If you build a desktop and populate it with parts that you choose then
you have a big advantage as you can replace parts willy nilly, if they
break down. However, if, instead, you buy a laptop then you're at the
mercy of the manufacturer.
Incidentally, some MBA's such as Steve Jobs, do provide real value,
instead of relying on marketing hype, but sadly, in this age, many do not.
/gary
On 19-03-07 11:53 AM, Gary wrote:
Its planned obsolescence.
At one time many companies were run by engineers; sadly, now the MBA's
are in charge so "the art of the scam" takes centre stage, which means
that, rather than providing value, it is better to fool people into
paying up for something that is of less value than is generally perceived.
/gary
On 19-03-07 11:17 AM, Don Tai via talk wrote:
It is not advantageous for hardware companies to make devices
serviceable. A device that is not serviceable can be designed to be
more cheaply manufactured. Consumers, apart from the geek crowd,
don't seem to care about repairability when they flip their devices
every 2-3 years. Batteries are also close to exhausted around the 2-3
year mark. Gluing together pieces is a really pain in the butt. I
much prefer screws.
If it broke, I will likely take it apart, if only for fun. You can
tell a lot about the quality of a manufacturer from the inside of a
device. I don't think this proposal will go anywhere, but hope that
it does. Keeping an old laptop or desktop in service has led me to
Linux, the only OS that is still mildly viable.
On Thu, 7 Mar 2019 at 10:02, Giles Orr via talk <talk@gtalug.org
<mailto:talk@gtalug.org>> wrote:
On Thu, 7 Mar 2019 at 08:50, Stewart C. Russell via talk
<talk@gtalug.org <mailto:talk@gtalug.org>> wrote:
On 2019-03-05 10:04 p.m., Howard Gibson via talk wrote:
>
> One of the basic rules of Design For Manufacture and
Assembly is that
> you should not use screws. The preferred way is for
everything to
> snap together.
Snaps are okay for a short time if you can access the service
manual to
see where they are. Slide the spudger in the wrong place and
you'll
break a snap, ending up with a case that sags in one spot. So
/design
for manufacture/ can be counter to /design for repair/.
The original Apple Macintosh was one of the first /design for
manufacture/ computers. It required the dealer-only "case
cracker" tool
- a long Torx T15 bit with a spudger lever on the end:
https://retrocomputing.stackexchange.com/a/118/439 - that
told the story
that Users did not belong inside the case*. Apple's previous
computers
invited you inside - the Apple II's top just lifted off
without tools.
Right to Repair is important. I'm slightly disappointed by
the general
reaction on this list. We'll spent lifetimes fiddling with
software
configs to keep it running against all odds, but hardware
gets short
shrift. I know that processing power and storage improvements
have made
it poor business practice to get sentimental about keeping older
computers running, but some curiosity over how repair and
replace is a
good thing. We can't live on a growing mountain of e-waste,
after all.
Stewart
*: the Macintosh had a CRT inside and thus hilariously fatal
voltages
for the unwary. It could be said Apple were only doing the
right thing
keeping Users out. But other computers had built-in CRTs with
only the
usual warnings and mounting screws. One example would be the
Commodore
SX-64, a device clearly designed for confusion. The SX-64
appears to be
a random collection of boards held together by ... another random
collection of boards and little else.
Totally with you on snaps: even with cautious disassembly you're
likely to have breakage by the third time you go into the case.
Screws are definitely the way to go. Tedious, yes, but sturdy
and repeatable.
Also totally with you on Right to Repair: I volunteered for
Repair Cafe ( http://repaircafetoronto.ca/ ) for about three
years, and even in that time saw how much harder it was getting
to get inside a standard laptop.
Upgrading RAM used to be a common activity, even on a laptop.
But now the manufacturers solder RAM to the board (and glue the
case shut even if it's not soldered down). Yes, this makes the
machine marginally slimmer, but it also makes it totally
non-upgradeable. Same with hard drives (spinning, SSD, NVMe ...
just give us an access hatch.)
Another major argument in favour of right-to-repair is something
as simple as cleaning dust out of your processor fan. I think
it's a bit crazy to have to pay the manufacturer several hundred
dollars to do that for you. These are all things that used to be
simple and still could be, but consumers have been deliberately
locked out for a small increase in profits - and to the detriment
of the environment. <sigh>
--
Giles
https://www.gilesorr.com/
giles...@gmail.com <mailto:giles...@gmail.com>
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