Slashdot Mirror
Apple Will Fight 'Right To Repair' Legislation (vice.com)
An anonymous reader quotes a report from Motherboard: Apple is planning to fight proposed electronics "Right to Repair" legislation being considered by the Nebraska state legislature, according to a source within the legislature who is familiar with the bill's path through the statehouse. The legislation would require Apple and other electronics manufacturers to sell repair parts to consumers and independent repair shops, and would require manufacturers to make diagnostic and service manuals available to the public. Nebraska is one of eight states that are considering right to repair bills; last month, Nebraska, Minnesota, New York, Massachusetts, Kansas, and Wyoming introduced legislation. Last week, lawmakers in Illinois and Tennessee officially introduced similar bills. According to the source, an Apple representative, staffer, or lobbyist will testify against the bill at a hearing in Lincoln on March 9. ATT will also argue against the bill, the source said. The source told me that at least one of the companies plans to say that consumers who repair their own phones could cause lithium batteries to catch fire. So far, Nebraska is the only state to schedule a hearing for its legislation.
It's actually pretty easy. They just have to not glue the battery to the case....
Check out my sci-fi/humor trilogy at PatriotsBooks.
If this were just about computers/devices, you might have a point. But this legislation got it's start with farm equipment, and new EULAs that forbade fixing it yourself. Which is historically how smaller farmers were able to afford to use heavy equipment - they repaired it themselves. Apple is just the one complaining the loudest, because this would ostensibly affect them, too.
It's not just about Apple. This legislation has merit.
The point is that once a company has enough control of the market to restrict supply chains and/or information about how the device works, they can effectively limit compatibility, prevent repairs and other long-term maintenance, and ultimately constrain the continued use of the device, even if such use would otherwise be viable.
That leads directly to problems like built-in obsolescence, excessive repair charges for devices that fail earlier than might reasonably have been expected, wastage of limited natural resources used in manufacture, and devices that are hard to recycle or otherwise dispose of in safe and environmentally friendly ways.
Hardware producers in the tech industry have become very, very bad at these kinds of things, and they've made a lot of money as a result, and so now it looks like legal/regulatory action is needed. This is hardly a new concern and they've had years to get their own houses in order and have failed to do so, so I have no sympathy for them at all.
If you disagree, post your argument. (-1, Overrated) isn't your personal censorship tool for views you don't like.
A battery compartment is for removable batteries, and maybe if the Note 7 actually had a removable battery it wouldn't have been such a disaster for them.