What an inspiring piece. Thank you for sharing what you observed amongst your students. Analog resistance was the reason I set out to write one handwritten letter every day for a year back in 2019. I think that project was probably a little before its time but I am so hopeful to read so many stories of people who are stepping out of the current of digital culture and opting for the Real.
And then, there’s the culture of “You can’t.” It’s not just, “You can’t get that software for Apple devices,” it’s, “You can’t open the casing and do your own upgrades.” And that amounts to, “You can’t have a meaningful relationship with this device because only our trained professionals are allowed to engage it in the ways it would take to fully understand how it works.”
As some tech experts have proven, even Apple techs don't know how to fix their products. Broken screens get the whole system thrown away. You can't fix keyboards or trackballs, and the outside techs who can fix the system have been prevented by lock features that render the computer or phone a brick.
Those are a few of the reasons I don't use Apple products.
For me, this is a central issue. It's not only Apple, either. But Apple is the paragon of the corporate philosophy that only the manufacturer has the wherewithal to repair a device/product.
I drive a Toyota that's old enough to drink alcohol now (though it's been drinking alcohol all its life), and as I was repairing a broken door handle on a perfectly balmy Saturday morning last weekend--normal wear-and-tear for a 21-year-old car--I basked in (a) the ease and (b) the low cost of doing my own repairs. As we think about increasingly-digital vehicles, especially amid the rising push for EVs, I wonder about the ways companies will use electrification/computerization as an excuse to thwart vehicle owners' right to repair. Ultimately, this issue is near the heart of what "ownership" means.
Great to see ideas in action!
What an inspiring piece. Thank you for sharing what you observed amongst your students. Analog resistance was the reason I set out to write one handwritten letter every day for a year back in 2019. I think that project was probably a little before its time but I am so hopeful to read so many stories of people who are stepping out of the current of digital culture and opting for the Real.
Thank you. Really outstanding observations and other stuff. I’m gonna read it again when I’m not exhausted.
And then, there’s the culture of “You can’t.” It’s not just, “You can’t get that software for Apple devices,” it’s, “You can’t open the casing and do your own upgrades.” And that amounts to, “You can’t have a meaningful relationship with this device because only our trained professionals are allowed to engage it in the ways it would take to fully understand how it works.”
As some tech experts have proven, even Apple techs don't know how to fix their products. Broken screens get the whole system thrown away. You can't fix keyboards or trackballs, and the outside techs who can fix the system have been prevented by lock features that render the computer or phone a brick.
Those are a few of the reasons I don't use Apple products.
For me, this is a central issue. It's not only Apple, either. But Apple is the paragon of the corporate philosophy that only the manufacturer has the wherewithal to repair a device/product.
I drive a Toyota that's old enough to drink alcohol now (though it's been drinking alcohol all its life), and as I was repairing a broken door handle on a perfectly balmy Saturday morning last weekend--normal wear-and-tear for a 21-year-old car--I basked in (a) the ease and (b) the low cost of doing my own repairs. As we think about increasingly-digital vehicles, especially amid the rising push for EVs, I wonder about the ways companies will use electrification/computerization as an excuse to thwart vehicle owners' right to repair. Ultimately, this issue is near the heart of what "ownership" means.
> I wonder about the ways companies will use electrification/computerization as an excuse to thwart vehicle owners' right to repair.
They already do: https://theconversation.com/liberate-the-tractors-the-right-to-repair-movement-thats-regaining-control-of-our-devices-188954
Outstanding post with so many great ideas. Time to send some handwritten texts.