[Discuss] Digital Right to Repair Bill, H.3383

[slitt at troubleshooters.com (Steve Litt)]

On Tue, 28 Jul 2015 18:02:02 -0400
Rich Pieri <richard.pieri at gmail.com> wrote:

> On 7/28/2015 5:50 PM, F. O. Ozbek wrote:
> >> Yeah, I don't think this makes sense....
> >
> > meaning, I think it is unrealistic to "repair" the ever shrinking
> > and ever cheaper electronic parts...
> 
> Oh, good. It's not just me.
> 
> While I like the idea of right to repair, the practicality of
> applying it to microelectronics... doesn't exist.

Take a step back and consider the wider picture. Much repair doesn't
involve a solder station. Your car manufacturer probably provides
diagnostic programs to analyze your car's hardware. This bill forces
the manufacturer to give provide that same software to you, or more
importantly, to the small but very smart repair shop down the street.
It seems like this bill preserves your choices.

Then there are DMCA traps like printer cartridges with firmware whose
real purpose is locking out the competition. This bill sounds like it
enables you to buy parts from whomever you want, without breaking the
law.

Then there's this:

http://www.wired.com/2015/04/dmca-ownership-john-deere/

It's not about replacing surface mount chips at all.

SteveT

Steve Litt 
July 2015 featured book: Rapid Learning for the 21st Century
http://www.troubleshooters.com/rl21