We’ve mistaken complexity for progress — and forgotten how things work. A 41-year-old computer still boots instantly, while today’s “smart” tech buckles.
I think the “black box” nature of electronics is mostly illusory due to how we treat our devices. A friend bought a walking treadmill that wouldn’t turn on out of the box. She contacted the company, they told her to trash it and just shipped her a new one.
She gave it to me, I took it apart. One of the headers that connects the power switch to the mainboard was just unplugged. It took literally 10 minutes to “fix” including disassembly and assembly, and all I needed was a screwdriver.
This is a symptom of industry switching to cheap “disposable” electronics, rather than more expensive, robust, and repairable ones.
From the treadmill company’s point of view, it’s cheaper to just lose one unit and pay shipping one way rather than pay to have the unit returned, spend valuable technician time diagnosing and fixing an issue and then pay to ship the repaired unit back.
About 50 years ago, you could find appliance repair shops that would fix your broken toaster or TV, and parts for stuff like that were easily available. Now, with the advanced automation in building these, combined with the increased difficulty of repair(fine-work soldering, firmware debuging and the like) it makes way more sense to just replace the whole thing.
pay to have the unit returned, spend valuable technician time diagnosing and fixing an issue and then pay to ship the repaired unit back.
My point is that in a better world, people could fix this kind of thing themselves. Like offer a discount for their trouble and have them or their mechanic aunt come by and fix it.
I really want to go back to electronics and appliances being both more robust and more repairable. It’s just that the vast majority of the population disagrees with that once they learn that it will make things cost more initially.
Now, with the advanced automation in building these, combined with the increased difficulty of repair(fine-work soldering, firmware debuging and the like) it makes way more sense to just replace the whole thing.
The other valid component to your argument is the cost of labor now. It is more expensive to maintain a staff of people to perform repairs and manage the logistics of transporting units to service than it is to simply lose 100% of the wholesale value of the handful of items that fail within the warranty period. Labor, especially skilled labor, is really really expensive in the western world.
Agreed it definitely depends on what you buy. I inherited a stereo amp from my uncle who always buys really nice gear. I have had it repaired or been able to repair it anytime a component failed and it is now 30 years old. But it was built to last that long not to be disposed of in five.
Right to repair is not just for nerds and tinkerers. We all deserve repairable products.
This is a symptom of industry switching to cheap “disposable” electronics, rather than more expensive, robust, and repairable ones.
From the treadmill company’s point of view, it’s cheaper to just lose one unit and pay shipping one way rather than pay to have the unit returned, spend valuable technician time diagnosing and fixing an issue and then pay to ship the repaired unit back.
About 50 years ago, you could find appliance repair shops that would fix your broken toaster or TV, and parts for stuff like that were easily available. Now, with the advanced automation in building these, combined with the increased difficulty of repair(fine-work soldering, firmware debuging and the like) it makes way more sense to just replace the whole thing.
My point is that in a better world, people could fix this kind of thing themselves. Like offer a discount for their trouble and have them or their mechanic aunt come by and fix it.
Oh, I fully agree.
I really want to go back to electronics and appliances being both more robust and more repairable. It’s just that the vast majority of the population disagrees with that once they learn that it will make things cost more initially.
The other valid component to your argument is the cost of labor now. It is more expensive to maintain a staff of people to perform repairs and manage the logistics of transporting units to service than it is to simply lose 100% of the wholesale value of the handful of items that fail within the warranty period. Labor, especially skilled labor, is really really expensive in the western world.
Agreed it definitely depends on what you buy. I inherited a stereo amp from my uncle who always buys really nice gear. I have had it repaired or been able to repair it anytime a component failed and it is now 30 years old. But it was built to last that long not to be disposed of in five.
Right to repair is not just for nerds and tinkerers. We all deserve repairable products.