The Right to Repair (Especially When Products Are So Poorly Made)
I wasn't planning to write about my dead stereo again. But then, Dr. Andy Farnell of the Cyber|Show wrote about a similar issue (at "2025-12-24 Wed 09:39" i.e. 30 minutes after I left the shop). He spoke of "Tender Love and Care (for our technology)" and mentioned how his washing machines 'broke down' and he was compelled to buy a new one instead of repair what he had. We've all been there before, haven't we?
Someone asked why I don't just rip my CDs and play the music with a computer. Well, why would I want a computer in the bedroom? Also, a computer isn't designed (interface-wise) to play music.
I cannot remember when I last slept 9 hours (well, today I allow myself), but this is also the first time the stereo is missing from the bedroom. It looks unlikely it'll be replaced or repaired. No, I won't purchase a new one. It would be repeating the same mistake again.
This one wasn't expensive, the brand was Bush, and I attempted to return it to the shop (as soon as it opened at 9AM on Xmas Eve). This product was manufactured specifically for them (it's engraved/burned to the back of the gadget). So I opened a ticket at the Web site; no reply, opened another. Still nothing. It's probably one of those useless box-ticking moves - they just want to pretend to have support. "For no reason I always get blank screen," I told them, "tried to check insides, changed mains fuse etc. to no avail. What to try/do next?"
I asked, any advice from you?
No reply. I won't be expecting any.
At the shop, they even told me that me trying to repair that myself (on Xmas Eve) "voids my warranty". Classy.
So basically it seems unlikely that it'll get repaired, replaced, or that I'll manage to fix it on my own.
It didn't even last a year.
"My last mail crossed your article about the CD player," one reader said. "I see many of this crap on my work bench during Repair Café sessions...or at the local garbage dump. Therefore I (almost) never buy anything new except spare parts if I cannot get them from an old appliance."
"My HiFi set is 30 years old, always self-maintained and works like a charm. I still have a collection of older CD players, all repaired all in perfect acoustic condition. Even the younger appreciates quality. Forget MP3 or even SACD etc."
"About your CD player: I guess the power supply is dead. Sometimes just a cheap electrolytic capacitor that died in a poorly designed switching power supply."
In the case of Andy, he managed to repair the washing machine by ordering a replacement part. That took 4 days. He then needed to do a large physical job, but this was doable. The machine wasn't one of the "smart" things (with Internet) - as he put it - and it was still fairly modular.
Many electrical appliances fail often/quick and are nearly impossible to repair.
If companies make it permissible and feasible to repair, then at least we stand a chance.
Towards the end of his article, Andy moans about how DRM impedes repairs. █