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Japan to Discourage Sale of Old Electronics
devphaeton writes to tell us Engadget is reporting that after April 1st (no this is not an April fools joke) the sale of old electronics in Japan could become much harder. From the article: "It seems that Japan's government revised its "Electrical Appliance and Material Safety Law" back in April 2001, and added a stipulation that items authorized under the country's old law (the "Electrical Appliance and Material Control Law") couldn't be sold anymore, but granted those products a five-year grace period. Well, if you check your convenient wall calendar, you'll see that the five-year period is about to end, which means that as of April 1, pretty much any electronic gear sold before April 1, 2001 can't be legally resold in Japan." The article also mentions that sellers can continue to sell old gear providing they get certification that the items conform to modern safety standards.
Maybe I read this wrong, but it seems like a huge windfall for consumer electronics manufacturers if/when this goes into effect...
It doesn't mean that people will have to buy new stuff, it just says that all new stuff will have to be compliant.
If the new standards are harder to comply with, perhaps it could mean less profit on new items sold.
On the other hand, this power could be used to further DRM restrictions on all consumer electronics manufacturers.
What the FCC is doing to consumers with this whole digital broadcast thing is actually much worse as it actually FORCES people who want to watch network TV broadcasts to "upgrade."
Moreover, I'd like to add that forcing cable companies to comply with FCC regulations is totally ridiculous. How do they regulate wiring intrastate using the "interstate commerce clause"?
As a Libertarian, I guess I should be used to people ignoring the constitution when it comes to things they agree with. One tiny law with good intentions could open the door, legally speaking, for anything.
Latewire
Damn you. I had this awesome two page rant about how this law was going to cut the potential market for my Cyrix 166 chip/mobo by almost 4%. Now it would only get a +5 Funny instead of Insightful.