Austrian government launches repair scheme for electronic goods

[alan_m]

Yep they should have mandated standard video connections and we would all been stuck with SCART sockets, even on your mobile phone if capable of outputting video from a wired connection.

[Jethro_uk]

Well they should

Clearly Apple are remoaner traitors. Presumably Brexiteers are boycotting them.

[Rod Speed]

Jethro_uk <jethro [e-mail] wrote

Stupid waste of taxpayers money

[Rod Speed]

The Natural Philosopher [e-mail] wrote

That would f*ck the economy, stupid.

Even zero wouldnt help given the vastly higher cost of wages in the first world compared with china, vietnam and bangladesh etc.

[Rod Speed]

But not possible in the EU given that it doesnt allow a high rate VAT

Nope, because it takes a lot more hours to diagnose and replace the failed electronic component than it does to have someone assemble you a new one.

Nope, even if they were paid the same per hour.

Still cheaper to have someone make you a new one with stuff like a wall wart etc. Fuck all electronic components fail anymore.

[Rod Speed]

Nope, that's Austria, stupid.

[Rod Speed]

They won't be doing a special version for the EU, you watch.

[Animal]

it makes repairs appear cheaper, but the taxpayer is still paying the full price plus extra admin costs. Typical politician nonsense.

yup

[ken]

Yep

Not even possible in the EU

[The Natural Philosopher]

Big business pays the EU commissioners to *not* implement such laws.

[Cursitor Doom]

They don't have to. It's only EU countries specifying this. The RotW will still happily accept Lightning connectors - and that's a far bigger market!

[Jethro_uk]

Link ?

[alan_m]

Does having a common socket for mobile phone charging make the slightest bit of difference to what goes to landfill? If there are two (or more) widely used charging systems then the availability of chargers is not going to be a problem. If the phone fails then it will either be repaired or scrapped. If the charger fails a readily available replacement will be purchased and the old one goes to landfill, except in Austria where they will spend £170+ repairing a £20 part.

[Jethro_uk]

A few years ago I threw out 8 "working" phones. The only reason any of them was unusable was either a network or a PUK lock.

[The Natural Philosopher]

Danegeld and the Danelaw.

Worked for a while.

[The Natural Philosopher]

Oh it's just another remoaner desperately trying to find a valid reason for the existence of the EU.

[Rod Speed]

But it makes no sense for Apple to make both anymore,

[Rod Speed]

Yes, most obviously when your new phone has a different socket.

[alan_m]

The reason that something may go to landfill is that you purchased a new phone instead of keeping the old one. Nothing to do with a common charging socket.

[Rod Speed]

Everything to do with the charging socket when the new phone has a different one.