"Since Right to Repair can pass here, expect it to be on its way to a backyard near you," says iFixit CEO.

California, the biggest state in the US when it comes to both population and the sheer volume of tech companies squeezed into its borders, has just passed the country’s most extreme right to repair bill in the US (via Ars Technica). It’s the third state to pass such a bill, but goes further than either Minnesota or New York in that it forces companies to support their products for longer. But while it will cover gaming PCs and laptops, games console manufacturers get a free pass.

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There are exceptions, however, and it seems like games consoles are somehow exempt from this right to repair requirement. Guess someone’s been lobbying against the inclusion of consoles, eh? The bill itself talks specifically about an “electronic or appliance product” or just a “product”, but stipulates that doesn’t include a video game console.

“‘Video game console’ means a computing device, including its components and peripherals, that is primarily used by consumers for playing video games, such as a console machine, a handheld console device, or another device or system. ‘Video game console’ does not include a general or an all-purpose computer, which includes, but is not limited to, a desktop computer, laptop, tablet, or cell phone.”

So, that means your Xbox, PlayStation, and Switch consoles are all seemingly exempt from having to offer long term support, but at least in the computing space your PC and laptop will be covered.

  • lobut@lemmy.caEnglish
    10·
    1 year ago

    Why can’t spare parts and schematics be available to a third-party repair center that has experience, so that we can take it to them … so they can fix it?

    • Puzzle_Sluts_4Ever@lemmy.worldEnglish
      210·
      1 year ago

      Again, how are you going to repair something where a 12 nanometer chip burned out?

      A human hair is 18000 to 80000 nanometers. And 12 nm is “older” as far as processes go.

      So even if that third party repair center had an x-ray machine and a REALLY powerful microscope and could diagnose if there was damage? They aren’t able to actually repair it.

      Which means they are replacing chips. Which, in the case of an SOC, is the entire chip (the black/grey box(es)). So… maybe you can save the PCB (the green part) but that costs next to nothing and… do you really want to hope that a 600-1000 dollar chip was properly installed so that you can save 10-20 bucks on the board?

      Which gets back to “okay, replace the entire board” which is increasingly “okay, replace the entire device except the plastic shell”.

      • Cosmic Cleric@lemmy.worldEnglish
        3·
        1 year ago

        Again, how are you going to repair something where a 12 nanometer chip burned out? A human hair is 18000 to 80000 nanometers. And 12 nm is “older” as far as processes go. So even if that third party repair center had an x-ray machine and a REALLY powerful microscope and could diagnose if there was damage? They aren’t able to actually repair it.

        That’s one hell of a straw man you have going there. Most people would just unsolder the chip from the circuit board and replace it with another one, or just replace the whole circuit board at once.

        You’re not being intellectually honest in trying to argue the other side of this topic.

        Seriously, go watch YouTube videos on the subject.