Sure, there are advances like newer, faster, more capable graphics cards and RGB RAM, but most applications for most people don’t require high-spec devices. The exponential growth of computing power died sometime around 2004, and we haven’t looked back since. We are in the age of stagnation of personal computers. RAM is plentiful, even if Chrome gobbles it up, and network connectivity is ubiquitous. Moore’s law died a decade ago, and we’re long past the Megahertz wars of the 90s and 2000s. This is the question: how long should you keep your electronics running? When do you start getting into the false economy of repairing something just because you can? What is the minimally viable laptop? That’s less e-waste, but it’s also older, potentially slower and less powerful portable workstations. The ability - or rather, right - to repair will inevitably mean using electronics longer, and keeping them out of the garbage. Your technology does not respect your freedom, and this is true all the way down to the source code: the Library of Congress is thankfully chipping away at the DMCA in an effort that serves the Right to Repair movement, but still problems remain. When the battery in your iPhone dies, you’ll have to break out the pentalobe screwdrivers. When the keyboard in your shiny new MacBook dies, you’ll have to send it to a Genius. It’s never been harder to repair your electronics.
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