Ugo

Vallauri

Ugo

Vallauri

Ugo

69

LENS

after a certain day. There are

consequences to this. However, that said,

the trends we’ve seen in computers

preventing any hardware upgrade –

because RAM is soldered on the

motherboard, SSD drives are soldered as

well, or they are provided for some models

with proprietary connectors so they

cannot be found in the market, and a lack

of ports – is certainly something that we

see as extremely worrying.

At the end of the day, we’re talking

about creating an economy that makes

more sense for people and the

planet. To repair and reuse can be

an essential part of this. No data

would contradict what I’m about

to say that it is environmentally

more efficient to extend the

use case of the current product,

rather than recuperating some

materials and some components

to make a brand new product

to be sold again in the market.

You can create a lot more

jobs by having proper maintenance

and reuse economies to prevent

unnecessary recycling and unnecessary

throwing away of products that are

already manufactured.

Make use of whatever resource you

already have; keep using and making the

most of the component that you already

have – this should be at the heart of every

tinkerer. Use your amazing skills to

contribute to a future where people and

planet are a lot happier, by preventing

waste and ensuring that everything is

used to the fullest that is possible.

pressure specifically on these countries,

to prevent further watering down.

And by the way, this is not just in the

interest of consumers; it’s also in the

interests of repairers of all kinds, because

repairs will be faster, better, and easier. And

it’s also in the interests of the work done at

the end of the product’s life, by the

recyclers: if a product is designed for

disassembly, it’s designed so that more of

the components that still work can be

removed. It’s in everyone’s interest.

Proper regulation will mean a level

playing field, so manufacturers can

compete without undermining consumer

rights and the environment. Until this

happens, they will always try to defend the

status quo. Also, they use the argument

that repairs shouldn’t be allowed because

it is not safe for other people to access

the product they have made. We think

that, actually, lack of documentation

access to the official precise repair

documentation might create cases where

repair becomes less safe, because people

might use alternative sources that might

be less reliable.

HS I remember that argument

from John Deere [US maker of

tractors, combine harvesters, and

other agricultural equipment], that

allowing non-authorised repairs

would be dangerous.

UV The John Deere case is

interesting because it opens

up the other big issue, which is

that of software. In the United

States, a big part of the fight for the right

to repair is intellectual property. In the

case of John Deere, the question was:

‘can a company lock access to a product

by installing a piece of software that will

make it impossible for a product repaired

by a third party to be used again unless

it’s verified again by the manufacturer?’

This is a really big issue and, more broadly,

extended firmware support and security

updates for products is one growing

cause of concern that’s not yet tackled by

regulation either. At a time when people

already want to keep their smartphones

for longer – or TVs for that matter – how

can we justify manufacturers making two

or three years of security updates and then

abandoning products? It’s contributing to

premature obsolescence.

Why is it that Google doesn’t provide ten

years’ worth of security updates to the

phones that it provides software updates

to? It has the capacity to do that, so why

doesn’t it?

Could we think of devices with a kill

switch, so the moment the smart element

of the device is no longer secure, we can

turn it off and use it as a non-smart device,

the way we used to use devices before,

without compromising safety or security

depending on the product?

These are some of the trends we have

seen. Software is increasingly the reason

people give up on a product, and it’s not

repairable unless it can be substituted with

a free and open-source alternative, which

is the case for quite a lot of products.

It’s a real decision by a manufacturer to

stop supporting a product. This is not about

conspiracy theories; it is a real decision

and there is a plan to say no more support

”

”

Use your amazing

skills to contribute

to a future where

people and

planet are a lot

happier

Left

Toasters are often

built to be thrown

away, even when they

can be made whole

with a tin` fi_