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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. <br>
<br>
Incidentally, some MBA's such as Steve Jobs, do provide real value,
instead of relying on marketing bullshit, but sadly, in this age,
many do not.<br>
<br>
/gary<br>
<br>
<div class="moz-cite-prefix">On 19-03-07 11:53 AM, Gary via talk
wrote:<br>
</div>
<blockquote cite="mid:5C814C89.5090505@rogers.com" type="cite">
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Its planned obsolescence. <br>
<br>
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.<br>
<br>
/gary<br>
<br>
<div class="moz-cite-prefix">On 19-03-07 11:17 AM, Don Tai via
talk wrote:<br>
</div>
<blockquote
cite="mid:CAKF=Av0of7R9Hviq_DxCLLnx=SKTncPVCp+La76EQF=8+vM=Xw@mail.gmail.com"
type="cite">
<div dir="ltr">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.
<div><br>
</div>
<div>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.</div>
</div>
<br>
<div class="gmail_quote">
<div dir="ltr" class="gmail_attr">On Thu, 7 Mar 2019 at 10:02,
Giles Orr via talk <<a moz-do-not-send="true"
href="mailto:talk@gtalug.org">talk@gtalug.org</a>>
wrote:<br>
</div>
<blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="margin:0px 0px 0px
0.8ex;border-left:1px solid
rgb(204,204,204);padding-left:1ex">
<div dir="ltr">
<div dir="ltr">
<div dir="ltr">On Thu, 7 Mar 2019 at 08:50, Stewart C.
Russell via talk <<a moz-do-not-send="true"
href="mailto:talk@gtalug.org" target="_blank">talk@gtalug.org</a>>
wrote:<br>
</div>
<div class="gmail_quote">
<blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="margin:0px 0px
0px 0.8ex;border-left:1px solid
rgb(204,204,204);padding-left:1ex">On 2019-03-05
10:04 p.m., Howard Gibson via talk wrote:<br>
> <br>
> One of the basic rules of Design For
Manufacture and Assembly is that<br>
> you should not use screws. The preferred way
is for everything to<br>
> snap together.<br>
<br>
Snaps are okay for a short time if you can access
the service manual to<br>
see where they are. Slide the spudger in the wrong
place and you'll<br>
break a snap, ending up with a case that sags in one
spot. So /design<br>
for manufacture/ can be counter to /design for
repair/.<br>
<br>
The original Apple Macintosh was one of the first
/design for<br>
manufacture/ computers. It required the dealer-only
"case cracker" tool<br>
- a long Torx T15 bit with a spudger lever on the
end:<br>
<a moz-do-not-send="true"
href="https://retrocomputing.stackexchange.com/a/118/439"
rel="noreferrer" target="_blank">https://retrocomputing.stackexchange.com/a/118/439</a>
- that told the story<br>
that Users did not belong inside the case*. Apple's
previous computers<br>
invited you inside - the Apple II's top just lifted
off without tools.<br>
<br>
Right to Repair is important. I'm slightly
disappointed by the general<br>
reaction on this list. We'll spent lifetimes
fiddling with software<br>
configs to keep it running against all odds, but
hardware gets short<br>
shrift. I know that processing power and storage
improvements have made<br>
it poor business practice to get sentimental about
keeping older<br>
computers running, but some curiosity over how
repair and replace is a<br>
good thing. We can't live on a growing mountain of
e-waste, after all.<br>
<br>
Stewart<br>
<br>
*: the Macintosh had a CRT inside and thus
hilariously fatal voltages<br>
for the unwary. It could be said Apple were only
doing the right thing<br>
keeping Users out. But other computers had built-in
CRTs with only the<br>
usual warnings and mounting screws. One example
would be the Commodore<br>
SX-64, a device clearly designed for confusion. The
SX-64 appears to be<br>
a random collection of boards held together by ...
another random<br>
collection of boards and little else.<br clear="all">
</blockquote>
<div><br>
</div>
<div>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.<br>
</div>
<div><br>
</div>
<div>Also totally with you on Right to Repair: I
volunteered for Repair Cafe ( <a
moz-do-not-send="true"
href="http://repaircafetoronto.ca/"
target="_blank">http://repaircafetoronto.ca/</a> )
for about three years, and even in that time saw how
much harder it was getting to get inside a standard
laptop.</div>
<div><br>
</div>
<div>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.)<br>
</div>
<div><br>
</div>
<div>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><br>
</div>
</div>
<br>
-- <br>
<div dir="ltr"
class="gmail-m_-2988768321393057096gmail_signature">Giles<br>
<a moz-do-not-send="true"
href="https://www.gilesorr.com/" target="_blank">https://www.gilesorr.com/</a><br>
<a moz-do-not-send="true"
href="mailto:gilesorr@gmail.com" target="_blank">gilesorr@gmail.com</a></div>
</div>
</div>
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