The “right to repair” movement is based on the idea that anyone should have the ability to repair and modify the hardware they own. It is still the application of free software laws, but applied to hardware and its support by administrations in various parts of the world, it will change the way in which we know computers, especially pre-built ones, in the coming years.
Why can’t I repair my computer?
This is a question that very few people ask: but one of the biggest problems when it comes to repairing is the unique design of certain computers, which have not been assembled by people. Its manual assembly is almost impossible and it is that these are manufactured using robots with a precision that a common person, not even with years of training, can emulate, especially when it comes to welding and assembling parts with millimeter precision, very small parts. . Which means that knowledgeable users cannot even make repairs and adjustments to the systems.
The “Right to Repair” is none other than the adoption of practices that allow the end user to repair and modify the computers, components and peripherals that they have purchased and, therefore, have full right to use what they have purchased and which logically is your property. It is originally a positive movement that began as a response to practices against consumers in Apple-brand computers and that has permeated the rest of the industry due to the obsession of copying those from Cupertino that have various brands. , not only in the good, but also in the bad.
Will the “Right to Repair” be the end of pre-built sorts?
We have said it actively and passively, we don’t like the pre-built ones for two reasons: the first one is that it is a way for computer assemblers to clear the inventory of parts that nobody wants, so it is not the best possible configuration. The second is that many end up looking for a beautiful aesthetic, not only to attract more of the unsuspecting public as a predator with bright colors, but also to increase the price. What’s more, they must do so due to the use of unique parts in many cases, in others not, but it is the appearance of said PCs that makes them “unique” and expensive.
Among many other things, what the “Right to Repair” is going to bring with it, at least on paper, practices in computer design, especially its industrial design and its circuitry, which will make it easy to repair and modify the hardware and that is good news because it means the end of all those tricky designs that are as non-functional as they are supposed to be pretty. We mean those designs with a lousy power supply and cooling that it is better to run away from.
And stop, that this does not mean that good-looking towers will disappear, but that what will disappear are those that do not follow the standards of how a motherboard, a PC case and a power supply should be. Nor does it mean that pre-builts that follow the standard will suddenly have a good selection of components, but if we look at the glass half full and, therefore, with optimism, it is normal to think that stores will finally stop selling expensive hardware with the excuse of a pretty box.
