Topic: The right to repair
Hey good people reading here,
you know what to do when your computer got a broken component? You know where to get the schematics and parts? With some you could get lucky. But the most common point? You won't get handbooks, you won't get schematics for components, no replacments in general and so many electronic parts are more or less for most people something to throw into the trash being marked as "junk". But with a right to repair you won't have to do that. And there I'm only talking about the bare minimum: The further points would the right to modify and the right to have freedom and privacy respected. But we are not even near the only minor target to repair hardware and electronics bought. We have even accepted that for many years now, but we won't have another chance for the future as we throw toxic junk out being a major issue for our nice blue planet at all. You see the mountains full with plastics, growing every day? That is our own decision, our own responsibility and yes: Every new little or big component you buy especially new is causing more problems. A right to repair includes a responsibility for free information. Therefore "Copyright" is something the industry is misusing for false protection: Instead helping it is only looked that no "Copyright" is damaged and I could even construct a scenario in which you would have a problem with laws when you create a replacement-schematic for some cooler and make it public. You think that won't happen? Think again as for example the company Abbott had claimed repositories where people tried to build a possibility to renew faulty sensors for their glucose monitoring system. They have done that because they think it should not be in the hand of the users. Don't get misleaded now: It is pure ignorance and the fear of those companies somebody could get independent.
That's the same with more mentioned here: Being independent, being emancipated, being in the right to repair and modify your own device the way you want. We need that for a better future at minimum, especially when we talk about mobile devices with phone-capabilities thrown away for whatever reasoning. It is the right to modify your device the way you want: No preinstalled applications? No further garbage and overload in software? That's your point. Same to reject throwing away functional sensors as mentioned earlier in my example here from Abbott. By the way for interested: https://github.com/captainbeeheart/openfreestyle ... and I think it will only take some time to rediscover and claim that again, but perhaps they have changed their position? Would be a positive surprise. But we need all to follow that line, otherwise we trash our environment and our planet with junk being for sure repairable. Or the alternative: Companies change the API-calls, the functions itself and open frameworks and helpers won't be helping. Do we have to accept this? For sure not, but it is our decision giving support or deny that completely in the first place. Buying hard- and software being replaced within short amount of time and we would condemn the planet for sure. The other way: Buy used hardware, use free and libre software. And that includes also keeping older platforms and architectures alive. You think progress at any cost can help? Look at the trash this is causing.
And yes: For sure it is also your "right" to buy "trash" where companies and others have no respect and no interest to guarantee your right for modification and repair. But please take into thoughts: There is no right for pure ignorance as the more people do this the more problems we all will get. There is no freedom where you can get away from your responsibility: You buy trash being not repairable? Your decision, but for sure also your responsibility and the one from the companies you have bought it from (won't mention names here as they are for sure mostly known). The more also hardware becomes smaller, the more the right to repair also vanishes but from another point: Seriously who can manage to repair circuit-boards that kind of small you cannot even solder them without more special toolsets capable? That is another way something is being made not repairable, because we "demand" to carry such small devices with us without any kind of thought to repair them one day they broke. Thinking to throw them away results again in the already mentioned parts. Please stop that - immediately at best. And in the end you can only repair hardware when you get parts for it: That is something the companies also know. Ending to make those parts, end the possibility to repair also. That is something where we need correct laws for and no market can help here as capitalism is for sure the complete wrong answer - hope you see that otherwise we end the same mentioned.
Certainly anyone who has the power to make you believe absurdities has the power to make you commit injustices: For a life of every being full with peace and kindness, including diversity and freedom. Capitalism is destroying our minds, the planet itself and the universe in the end!