(On the subject of Apple durability, I was in Palm Springs to facilitate a workshop, and my flight on departure day was very early. I was filling the rental car at about 4 AM, and looking at my iPhone while it was filling to remind myself of the route to the airport. I set the phone down on the trunk lid, replaced the fuel nozzle, installed the fuel cap, got into the car, and drove away. I was halfway to the airport when I realized my pocket was empty and panic set in. I went back and found it in the middle of the street, face down in its Mophie battery case, with a clearly visible tire track over the back of it. Other than some scarring on the edge of the case, no damage. Shorts may have been soiled, however.)
As for recycling electronics, who disassembles them to remove the recycleable parts? Even then, everything else ends up in the landfill. If it's worth somebody's time to disassemble it for recycling, it should be possible for me to disassemble it for repair, even if it means replacing that board. I have replaced the control boards in both our washer and dryer, for example, when they were damaged by lightning surges. No, I received no help at all from the manufacturer. But the parts were available in the aftermarket one way or the other. Had I bought a higher-end brand, that might not have been the case. (They were made by Whirlpool.) I have even replaced the drum on that washer because the spider frame on it failed from fatigue (and bad design). So, $2000 in washer and dryer investment 20 years ago, with no more than about $600 in parts and a few hours of my time, are still in service rather than in the metal recycling pile at the landfill.
As to your last line about cars: AMEN, Bruddha! Cars are the ultimate example of very expensive constructions that should be commonly serviceable. I see cars that are 50 years old being nursed along in third-world locations where service facilities are based in three dimensions rather than in software, because those ancient vehicles still can be serviced by their owners. Even the electronic systems for cars with electronic control systems up to maybe 20 years ago have been thoroughly reverse-engineered at this point. But that's because there is a market for the stuff strong enough for third-party enterprises to overcome obfuscation and obstruction by the manufacturers, not because the manufacturers actually provide that support. Example: The "smart junction box" in my Ford Expedition crapped out on a cross-country trip. I had to leave it at a Ford dealer in Baytown, Texas, find a place to store the stuff I was carrying (fortunately, I have friends in that area), fly home 1300 miles (you know, work), fly back the following week, pick up the vehicle, pick up all my stuff, and then drive home with a high degree of anxiety. I had $1500 in costs above the repair (which was covered by an extended warranty, thank goodness). The reason I couldn't just buy a smart junction box and install it myself? It has to be tattooed to the key for the vehicle to function, and only the dealer can do that. Consequently, the box itself is simply not available to owners directly. More and more automotive parts are "dealer only", and more and more of them are unavailable for sale to owners directly. There are going to be a lot of recent cars going to the crusher long before those half-century-old cars in the third world.
Rick "right to repair!" Denney
