacement battery, I found that the phone was dead.
Perhaps it was because I kept it on the charger most of the time. The rep at the store seemed to think that was why the battery had failed.
(Score: 2) by mhajicek on Saturday May 22 2021, @07:55PM (2 children)
You'd think they could make a charge controller that stops when the battery is charged and then runs the phone on line power.
The spacelike surfaces of time foliations can have a cusp at the surface of discontinuity. - P. Hajicek
(Score: 2) by sjames on Sunday May 23 2021, @07:33AM (1 child)
That might have added $0.05 to the BOM. We can't have that, now can we?
(Score: 1, Informative) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday May 23 2021, @04:21PM
Apparently it requires root access and a phone manufacturer who is OK with their phones lasting a LOT longer when geeks use it.
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.slash.batterychargelimit&hl=en&gl=US [google.com]
(Score: 2) by sjames on Saturday May 22 2021, @05:23PM
I have a 3D printer and a roll of TPU. If all else fails, I can print a gasket.