Out with the old
As I was starting to write this column, a strange bar appeared at the bottom of my screen, a kind of low fence made up of thin horizontal lines of different colors. After a few moments a similar vertical bar slid up the lefthand side of the screen.
An internet search suggested that either something’s amiss with the hard drive, or the laptop is overheated. I tried a few of the suggestions to solve the problem, but they didn’t work. I suppose I’ll need to take the laptop in for repair.
But wait – does anybody even do that anymore, take anything in for repair? Where would I take this computer? How long would a repair take, and what would it cost?
My thoughts bypassed those questions and led me to wonder how much a new laptop would cost. This is less the result of cost comparisons and more just the way we react when technology and even analog machines break down. Often, it’s easier and less expensive to just buy new.
We’re decades past the days when every town had a television repair shop. The dad would unplug the clunky cabinet model and haul it off, leaving the family without “Bonanza” for a week. I’ve never heard of anyone taking a smart TV out to be repaired; even high-end TVs are relatively inexpensive and the new technology makes them impossible to repair.
And if not impossible, then complex. We consumers have become used to the inscrutable nature of tech and other tools. Teenagers who once learned to do basic fixes on their first cars will now tell you everything under the hood has been designed to be untouchable, requiring dealer expertise. When my clothes dryer began making a screeching sound last month, the repairman warned me in advance that a fix might be so complicated and pricey I would be better off buying a new one.
Electronics and household appliances are commonly designed to hinder or even prevent home repairs. Manufacturers design software to make it impossible for the products to be repaired by anyone other than the maker – not even the person who bought and owns the product.
Consumers are pushing back. The so-called Right to Repair movement is advocating for laws requiring manufacturers to stop blocking consumers and shops from repairing products. Some states are already on it, though not Pennsylvania.
A personally satisfying moment came not long ago when my air purifier started making a buzzing noise. I read the product booklet and, using a teensy screwdriver, removed a panel and blew the dust off a little sensor. I appreciated that the machine came with that guidance, because it would be expensive to replace.
When my dryer started making that noise (and emboldened by my victory with the air cleaner), I found a YouTube video showing the steps to make a repair. I gave up watching after the first two minutes as the worker was removing the back panel of the dryer and exposing the “brain” of the machine. I clicked away from the video and started researching prices for new dryers as I awaited the repairman.
“You’re lucky,” he said as he pulled the dryer away from the wall. “This one is old enough for me to fix. Some newer ones have computers that make it tricky.”
Turns out the dryer needed a new drum belt, or something like that. Two new parts and about $300 later, it was back in business. The dryer is 21 years old and was built, if not to last forever, then at least to be patched up and put back in service.