[jgibson]

While I agree the lack of repair documentation and available spare parts is a concern, Isn't the whole point of integration (at least on a chip/board level) to increase reliability?

I'm a mechanical engineer masquerading as a software developer so I could be talking out my ass, but I'm fairly sure that board failure rate is proportional to the amount of discrete components on said board.

[jacquesm]

It is hardly ever the boards themselves that fail but the connections between them and that is the reason for further integration.