Unfixable Computers

As technology advances, computers and gadgets become sleeker but, as a consequence, also increasingly un-repairable. Owners of Apple’s Retina MacBook—and an increasing number of products from them and other manufacturers— aren’t even able to repair their own laptops, they are obliged to call a specialist. In the long run, gadgets that are more difficult to repair are generally more expensive and complicated. Repairability is a fading variable in computer engineering and design, Apple being a recurring culprit. The larger problem is that technology is sometimes made in an environmentally-friendly manner but rarely thought about in a systemic manner. “In an ideal world, after you’ve moved on to your next gadget, technicians will continue to repair, salvage, and refurbish the old one. It will move on from owner to owner.” The best way to recycle technology is to pass along our old computers to other users, often in less fortunate countries—that way everyone benefits from technology. To make recycling a possibility we need to use long-lasting and repairable hardware that can be repaired and upgraded before it’s passed down to the next user. This helps cut down environmentally-harmful hardware manufacturing and allows us to depend less on mining, as well as the hazardous by-products that come with it. “Goodbye, iBook. In your death, may you give life to a dozen more computers.”