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I have a dream of a future where all technology is modular, easily replacable, and recyclable.
You phone screen broke? Just replace it and recycle the old one. Your laptop's getting a little slow? Replace the CPU.
This would also require a set of universal adaptors and fittings, so that everything would be compatible with everything else.
And I honestly don't feel like this is a lot to ask?
@InvaderXan BUT MONEY!
This seems like actually sensible stuff that makes sense but how would large corporations get filthy rich if you can just replace a screen and not buy an entire new phone?
@julia
To be fair this is challenging with rapidly advancing technology. Would you rather still be using USB 1 for everything? Should we still be driving old 70s cars? You can upgrade a few things - switch to unleaded gasoline, for example, or even replace the engine, but the basic design was huge, inefficient, and unsafe. We know better now.
Of course even in established technology we don't do this either...
@InvaderXan
@anne @julia
Within reason, nothing lasts for ever. But making things upgradable and able to last for at least a decade or two would make everything much more sustainable.
I have a 10 year old laptop. There's only one reason I'm considering getting a new one and that's because the CPU is now too slow for modern software. But if I could just upgrade the CPU...
) @InvaderXan @anne @julia Yeah, and asking for near-universal chargers is also pretty reasonable. Remember when all phones used different chargers? And different headphone jacks?
@grainloom
Yeah USB replacing wall warts has been a wonderful improvement. Though I believe that happened as soon as DC-to-DC converters became cheap and efficient.
@InvaderXan @julia
@anne @InvaderXan @julia AFAIK there was also a politician in the EU who was pushing for that to reduce waste.
@InvaderXan
Wasn't Motorola working on a phone project like that for a while?
@InvaderXan
Found it. (It got caught up in design hell and went nowhere, of course, bc capitalism.)
@InvaderXan you can do a lot with a good microscope, tweezers, a heat gun, and flux, but good tools are expensive and tool libraries are rare. I recently replaced a nexus 6P phone battery with a partner using an iron, some eyelash tweezers, and a patience, but modern devices really aren't designed to be repaired or upgraded :/
@amsomniac
It's true, good tools are hard to come by and replacing parts requires skill. But then, in some countries, there are independent high street phone shops which will replace your old battery or swap out parts for little more than the cost of labour. I got an extra couple of years of life out of an old phone by getting a new battery at one of these places. Much cheaper than manufacturer prices too!
@InvaderXan http://openstructures.net/ is kind of the basis for this, and there's also Contrapteur ( http://www.contraptor.org/forum/t-273404/contraptor-openstructures ) - the metric clone of http://www.contraptor.org/ - which is designed for robotics, machinery, etc
https://www.makeblock.com/ shows that the same idea can be applied to modular electronic systems, but sadly I don't think it's OSHW
@socalledunitedstates
Oh cool, thanks for the resources. I'll take a look!
@InvaderXan Meanwhile, phone companies are convinced consumers don't really want modularity and replaceability because Google's plans to add a fish tank to your phone didn't pan out.
@InvaderXan there already is a standard protocol; you’re asking for standard mechanical design and connectors too, which have been the weak point of the last few modular phones to fail
@InvaderXan it sounds infinately more reasonable that phones that go from the assembley line to the trash.
@Roxxie_Riot
Absolutely. Not ridiculous at all.
You phone screen broke? Just replace it and recycle the old one.
Imagine compostable phone screens.
@Leradvor
It's within the realm of possibilty TBH!
Related: Some scientists invented a way to make microchips from wood.
https://solarpunk-aesthetic.tumblr.com/post/174486189888/
This sounds interesting. I wonder when it will be good enough to be used in actual devices e.g. a laptop by Dell.
I would gladly be proven wrong by the future though... :)
@aetios @InvaderXan sounds like greed is the only thing stopping it then
Ash @InvaderXan opinions on EOMA68? it's probably the closest thing to that ideal I've seen so far
that and the Fairphone
https://www.crowdsupply.com/eoma68/micro-desktop
@quarky
Yeah, this is where the @Fairphone dream comes from too. I've had my F2 since they came out, and have replaced the case and upgraded the camera. No other issues except now we're starting to see tech progress take over - software is king because capitalism, and hardware exists purely to serve software. The Fairphone lot are doing a decent job porting to old hardware, but it's resource intensive.
@InvaderXan
@quarky @Fairphone @InvaderXan
Or, in short, drivers are hard work :) "Standards" change all the time, for good reason, and maintenance is hard. Feels like there's a compromise/balance between sustainable hardware and staying compatible with newer software, which raises interesting questions about diversity and equality.
@quarky
I've no opinions, because I hadn't seen this before. Thanks, I'll take a look.