[fivestar]

There is a debate raging over "right to repair" and the consumer is losing. Honestly, I can't continue buying $1000 smart phones. It's just not worth it. And no, I'm not going to insure them, either. That whole concept is a bag of dicks.

[smt88]

Does "right to repair" have anything to do with "repairability"? There are definitely some things, like iPhones, that might not be possible to build in a repairable way without decreasing the quality of the product. Perhaps Surface is like that, too.

[mwfunk]

This is the biggest conundrum for me. Every engineering decision is a compromise. There are very few cases where making a choice by going down one path isn't a compromise where you're getting one thing but giving up something else. Obviously user-serviceability is a good property for a device to have, but that has a cost as well (a device that is lower quality or less desirable in other ways).

[foobarchu]

I think right to repair is a separate debate. The right to repair movement is about a company being able to sue you for attempting the repair at all. This is about the company doing its darndest to physically prevent repairs. As iFixIt shows, you're welcome to try.

Right to repair is also usually centered around software, since that's the crux of the argument used by companies like John Deere. JD technically isn't telling people they can't repair things, just that they can't "hack" their software (an "IP infringement"), which so happens to be a necessary step in repairs.

[izacus]

There's no differences in end effect if you're prevented from fixing your own stuff due to law or deliberate engineering.

[dlp211]

Yes there is. One is by force of law, the other is simply a reverse engineering problem. If you can put it together, you can take it apart, it doesn't mean it will be easy though.

[snuxoll]

It goes beyond software, I'm more than capable of replacing dead SMT components on a board - but I can't get board layouts or official replacement parts for anything these days.

I have a legal right to repair my own products or have a third party do it, but because the manufacturer is under no obligation to make it easy everyone gets screwed.