"Right to repair" has to come with "Ease of repair"

     I normally dont post links in my blog. They die over time and it is very difficult to link it again, if a reader wants the link again. However, these two links have to be mentioned and I am privileged to post the link. If any individual/company has any issues with me posting the link here. Kindly comment and appropriate action will be taken.

https://invidious.snopyta.org/watch?v=nvVafMi0l68
https://invidious.snopyta.org/watch?v=-F-Wxj-v9-g

    The first link talks about "right to repair". The video is from Linus. One of the most prolific tech video producer I have come across. In this video, he talks about an initiative started by Louis, a crowd funded effort to argue "right to repair". The second video is a "Thank you" video from Louis. Between these two videos, the viewer will have a clear understanding of this "right". This right should be in the list of fundamental rights in any democratic nation. In this age of consumerism, right to repair, is what is going to save the customer and the planet. Many people dont know the real meaning of a "right". Let us first understand that. Let us talk about "Right to freedom of speech". What does this tell. Well, it just tells that you are free to talk your mind. So, what if you dont want to talk your mind. Well, this right has got you covered. You have the right to not talk your mind. The right tells that, if you want to talk, you can, if you dont want, then you are free not to talk. Let us put this explanation and draw parallel for the "right to repair".

    Let us assume that one consumer thinks that, any tech should not be repaired by the customer or on behalf of the customer by a third party. This action is part of "right to repair". If any other customer wants to carry out repairs, then he is also in this right. He is free to do so. If anybody thinks that no customer should be allowed to repair a gadget, the right to repair, applies to him also. He has the right to not get his gadget repaired. If anybody wants to carry out repairs, then this individual can. If this is clear, then as a consumer, you need not worry. If you are a rich person and instead of repairs, you would like a shiny new one, go ahead. If any others want to repair, then we are not damaging your chances of not repairing it. You are still free to pay huge money for a new one.

    I still remember my 1st pc, purchased in the year 2001. Every specific component was hand picked based on the money available. Any issue with the computer, I used to open up the complete chasis and try changing all the components and then one change would make the pc working again. Ring to 2021, Majority of the computers have soldered components. There were enterprising indivduals, who understood the complete schematics of the computer and started to de-solder the individual components and replace with newer ones. Yes, it is a niche market, but, it is still doable. 

    Now, what should the bigger companies do now. Well, bring it all within the processor die. What are we going to do about it, Well, I am blank as of now. The components on the die has provided the fastest bus for communication between the components, which was not achievable if the components are laid out on a Motherboard. But, this is a nightmare for the repair aficionados. Since all the major components of a computer are now in the processor die, you cannot upgrade your pc. If one component on the processor die, dies, the whole computer is as good as junk. For the re-soldering industry the only option is to remover the processor die and replace with a new one. But, this replacement will be exorbitantly high. How will the customer bear these costs. These costs might motivate the customer to just buy a new black box.

    Right to repair is one thing, capability to repair is one more thing. The big corporations are now on a path wherein, even if we do win the right to repair, it will be difficult for individuals and hobbyists to carry out repairs. The new products from Apple only have speakers and thermals outside the processor die. With right to repair, we should start a revolution for ease of repair also. Without ease of repair, there is no use of having right to repair. Let us wish that other technologically competitive individuals take up this aspect of "ease of repair" also. Otherwise the fight for "right to repair" will be laid waste.

Privacy in the present world

Privacy: When people listen to this word they normally associate with privacy from their parents, siblings or their friends. So, when somebody tells they want some "privacy" they mean "me" time and thats it. This is the definition of many of the people. The big companies and the state are making use of this mentality of people to generalize privacy and to re-instate this definition of privacy. So what you get to maintain your privacy, Your phone unlocks only with your finger print, so none of your family can use it. If it was a code maybe your parents would ask for your code and you would be pressurized to give it when you are away. Now , you have the finger print scanner and when you are away the phone is a brick which nobody can access. You have got your privacy. Congratulations.

Now, while your phone is locked and seemingly a brick to your father and yourself is more live than you. It is sending out and receiving data continuously. it is after all a computer and computers as you know are not tired. The amount of horse power in the present devices is enormous and all this is put to use 24 hours a day. Not even a second is left. When you are not using your phone facebook is busy getting the text your entered into whatsapp before your shoot send. Because before you shoot send the text and all other information you want to share is UN-encrypted. So now facebook has that data which you wanted to send through your favorite encrypted free messaging system. Though the founders have departed, the juggernaut rolls on. Of course facebook knows to whom you sent the data. So, you are basically using facebook whole over again in the guise of encryption.

You will definitely ask me why take that example. Well that nearly covers majority of the users on the planet outside the apple ecosystem. Now let us come to the make believe elite system which use the apple ecosystem. I always believed that apple had strong business ethics, not moral ethics. Like their hardware and software is elite and unique to their Eco-system. They will sell their devices at a premium and what the user does with that is not their concern. This I think was happening with all their desktop and laptop offering before the iphone. With the iphone came the moral conundrum. Actually the iphone to start with did not create this issue. The issue was created by google with its android ecosystem. Here was a company which is going to make money by selling user data. By targeting users with ads related to their tastes. How do you do it? Get the user to accept a complicated user agreement before you can access the device. It did not stop at ads. It progressed to speech recognition, AI and so on.

Now the thing is data became important. The costliest commodity on the planet next to the rarest element on the planet. The same strategy which the printing companies did with their cartridges. Though the printers could be given free since the users had to buy a physical product, Here, the phones could not be given for free. They are complicated computers. In this case the users are f*&d all ways in all the holes. You buy a premium phone and you will be giving away more data. It is like having the cake and the icing too. Your phone is pinging data every mill-second. It is pinging data to all corners of the world.

You are now having an app ecosystem to bring you out of this mess. Well, these apps are all built out of user contributions. The phone makers can alter the operating system itself to bypass all these apps which try to stop these pingings. So, if your phone is connected to the public network with the present crop for smart phones, you are pinging data. Have you not been surprised to see a link or a post related to "masturbation" after watching porn on your phone. Your were asking what are they going to do with the data. Now, it has been answered. This is one of the simplest way intelligence is taken out of your data consumed an exported from your device. Just imaging the amount of data collected through out the world and then feed it to "Big data" to make it even bigger.

Privacy is the context  have been talking in the previous paragraphs. it is not what is described in the first para. The corporations have moved from text and binary data to voice and video. It is difficult to know whether the mic is activated through out the life of your phone or only switches on when you watch porn. And while doing so, it might the device might switch on the front facing camera also. Just see how embarrassing it might be. You might be talking about an ailment or your friends ailments or you might talk about buying something. You might do a search for a particular ailment a product. It is recorded against your id. the corporations can combine it with your data sets and come out with the perfect ad or will feed you more of what you talked. You watch a thriller in Netflix, you are offered an unknown number of the same genre. You will be shown links related to them, but your are their unsuspecting user and you will click through it. This relation is generated by the the data they have collected from the whole world. Though you feel UN-related this link will re-inforce whatever you were searching for.

All corporations now hire behavioral scientists, data researchers who help them with their strategies. So, how do we get out of it? Do we want to get out of it? Are we happy in our walled paradise? Do we value our private data? Do we thing we have nothing to hide? Do we think we dont have anything of value? Do we think commenting and up-voting of posts on social media yields nothing to anybody?Is convenience a better trade-off for individual privacy? Is an individual of no value? Is an individual only a data generator? Is an individual not a human? Will the individual stand up for his rights?

Yes, I need a smart watch

1. Battery life be a minimum of a week. Charging happens only at the weekends
2. It should always show the time irrespective of the position of my wrist. I myself see the time on others wrist if by mistake I did not take my watch along and am too lazy to draw out the phone for the same.
3. Should be dead-drop easy to operate. In any menu, a particular key click should return me to the watch face. a la home button.
4. Open API's in terms of software and programmable interfaces w.r.t hardware attachments. This will ensure the longevity of the product.
5. The watch strap should be standard as per the existing watch industry practises. This will keep this creative industry alive and allows inclusive growth.
6. The watch case design particularly the inner area housing the electronics portion should be open.
7. The electronics should be housed in a compact plastic enclosure so that it can be easily removed by removing the back case of the watch as is the existing industry practise. The only thing exposed out of the plastic enclosure will be the metallic contacts for the keys on the watch case.
8. Points 5. 6, and 7 result in ultimate customizability and will allow the existing watch companies to come out with watch cases and straps taking the look of it a completely different level. This also allows the smart watch maker to concentrate on his core ability, that is, the smartness of the watch and leaving the traditional competency of case and strap design to the established ones.
9. Point 8 is very important in bringing down the cost of the watch, which in turn is another important requirement of a smart watch.
10. The entry level watch should always cost less to allow the mass to adopt.
11. You can always have watches for the filthy rich by just embedding a few diamonds here and there.
12. It should be waterproof. My INR 400/- watch bought 15 years ago never allowed a drop of water inside.
13. The UI to be very basic and to the point. No razzmatazz. Yes, of cours the watch for the filthy rich ones can have it(They may have another 10 nos on charge all the time)
14. The software should talk to the phone at the system level. Should not be dependent on the particular app on the phone. The upgrades to the watch should be only when the OS on the phone changes, not when the app changes( I maybe wrong here. But it is a far stretched idea. Now, all programmers dont draw out your forks).
15. It should have the latest and the best connectivity stack optimized for power usage(bluetooth now).
16. Font and font size to be configurable. I like small font and more information.
17. Intensity of vibrations to be configurable
18. The handshake once established between the source device and the watch should be aggressively maintained until the physical limits are reached.
19. Smart watch makers should stop thinking about it as a small mobile and think of it as a watch first. Start from there. It should meet all the requirements of the watch first, then go on adding smartness in an iterative manner. There is definitely no hurry.
20. By opening up the hardware design the smart watch manufacturers can include the existing manufacturers thereby launching a variety of hardware shells instead of one smart watch. Just imagine the options the customer is going to get by this methodology.
21. Should it be able to recieve phone calls. No. Should it be able to reply to messages. Yes, small ones, prestored.
22. Should it do a zillian things, Yes. But the first thing it should be is, it should be a watch and show me the f*&$!*#g time.

Any smartwatch has to be first a "WATCH"