Apple announces Self Service Repair

kpedersen said:
How can they delight the user when they are so locked down and crippled?
Click to expand...
Eye candy.
--
And if somebody brings up 'security issues', the ads will just boast of 'Solid Security'. Translation from Moronic into English: We make it so awkwardly complicated that unless you're determined, you're more likely to give up trying to be able to do what you want. Just a reminder, security is a tradeoff with convenient access. Trying to find a balance between security and access is a fine art, and Apple is profiting from bending that art their way.

And that includes telling you to drive a golf cart instead of a truck. 'We will calibrate your vehicle just perfect for you! We will save you from all those horrendous accidents!' 🤪

Just makes me want to do a loud, angry wheelie on a Hayabusa, and ride off into sunset at 150 mph.
 
I don't like a thing, so other people must like it for shallow reasons, otherwise I might be wrong or reality is nuanced and we can't have that
 
 
ralphbsz said:
… anecdote. Our pickup truck used to be a 1977 …

… We have since replaced it with two new trucks. One is a 2007 … The second is a 2005 … All I do is filter cleaning and oil changes, the rest is left to very skilled and highly paid people. … Both new trucks are MUCH MUCH better than the old …
Click to expand...

My first car in 1994 was a 1965 Hillman Super Minx saloon, inexpensive and almost as old as me. Later purchases included a slightly more modern Hillman Super Minx estate with (wow!) overdrive from a Humber Sceptre; and Mercedes-Benz S124 – one early, one late with (wow!) cruise control. My last car was a 2000 S210 purchased in 2014. Nowadays a roadworthy Hillman would be way beyond my budget …

… more realistically, I never stopped yearning for another S124 so after scrapping the S210: last weekend, I got another S124. It's a dirt-cheap thirty-year-old lemon, I could taste it before I handed over the money (failed rear shock absorbers were immediately noticeable) – and the subsequent free check at my local dealership revealed more of a lemon than I had suspected – but still, I think twice before getting rid, because it's so close to being what I need from this type of old car.

Now I'm torn. Three options:
  1. brake discs and pads, shock absorbers and other basics on the lemon (I'll get ballpark figures today)
  2. maybe £3,000 for an apparently well-maintained slightly later S124 with cruise control etc.
  3. £3,900 for an S212 BlueEFFICIENCY.
BlueEFFICIENCY should be a no-brainer, after twenty-six years of gas-guzzlers –
MUCH MUCH better than the old
Click to expand...
– still, I lean towards a 1990s alternative. It's not just nostalgia. Weird, huh?

Weirder, IMHO: I was cautioned against getting a Diesel BlueEFFICIENCY, because I'll most often make short journeys – DPF concerns, more than anything. Weird, because the advice was as if unexpected filter problems will occur … but hey, there's a warning system for the driver to take action before things become problematic. So, what's the problem? (Do people ignore the warning system, or something?)
 
Diesels have always worried me, because they were traditionally much more complex that gas engines. Gas engines have a carburetor, which needs to be finely tuned, but once it works, it works pretty good (inefficient, low power, but simple). Diesels have heinously complex mechanical injection pumps.

Now fast forward to today. Both types have computer-controlled fuel injection. Diesel injection is still more complicated than gasoline, because of the pressures you need (the "high pressure common rail" systems). Also, diesels need really good fuel filters, because a little water in the fuel will outright kill them, and a little air in the fuel means you'll spend a while bleeding things. And then come the complex exhaust particulate filter systems with what you call "blue efficiency", which have their own interestingly complex control systems. If you think taking short trips is bad, consider our use case: Our diesel truck (7.4L engine) spends most of its time stationary and parked, with the engine running at low speed to provide hydraulic pressure (it's actually a crane truck). This would definitely cause DPF trouble; fortunately, modern engines have manual buttons for overriding the filter regeneration (because having the engine suddenly spin up and spew out massive amounts of nasty hot smoke, while you are 15m above the engine in a bucket at the top of the crane would not be fun). Fortunately, our diesel truck is old enough to not require a particulate filter.

And indeed, to get back to the topic: repairability of diesel engines worries me. This monster is big and complex enough, we probably can't do major repairs ourselves. And since our truck can't be driven to a repair shop (it is not licensed for use on public roads), major repairs will require either putting it on a flatbed truck and carrying it to a shop, or having a mobile mechanic come to our house. Either option is expensive. But, just like with Apple phones, there are no realistic alternatives. Gasoline engines that can provide the kind of torque you need for a 25,000 lbs truck just don't exist, and getting a diesel truck that can be licensed for on-road use would quadruple the cost. From an overall long-term TCO (total cost of ownership) viewpoint, both a non-repairable Apple iPhone and our non-repairable truck are the correct choice.

Now, for a hobbyist that wants to tinker with their equipment ... that's a different story.
 
Hell has indeed frozen, but considering the M1 and other stuff is going to be freaking tiny circuit-wise compared to older Intel stuff. M1s are insanely powerful though.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top