>4. Devices that are built to be repaired are in the general best-interests of everyone at large (e.g.: environmental issues), but the forces of capitalism are generally against reuse. So we clearly need some system to rebalance the scales a bit, but how to do this without killing progress seems difficult (e.g.: the system-on-a-chip makes most of the guts of a cell phone one piece, and that is the direction of better devices).
I don't see how it's a difficult concept that not everything needs to be repairable at the molecular level. Is a phone "less repairable" because it uses a CPU instead of discrete logic chips? Is some 1971-vintage arcade game "less repairable" because it uses discrete logic chips instead of resistors and transistors? Is some electronic item from the 60s "less repairable" because it uses resistors and transistors instead of resistors and diodes?
It's pretty simple: if a part is easily available in a factory for assembly into a final device, that's probably a repair part. For a modern smartphone, that would be the motherboard, not the CPU. (It is possible to replace cellphone CPUs however, but it's a very difficult operation requiring special equipment and training.)
For legal issues, however, I think it's pretty simple: if the manufacturer is able to repair it, then anyone should be able to offer that same service, if they can acquire the tools. No one should be held back by laws that only benefit the manufacturer.
>1. There has definitely been abuse of cryptographic locking by parties such as John Deer. I feel that places where such locking is used only to prevent third-party repairs it should be illegal.
This is much trickier than the SoC issue, but I agree with you: if the only purpose of something is to prevent 3rd-party repairs or replacement parts (as with printer ink/toner), then it should be illegal.
I don't see how it's a difficult concept that not everything needs to be repairable at the molecular level. Is a phone "less repairable" because it uses a CPU instead of discrete logic chips? Is some 1971-vintage arcade game "less repairable" because it uses discrete logic chips instead of resistors and transistors? Is some electronic item from the 60s "less repairable" because it uses resistors and transistors instead of resistors and diodes?
It's pretty simple: if a part is easily available in a factory for assembly into a final device, that's probably a repair part. For a modern smartphone, that would be the motherboard, not the CPU. (It is possible to replace cellphone CPUs however, but it's a very difficult operation requiring special equipment and training.)
For legal issues, however, I think it's pretty simple: if the manufacturer is able to repair it, then anyone should be able to offer that same service, if they can acquire the tools. No one should be held back by laws that only benefit the manufacturer.
>1. There has definitely been abuse of cryptographic locking by parties such as John Deer. I feel that places where such locking is used only to prevent third-party repairs it should be illegal.
This is much trickier than the SoC issue, but I agree with you: if the only purpose of something is to prevent 3rd-party repairs or replacement parts (as with printer ink/toner), then it should be illegal.