I think that this policy implimented in France is the type of policy we should look at here in NZ, and the rest of the world for that matter.
The idea is to include a "repairability" index rating on products available for purchase. The rating includes factors such as availability of spare parts, ease of access to replace parts etc.
From an environmental perspective I think there is such a huge waste of resources and damage to the environment that occurs because these days products tend to be cheaply made and disposable. It is seldom worth repairing appliances, especially smaller ones these days. So, encouraging businesses to build better quality products with availability of spares has to be a good thing. If the quality is higher products will last longer and it will be more worthwhile repairing them.
When I was married 30+ years ago, my wife had a Kenwood food processor. It had been built in Britain. That lasted over 20 years before it finally was unusable. These days, we are doing well if a similar item lasts several years, especially if it is being used a lot.
Even cheap appliances could be made repairable. For instance, just by identifying the main wearing components and designing the products so those parts are easy to access and replace by the owner would make the items more worth repairing.
I think that attitudes are changing from an environmental perspective with consumers now, as can be evidenced by many companies changing the materials in their packaging to cardboard rather than plastic for instance. So, consumers may welcome this type of option becoming available.
Also, it would open up opportunities for companies inside NZ to start manufacturing better quality products. And the appliance repair industry would also get a leg up through this.
So, I think this type of idea is something political parties should consider promoting.
I've got quite good at repairing 1970's appliances like our cake mixer. They have machined parts and just consist of resistors and the like. When they burn out it is really easy to unscrew them (they use good metal and are screwed together, not snap together and the plastic is thick not cheap and brittle) identify what happened and repair to better than new.
I've still got my mothers 1940s hand operated eggbeater (well my sister pinched it but like an elephant, I never forget). It is made of solid steel. From England, when they built battleships there.
The problem is that in the 1970s and 80s cake mixers were valuable enough to be prizes on game shows. They lasted a lifetime, but they cost a bomb. Our entire post-inudstrial, late capitalist service economy model is completely reliant on a rampant consumer materialism with very high retail consumption of disposable goods – everything from a Warehouse eggbeater, a Briscoes cake mixer to disposable coffee cups to excessive overseas travel – fuelled by personal debt.
The point is making a solid, 50 year lifespan cake mixer that is repairable undermines the entire neoliberal capitalist job model of the last fifty years. If the cake mixer and other kitchen aplliances don't need replacing every 5-10 years then the all the jobs in the importers warehouse, the retailer, the distribution system, etc etc would vanish.
Yes, I understand that the cost of having appliances produced at the quality level of half a century or more back would make the cost prohibitive for many these days.
But, even with cheap appliances, it should be possible to at least make the wearable parts easily accessible and, perhaps sell the items with a set or two of spares so consumers can easily extend the life of these items without needing to take them to a repair shop.
Something else I find quite obscene is the way that people are pushed to keep upgrading what they already have. For instance, why do people feel they need to constantly upgrade their TVs to something with a few more, normally irrelevant features when their existing one works fine.
Also, business models based on encouraging consumption, such as selling printers at less than the cost of the cartridges. There is an obscene rationale from this, that it is cheaper to continually replace printers than purchase cartridges which just adds to needless waste.
Something else that contributes to the endless and needless consumerism and waste is the availability of easy credit, and the perception these days that we should all be able to have what we want now.
In my parents day, they would have just made use with what they had until they could afford to purchase what they wanted. And when they made the purchase, it would be something they purchased of good quality and would look after it and aim to keep it going for as long as possible.
These days, it is just chuck it away when it breaks down.
Further to that comment above is the annoyance with the likes of Apple TV boxes and modern TVs is that when some app is available, it isn't available for models over a certain age, sometimes as little as three or four years old.
Often it seems that there isn't any technological reason why the older models couldn't run the apps. Rather, it seems to be a deliberate policy to force people to upgrade if they want the newer features.
Another example I find really annoying is the Imac I purchased a few years ago. It basically is unrepairable. It can be repaired or upgraded by a technician. But requires careful removal of the front glass screen that involves breaking the glue holding the glass in place, and has to be done carefully to avoid breaking the glass.
Contrast that with the PC in a case where it was easy to open the side panels to clean out heat sinks, and upgrade or repair as required.
Constantly upgrading mobile phones (some do it annually)- is the ultimate in built in obsolescence.
Many (looking at you, here Apple) are either impossible or prohibitively expensive to repair. And none have an upgrade pathway.
Unless you live totally off-grid – in a 'Good Life' style existence – modern life really does require having a mobile phone.
[Yes, yes, there are exceptions – and I'm defining 'need' as 'participating in NZ 21st century life'. But if you have kids, for example – schools and ECE and holiday programmes all need a real-time contact – so unless you sit at home beside the landline, you need a mobile.]
I know this one is well beyond the ability of NZ to impose (or even influence, really) – but it's one of the areas which would make a huge difference.
I communicate with distant friends using a series of sub-audial grunts, like those employed by whale and manatee. My thick, boney eyebrow ridges serve as a receiver for their replies. We don't talk often.
When you’re on the same wavelength of jungle drum, one beat can say it all! It can be exhausting having to repeat the same word over and over again because of poor reception or hard-hearing recipient.
I've built a high tower on which to sit, above the tree-tops, when sending and receiving. It's constructed from thousands of expired smart-phones, gleaned from the neighbourhood's recycling-bins.
I heard that those 1G networks are slow but very reliable. One downside of those towers is that they cannot be used during thunderstorms. The upside is that on sunny days the reflective screens of those smart-phones can be used as mirrors to send light signals, which is the 1G+ option that can rival traditional optical fibre connections and it is much cheaper. Visiting dodgy websites can be a bit of a problem because VPN is not really an option with 1G.
Good on you! And you don’t strike me as a socially isolated teen (you wish?) and you seem to be a moderately effective local politician with some YouTube fame (and other social media, I assume)
I don’t want you to get too big for your boots, that you stay grounded. I’ve heard that some polies can’t handle the (relative) success & fame – do you know who I am? I’m sure you’re made of much stronger wood, so just in case
Do you have school age children, a job which requires you to be on call, or elderly parents? For teens and young adults, those without a cellphone (when everyone around them does) are really operating under a significant social handicap.
Yes, there are (as I said) some exceptions – mostly among the … richer in years … who still operate their social connections outside social media… but for the majority of us, a mobile is required to effectively participate in NZ 21st century life.
Even the government thinks so – the Civil defence/tsunami warning system operates through mobile phones, only.
You seem the think that all NZ school children at secondary (and primary?) school who can afford it have & use a mobile phone. Some (…) make a stand, for whatever reason (children can be like that), and refuse to use their phone and don’t even charge or switch it on, which can drive their parents mad because they rely on it. I don’t think the ‘requirement’ is as high as you think it is.
No, I don't think that all primary school children have mobile phones.
I do think that the vast majority of secondary school kids/teens have mobile phones. Primary, much less so – and I agree, at that age it’s much more about parental security, than kids desire for communication.
Choosing not to answer their parents – is a completely separate issue 😉
But, not having a phone is really socially isolating for teens. All of the meet-ups, etc are organized via social media, and their interaction is frequently via various apps: Discord & Instagram for the teen in this household ATM – Facebook is just for aged parents – but subject to change. Observationally, they rarely (if ever) actually speak to anyone on the phone – apart from aged grandparents – it's all texting.
Any of them who have a job – especially one of the typical zero hours contracts, that Teens so often get – will absolutely require a mobile (and one charged and switched on), or they won’t get any work.
I'm sure some do make a stand – but surprisingly few, Even the most radical of climate change activists – and passionate supporters of Greta Thunberg – amongst the peers of the household teen – still use their mobile phones to organize.
There's a good reason why removing the mobile phone is still the ultimate in behaviour-management consequences for most teens.
The point is that some teens choose to not use their phones (or even have one) for whatever reasons. Whether this is socially isolating, because they are socially isolated or choose to not engage with their peers by phone, or neither/some other reason is an interesting question that I cannot answer for you here on TS. I note that they often still can be active users of another electronic device for gaming and after-hours socialising. I also note that almost all teens have access to a device for their school work – the digital divide became clear during the lockdowns when it turned out that not all teens have online access and/or the means, but this will soon disappear again from most people’s minds. The point is/was about mobile phones being such a requirement or necessity in modern life, which I challenge – it is definitely a convenience and for some NZ teens a luxury (but so are sports shoes).
Evidence that a significant proportion of teens are choosing not to use mobile phones?
From my, admittedly unscientific, mental survey of the household teen's peers, our wider family network, and a variety of friends who teach in secondary schools at all deciles (phone management in classes is a constant student-management issue)- the numbers would be *tiny*.
The fact (which I admit) that a very small minority of the population may choose to not use mobile phones, isn't really relevant to the fact that they are required for most participation in modern life. Yes, you can choose to live off-grid, and not engage in any social interaction – but most people don't (and don't want that kind of life)
According to teacher friends in South Auckland (low decile schools) the teens they teach are much more likely to have a mobile phone, than they are to have home internet (they have chromebooks, etc. now, through the Education system, post covid – but not Internet access – except via mobile hotspot). Most do their homework (if they do it – other deprivation issues going on) – at the local library, where there is free wifi.
Either you haven’t properly read & understood my 2 comments or you want me to chase your strawmen.
FYI, mobile phone ownership & usage is very high among NZ teens and there are plenty of surveys and studies that show this.
You’re conflating high usage, personal reliance and convenience with genuine requirement for mobile phones. Your argument is that because many/most people jump into the mud they all want to and (should?) jump into the mud. If anything, it is giving into to peer social pressure rather than demonstrating the alleged requirement. Fact is that some people get by perfectly ok without using a mobile phone and without becoming social outcasts and/or uneducated illiterates.
Taking a mobile phone away from an addicted user, especially a teen, has the same response as with any addict going through withdrawal. Arguably, an ironically having the phone becomes a requirement because of the personal dependence – these effects are very real (and worrisome).
PS for simple but effective communication (e.g. emergencies or basic texting), a basic phone without all the so-called smartphone features (bells & whistles such as Giga pixel cameras) can be perfectly adequate. They tend to be called ‘dumbphones’ or ‘duty phones’. See this Approved Mobile Phone list – May 2022 from Otago University (https://www.otago.ac.nz/its/otago719498.pdf).
Yes, it's a cause of amusement in larger groups, when they test the mobile alert system, the order in which the various phones receive it and sound the alarm.
Yes, this same information may (or may not) be supplied via broadcast media – but that relies on you (the audience) happening to be listening to the radio/tv at the time (for a 3am tsunami warning, not likely).
Specifically, none of the alerts are transmitted via the landline phone system.
You may (or may not) be living in an area with audible sirens to alert for tsunamis.
What is Emergency Mobile Alert?
Mobile Alerts are messages about emergencies sent by authorised emergency agencies to capable mobile phones. The alerts are designed to keep people safe and are broadcast to all capable phones from targeted cell towers.
The *point* of this discussion was that non-ownership of a mobile phone excludes you from some societal benefits.
A personally targeted (i.e. sent to your mobile phone – rather than requiring you to know to go and seek it out on the radio) emergency alert was a specific example.
There is no equivalent alert system for landlines. [Although, there could be, if the govt felt that it was worthwhile. They don't, because a sufficiently high (and growing) percentage of the population have mobile phones]
No mobile phone, no alert sounding in your house.
Sometimes, I feel that we are just talking past each other.
There is, of course, the advantage of a mobile phone is that I no longer have to buy a separate computer, camera, video and audio player, watch, calculator, star identifier, GPS navigator maps, stopwatch, alarm clock and many other items. Thanks to the constant advances in the ability of mobile phones to replace all of those.
That software changes turn many of them into useless bricks in less than 5 years is annoying. As is being charged $1000's to add to Apples bank account, for something that costs a fraction of that to produce.
Planned absolesence keeps millions in jobs, and economies afloat.
Which is why a more sustainable economy is impossible, while we have an economic system that is dependant on infinite growth.
Don’t forget the monitoring of your health data. I believe that in some cases & countries this may even be covered by private health insurers (depending on your policy, of course!
Build quality is exactly why you buy Apple products which are far more reliable and long-lasting than their cheaper PC and Android counterparts, some of which are truly disposable.
Apple's philosophy is high quality, great user experience, and seamless interconnectivity and is therefore the opposite of built-in failure and obsolescence.
That’s almost an anathema to me! Like selling my soul to the highest bidder so that I can have the logo on my forehead to show I’m a soulless hipster with good taste but questionable judgement.
Pretty sure it would be hard to find a manufacture honouring a warranty after being repaired by someone unlicensed, or paying someone unlicensed to repair under warranty.
Nope. Any reputable dealer should be able to replace a broken screen or a battery. Apple requiring this to only be done by licensed dealers, is an absolute rort.
How come you're so hot on defending a multi-billion-dollar American corporate empire?
They're doing exactly what all the other corporates (that you so often decry) are doing – maximizing their business model and return to shareholders.
I don't denigrate them for playing the game according to the current rules – but give them no corporate brownie points for doing so.
However, I do think that the rules should change.
The articles made it really, really clear that Apple were doing the slowdown, deceptively (via automatic update, without telling users), in order to 'encourage' them to trade up to the new model. When caught, they paid up. Enough said. No corporate every pays up unless they know they are guilty – and are trying to avoid even worse court-ordered penalties.
Charge leads for Apple may not be a problem soon. The EU are forcing them into USB C.
I still have my MS surface after 5 years. They said when I bought it the battery may need replacement after 5 years. It is replaceable. Still fine though. Won’t load Win 11, but MS are still supporting 10 which works fine.
In that time, my wife has gone through 3 Apple tablets and 2 Iphones which we have had to replace for various reasons.
Ah, yes, I remember reading something about Apple & USB, but I like to hold on to my grudges.
Spent a small fortune on f-ing Apple products over the years
My Dell laptop is > 10 years old and the battery is completely dead. It also doesn’t load Win11 but I don’t care. MS Office 2010 (out of support). My brain is in dire need of an upgrade too – all good things come to an end, eventually.
Apple phones are effectively bricks after 5 years. None of the apps are backwards compatible after that long.
Built-in obsolescence is just as much a feature of their business model as it is for Samsung and Huawei (and, all the rest). Their *entire* marketing campaign is all about 'buy the latest' not 'buy the phone which will last a lifetime'
It's just that they've cornered the top end of the obsolescence market. Pay a premium for branding.
And other manufacturers phones stop working at all after 3 years. Their marketing campaign might hype a new release but, news flash, that is what marketing campaigns do.
5 years and counting on my 1st Samsung (had to replace, because of an accident to it – repairs not cost-effective – which is what this thread is about). Current Samsung 3.5 years – and not an issue in sight.
Price – less than half of an Apple iphone. Quality slightly worse (mostly in the camera, which I mourn a little, but not enough to pay for either a top of the line Samsung or an Apple product).
For Apple, you're paying for the logo and brand styling, and to be part of the 'tribe'- maybe a 'little' for quality – but the difference would be literally unnoticeable to most people for what they use their phone for.
All of the product reviews I’ve read, comparing top of the line Samsung (and other Android phones) with Apple basically say there is no difference in UX or quality.
For sure. They are all pretty good value for a tiny supercomputer with cutting edge software like AI image processing. Evolves so fast that nothing is stable for more than a few years.
Thinking about this again (as I laced on by Allbirds and went out to the local bakery to buy bread for lunch) [getting my virtue signalling in ;-)]
I really think that that up-front cost is a significant barrier for many families – for whom there is very little disposable income.
I bought my Allbirds 3 years ago – they took me around a 7 week trip of Europe, with miles of daily walking, I continue to wear them most days in winter, and they are the most comfortable shoes I've ever owned.
They were expensive. But the cost/return ratio has certainly worked out for me.
But, I refused to buy a pair for the household teen, whose feet are still growing. In the time I've owned my Allbirds, I would have bought 8-9 pairs of shoes for the teen – both feet growing, and lost shoes (grrr)
The cost/return ratio for Allbirds doesn't work in this instance. I don't buy expensive Adidas or Nike trainers, for the teen, either.
When I was growing up, shoes were *expensive*. I remember my Mum doing the budget to buy new school shoes for the 3 of us (hand-me-downs didn't work – we were all too close in age). Roman sandals in summer were cheap enough, but winter shoes were always a struggle.
Moving to a more sustainable, long-lasting, solution – will be more expensive. And that solution isn't always warranted. Sometimes, just having a cheap pair of shoes, which will last 6 months (because the kid will have outgrown them by next winter) is actually all that's needed.
Not necessarily 'prohibitively' expensive – but 3-4 times the cost of the 'cheap' disposable one – which makes them a niche product – only available for the relatively wealthy who can afford the 'excess' cost in return for the luxury brand.
My Kitchen Aid mixer (US – solid as a rock, and absolutely able to be repaired, should it need it) – is going on for 30 years of regular use. I bought it, deliberately, because I did a lot of baking, and wanted a heavy-duty mixer that would last the distance. At the time – it was approx 5x the cost of a cheapie plastic one (and I bought it at a super-end-of-season markdown price – with no choice of colour (sniff)). Long-term, a good buy – but it's hard to see that as a young person (everyone I knew was horrified – 'you spent that much on a mixer' – or as my mother said 'an eggbeater!')
Yep, I'm thoroughly familiar with the inimitable Sam Vimes.
Terry Pratchett continues to be one of my favourite 'comfort' re-reads (sadly taken from us much too soon). Characterization, Language, Humour and the ability to poke a stick at the most unlikely of social constructs – all a constant joy.
I have a 25 year old Magimix food processor, 20 year old Dualit toaster (elements have been replaced), 10 year old Kitchen Aid mixer, 20 year old Italian espresso machine (boiler cap has been replaced). All regularly used and still going strong.
Yes, those printed computer boards are incredibly annoying.
I have had that experience with a dishwasher that failed due to the control board failing. The cost of the replacement board plus the cost of someone to fit it was prohibitively expensive.
I am sure the board was being sold at a price many more times the cost of production, and was part of the "built in obsolescence" plan of the manufacturers who probably thought I would by a new dishwasher.
I think I did actually do that. The problem for the manufacturer was that I was pissed off at them as a result of that so purchased a different brand.
Just an FYI friend of mine had a LG tv it stopped – "it's the circuit board it's a frisbee now" fortunately his brother is a very skilled and knowledgeable IT guy.
Circuit board goes in the oven bag into a warm oven and remove it as soon as you smell solder and hey presto one working tv – Apparently with the soldered connections on circuit board the solder can crack causing it to fail. Heating can re-melt the solder causing a repair. Strange world.
One of the current issues on ships is the very short life span of computerised control systems.
Before computerised engines, it was rare for engines to break down at sea. I had only three in ten years. The mechanical parts still rarely fail.
Computerised fuel and other systems, cause problems on a regular basis. And it usually seems to be the ones you don't have a spare board for.
It makes me laugh when they talk about autonomous ships. The costs of reliable electronic control systems, that last 15 to 20 years would easily exceed crew costs.
My (building) frustrating experience with most modern appliances (incl. cars) is that their weakest point often is poorly designed and/or poorly manufactured electrics/electronics with sub-standard components, not so much the wear & tear of the moving parts. They also have no in-build ‘resilience’, i.e., one faulty component kills the whole thing dead and useless.
But one of the more surreal moments in my life. Getting out of bed. Turning on the TV and there is Tom Cruise presenting the Jubilee and then the Trinidad and Tobago military band playing "Dancing Queen" by ABBA.
As I say cool…..But a bit weird when you have just woken up 🙂
But they Both are trying very hard to change this very sad state of affairs.
Personally I live as Sustainably as possible. (and that is absolutely possible : )
I rebuild Bicycles ( 100 plus : ) that would have gone to the scrap metal.
And…being practical…can "sometimes" fix a washing machine, stereo,video/dvd, etc etc. Problem being….a lot are now UNrepairable. Printers are one very bad throwaway….(the jerks sell the printer cheaper than the replacement ink cartridge !!
And in lot of newer type appliances, cant even open them up…as NO screws!
anyway, please look at Petition and repair Cafe Aotearoa.
My wife and I buy most of our clothes at Savemart and other op shops
What's interesting about that is the differences between men and women, in that my wife has no issues finding expensive clothing barely worn (sometimes tag's still on) whereas for me it's a lot harder
Seems like women are more likely to buy clothes, not wear them then donate them whereas men are less likely
I think from a marketing perspective there is some hope in all this.
One good thing about the marketing approach is that it focuses on understanding consumer desires, attitudes, and beliefs and aims at meeting those needs.
Thus as consumers become more concerned about environmental factors (as they are) then the marketing perspective should lead to companies picking up on those changes in public sentiment, and aiming to align their products and services accordingly.
We can already see this approach having an effect in various aspects. For instance, companies using a lot more cardboard in packaging rather than polystyrine, supermarkets trying to eliminate plastic from there packaging etc.
At the moment, this is all a bit superficial. But, I think that is where governments can align their policies with the change in sentiment as well so that companies have an environment that enables them to make more fundamental changes without the fear of losing out to their competitors.
Hence, that policy that France has adopted that I pointed to in my first post seems to make a lot of sense. From a marketing perspective it gives companies a point to differentiate there products so that people feel they are getting value for spending more on a product that should last them longer.
Oh good on you signing ! And yep, absolutely Consumer Awareness/pressure will make Manufacurers/Suppliers change (I hope not kicking and screaming? : )
I've been involved in Sustainability and associated for…a long time,and as in your link, I look World wide for updates and Innovation.
Re the polystyrene and excess packaging ! I remember reading years back where Germans (Great Recyclers ! ) just started unpacking the appliance Instore..and leaving extraneous detritus there. Well…that focused the Store Owner !
As to Polystyrene….possibly one of THE worst pollutants. And a developed byproduct of the petroleum industry : (
As I like to look ..for Alternatives..there is any amount of Compression Resistant Cardboard (some like a honeycomb ) etc.
And…back to Consumer Pressure. I'm ever hopeful..but also try to let people know HOW.
One thing that annoys me about the current approach to sustainability is that there often seems to be a short-sighted focus on the most obvious aspect without considering other factors.
For instance, I am all for EV technology.
But the focus seems to be on the cars themselves without considering the other highly relevant factors. For instance, the sourcing of raw materials, the effect of manufacturing on the environment, the availability of charging infrastructure, the availability of renewable generation to charge the batteries, and end of life disposal of batteries.
The result of a narrow focus can be that people feel they are doing the right thing. But it ends up becoming an exercise in virtue signalling if the whole production and use chain from beginning to end isn't considered.
The whole paradigm of duplicating capabilities of petrol cars needs to be considered.
For many people the range and carrying capacity of petrol cars is not needed.
Making the resource intensity of car manufacturing much less.
For example, Mazda with the MX 30 use a battery big enough to be more than adequate for most city owners. But smaller than competitors. Saving weight, resources and energy usage.
From an overall environmental perspective, I like the concept of hydrogen-powered cars if they can become viable. The biggest issue is around producing the hydrogen in the first place. However, if this can be done economically, I think the overall environmental footprint would be better than EVs.
A typical think piece based entirely on wishful thinking and a category mistake. No consideration of how South Korea got to be in the economic and developmental position it is in the first place after the Korean War – i.e. a military junta from 1961 to 1963, and a virtual dictatorship from 1963 to 1972 driving development. Nor do I think the degree of nationalism you see in South Korea today would catch on here.
It's one of those daft arguments like "we should model ourselves on Singapore" which pays no attention to the unique conditions that allow Singapore to operate the way it does – ie. it's vital position in SEA, the fact it's the only non-corrupt tech hub to do business in in that part of the world, and a degree of top down authoritarianism we simply wouldn't put up with in this country.
Having spent some time with the architect of their economic policy from 1950, Lee Kie- Hong, there is much that we could learn – but the conventional response is always to reject such suggestions out of hand, without considering any of the details. The contrast is informative.
NZ is actually quite keen on economic resurgence. It became a platform for Muldoon, Douglas, and was much of the misplaced attraction of John Key – but none of them was much cop frankly. NZ produces regular crops of self-styled 'steady hands' and 'economic miracle workers' none of whom have a ghost of a clue what they're doing.
In the meantime Korea has equipped itself with high speed rail, universal internet, the best subway system in the world – the kinds of things NZ governments barely dare to dream of – a single conventional train from Hamilton to Auckland, which we had a hundred years ago, is about as far as things go. The same lack of vision is presently dooming our climate response.
It looks like Putin is alg about the Himars systems going to Ukraine (with the 80km range missiles not the 300km ones) saying that Ukraine already had missiles with that range, so it doesn't change anything.
That being the case, the US should send a few hundred of the systems.
Are people who post on political blogs nuts? Of course we are. We are the electronic version of people who write letters to the editor, except we are nuttier. To loosely paraphrase Chris Trotter (re blogs):
'' a hand full of people jumping up and down and arguing on a very small part of the internet''
In my opinion there are two classes of nut: Those who know they are nuts and carry on regardless. And those who have no idea they are nutty. They believe they are pontificating arguments of importance that will influence something, somebody, down the track. Thankfully I belong to the former class.
Jumping forward.
A while back I commented to Iprent that I dealt more with emotional feel and psychic imprints around a topic rather than dry facts. Hence, Incognito stating I can argue my opinions but not the facts. That is true to a DEGREE.
The problem with facts is you can attack their architecture. The fact may remain but a taint is added: eg ''The study was 5 years old, so may not be currently accurate.'' Even though the facts show, and a recent review confirms the original study is still current and proven valid, a taint has been added.
Iprent shows two examples of this in his replies to stories I have posted:
1- I posted that inflation was at the time running at 5.9%. He added much commentary around that figure. But nothing had changed. The figure was still 5.9%.
2- I posted that the current radio survey/ratings had Mike Hosking's show top in its time segment and that it had picked up increased audience numbers. Iprent basically said those type of surveys are inaccurate and meant little. I knew he was incorrect simply because of the anger out in the community aimed at Labour. I knew he was incorrect because of the hate Lefties have for Hoskings. 77, 000 people signed a petition to get rid of Hosking a few years back when he was at TV1. I bet many of those who signed were Lefties who didn't even watch the great one. I knew Iprent was incorrect because in many of Mikey's interviews, the interviewee says '' that's a good question.'' before answering. So I'm getting my feel for the topic/fact, not from the facts, but from peripheral issues/emotions surrounding the topic.
I have always thought I would love to have my system made into a programme that could be used to save myself time. A programme that could scan issues and posts for the emotions and feeling underneath facts and words.
And someone has done that, but with the twist of using computers to analyse social media posts and gain an insight into people's mental states.
Quote:
''What sets the new model apart is a focus on the emotions rather than the specific content of the social media texts being analysed. In a paper presented at the 20th International Conference on Web Intelligence and Intelligent Agent Technology, the researchers show that this approach performs better over time, irrespective of the topics discussed in the posts.
What a surprise – the ignorant and opinionated dolt is impressed by another ignorant and opinionated dolt.
So your grasp on realty is so tenuous you admire a calumniator – why tell us? Go direct to Hosking talkback – there you will find many other stupid people whose discourse is likewise unleavened by inconvenient facts.
[Don’t take the bait, don’t feed the trolls, don’t attack others here, don’t start flame wars and leave it to the Mods – Incognito]
This comes across as yet another unhinged rant by you because you have a chip on your shoulder and you’re confused about how this site works. It is also a broad attack on the site and its commenters implying that they have mental disorders and they’re nutty without knowing it.
Whether you call it “emotional feel and psychic [sic] imprints”, views or viewpoints, or opinions, it is all the same, but none give you a free pass to spout your BS without consequences. Facts, claims of facts, assertions, all of those you need to be able to support, as part of your argument.
You make up some BS hypothetical example about a fact, which proves nothing and clears up nothing. And it’s f-ing irrelevant. Taking liberties with facts, making tentative extrapolations, and projections into the future are all symptoms and very recent examples of your disingenuous commenting here. But then you give 2 examples by Lprent that supposedly show how right you were and how wrong Lprent was.
You did not include links!! I should ban you for this alone.
So I'm getting my feel for the topic/fact, not from the facts, but from peripheral issues/emotions surrounding the topic.
No, forget your ‘feels’ and learn to properly argue here, following the simple rules of this site.
I’m deliberately not moderating you here because I want to give other Mods a chance to do so. If not, I’m sure I will moderate one of your comments soon enough because you have no credit left and show no signs of improvement.
The guest knew his time would be short and so, before he was chosen for the departure line, determined on gaslighting the neighbourhood.
Dartmouth researchers have built an artificial intelligence model for detecting mental disorders using conversations on Reddit, part of an emerging wave of screening tools that use computers to analyze social media posts and gain an insight into people's mental states.
What sets the new model apart is a focus on the emotions rather than the specific content of the social media texts being analyzed. In a paper presented at the 20th International Conference on Web Intelligence and Intelligent Agent Technology, the researchers show that this approach performs better over time, irrespective of the topics discussed in the posts.
"Social media offers an easy way to tap into people's behaviors," says Guo. The data is voluntary and public, published for others to read, he says.
In their study, the researchers focused on what they call emotional disorders—major depressive, anxiety, and bipolar disorders—which are characterized by distinct emotional patterns. They looked at data from users who had self-reported as having one of these disorders and from users without any known mental disorders.
The map is a matrix that would show how likely it was that a user went from any one state to another, such as from anger to a neutral state of no emotion.
Different emotional disorders have their own signature patterns of emotional transitions. By creating an emotional "fingerprint" for a user and comparing it to established signatures of emotional disorders, the model can detect them. To validate their results, they tested it on posts that were not used during training and show that the model accurately predicts which users may or may not have one of these disorders.
While the researchers don't look at intervention strategies, they hope this work can point the way to prevention.
One more reason to have an online username and maintain internet ID privacy … .
So the psychiatric gulag is hunting patients online. It might however provide useful information as a background check for access to guns.
However, it could be so easily manipulated by those who know of the design. A few deliberate provocations, or calculated insults to create an impact/effect.
Anything to say about the post? Apart from invective? I won't ask you to self reflect and state what class of nut you are, simply because you are incapable of doing that. Idiot.
[It looks like you’re heading for self-martyrdom and want to drag other commenters, who are stupid enough to take the bait, down with you. Suffice to say, the bans won’t be of equal length – Incognito]
A listing of 34 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, May 19, 2024 thru Sat, May 25, 2024. Story of the week This week's typiclal compendium of stories we'd rather were plot devices in science ficition novels but instead ...
This National government has been aggressively anti-environment, and is currently ramming through its corrupt Muldoonist "fast-track" legislation to give three ministers dictatorial powers over what gets built and where. But that's not the only thing they're doing. On Thursday they introduced a Resource Management (Freshwater and Other Matters) Amendment Bill, ...
Whenever politicians dole out taxpayer funding to groups or individuals, they must do so in a wholly transparent way with due process to ensure conflicts of interest don’t occur and that the country receives value for money. Unfortunately, it’s not clear that this has occurred in the announcement this week ...
Last night began earlier than usual. In bed by 6:30pm, asleep an hour later. Sometimes I do sleep odd hours, writing late and/or getting up very early - complemented with the occasional siesta, but I’m usually up a bit later than that on a Saturday night. Last night I was ...
Early in the COVID-19 days, the Boris Johnson government pressed a Big Red Button marked: act immediately, never mind about the paperwork.Their problem was: not having enough PPE gear for all the hospital and emergency staff. Their solution was to expedite things and get them the gear ASAP.This, along with ...
Up until 1989, you could attend a New Zealand University, and never need to pay a cent for your education. That then changed, of course. The sadists of the Fourth Labour Government introduced substantial fees for study, never having had to pay a cent for their own education. The even ...
Ele Ludemann writes – Minister for Children Karen Chhour is putting children first: Hon KAREN CHHOUR: I move, That the Oranga Tamariki (Repeal of Section 7AA) Amendment Bill be now read a first time. I nominate the Social Services and Community Committee to consider the bill.It’s a privilege ...
David Farrar writes – Newshub reports: Applause and cheers erupted in the House on Wednesday afternoon as Children’s Minister Karen Chhour condemned Te Pāti Māori’s insults about her upbringing. Chhour, who grew up in state care, is repealing section 7AA of the Oranga Tamariki Act – sparking uproar from ...
I could corrupt youIt would be uglyThey could sedate youBut what good would drugs be?Good Morning all,Today there’s a guest newsletter from Gerard Otto (G). By which I mean I read his post this morning and he has kindly allowed me to share it with you.If you don’t already I ...
Is the solution to any of the serious, long term issues we all have to face as a nation, because many governments of all stripes we can probably all admit if we’re deeply truthful with ourselves haven’t done near enough work at the very times they should have, to basically ...
The 2018 Social Security Act suggests that Labour may have retreated to the minimalist (neo-liberal) welfare state which has developed out of the Richardson-Shipley ‘redesign’. One wonders what Michael Joseph Savage, Peter Fraser and Walter Nash would have thought of the Social Security Act passed by the Ardern Labour Government ...
MPs are supposed to serve the public interest, not their own self-interest. And according to the New Zealand Parliament’s website, democracy and integrity are tarnished whenever politicians seek to enrich themselves or the people they are connected with. For this reason, the Parliament has a “Register of Pecuniary Interests” in ...
By now, most of you will have heard about the FLICC taxonomy of science denial techniques and how you can train your skills in detecting them with the Cranky Uncle game. If you like to quickly check how good you are at this already, answer the 12 quiz questions in the ...
Buzz from the Beehive The hacks of the Parliamentary Press Gallery have been able to chip into a rich vein of material on the government’s official website over the past 24 hours. Among the nuggets is the speech by Regional Development Minister Shane Jones and a press statement to announce ...
When Labour was in power, they wasted time, political capital, and scarce policy resources on trying to extend the parliamentary term to four years, in an effort to make themselves less accountable to us. It was unlikely to fly, the idea having previously lost tworeferendums by huge margins - ...
David Farrar writes – The Herald reports: When Whanau Ora chief executive John Tamihere was asked what his expectations for the Budget next Thursday were, he said: “All hope is lost.” Last year Whānau Ora was allocated $163.1 million in the Budget to last for the next four years ...
Nick Hanne writes – There’s a common malady suffered by bureaucracies the world over. They wish to save us from ourselves. Sadly, NZ officials are no less prone to exhibiting symptoms of this occupational condition.Observe, for instance, the reaction from certain public figures to the news ...
Peter Dunne writes – As the city of Tauranga prepares to elect a new Mayor and Council after three and a half years being run by government-appointed Commissioners, the case for replacing the Wellington City Council with Commissioners strengthens. The Wellington City Council has been dysfunctional for years, ...
This will be s short post. It stems from observations I made elsewhere about what might be characterised as some macro and micro aspects of contemporary collective violence events. Here goes. The conflicts between Israel and Palestine and France and … Continue reading → ...
It may be a relic of a previous era of egalitarianism, but many of us like to think that, in general, most New Zealanders are as honest as the day is long. We’re good like that, and smart as. If we’re not punching above our weight on the world stage, ...
Bryce Edwards writes – Why aren’t politicians taking more action on the housing affordability crisis? The answer might lie in the latest “Register of Pecuniary Interests.” This register contains details of the various financial interests of parliamentarians. It shows that politicians own real estate in significant numbers. The ...
I built a time machine to see you againTo hear your phone callYour voice down the hallThe way we were back thenWe were dancing in the rainOur feet on the pavementYou said I was your second headI knew exactly what you meantIn the country of the blind, or so they ...
Why aren’t politicians taking more action on the housing affordability crisis? The answer might lie in the latest “Register of Pecuniary Interests.” This register contains details of the various financial interests of parliamentarians. It shows that politicians own real estate in significant numbers. The register published on Tuesday contains a ...
Microsoft’s transparency about its failure to meet its own net-zero goals is creditable, but the response to that failure is worrying. It is offering up a set of false solutions, heavily buttressed by baseless optimism. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: Here’s the top six news items of note in ...
Another Friday, another Rāmere Roundup! Here are a few things that caught our eye this week. This Week in Greater Auckland On Monday, our new writer Connor Sharp roared into print with a future-focused take on the proposed Auckland Future Fund, and what it could invest in. On ...
Still Waiting: Māori land remains in the hands of Non-Māori. The broken promises of the Treaty remain broken. The mana of the tangata whenua languishes under racist neglect. The right to wear the huia feather remains as elusive as ever. Perhaps these three transformations are beyond the power of a ...
Posters opposing the proposed Fast-Track Approvals legislation were pasted around Wellington last week. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: One of the architects of the RMA and a former National Cabinet Minister, Simon Upton, has criticised the Government’s Fast-Track Approvals bill as potentially disastrous for the environment, arguing just 1% ...
There was less sharing of the joy this week than at the Chinese New Year celebrations in February. China’s ambassador to NZ (2nd from right above) has toldLuxon that relations between China and New Zealand are now at a ‘critical juncture’ Photo: Getty / Xinhua News AgencyTL;DR: The podcast ...
The importance of New Zealand’s relationship with China was surely demonstrated yesterday with the surprise arrival in the capital of top Chinese foreign policy official Liu Jianchao. The trip was apparently organized a week ago but kept secret. Liu is the Minister of the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) International Liaison ...
With a crushing 20-plus point lead in the opinion polls, all the signs are that Labour leader Keir Starmer will be the PM after the general election on 4 July, called by Conservative incumbent Rishi Sunak yesterday. The stars are aligned for Starmer. Rival progressives are in abeyance: the Liberal-Democrat ...
We returned last week from England to London. Two different worlds. A quarter of an hour before dropping off our car, we came to a complete stop on the M25. Just moments before, there had been six lanes of hurtling cars and lorries. Now, everything was at a standstill as ...
Buzz from the Beehive A triumvirate of ministers – holding the Agriculture, Environment and RMA Reform portfolios – has announced the introduction of legislation “to slash the tangle of red and green tape throttling development in key sectors”, such as farming, mining and other primary industries. The exact name of ...
The Social Services and Community Committee has called for submissions on the Oranga Tamariki (Repeal of Section 7AA) Amendment Bill. Submissions are due by Wednesday, 3 July 2024, and can be made at the link above. And if you're wondering what to say: section 7AA was enacted because Oranga Tamariki ...
Michael Reddell writes – The Reserve Bank doesn’t do independent fiscal forecasts so there is no news in the fiscal numbers in today’s Monetary Policy Statement themselves. The last official Treasury forecasts don’t take account of whatever the government is planning in next week’s Budget, and as the Bank notes ...
Rob MacCulloch writes – We know the old saying, “Never trust a politician”, and the Charter School debate is a good example of it. Charter Schools receive public funding, yet “are exempt from most statutory requirements of traditional public schools, including mandates around .. human capital management .. curriculum ...
How Do We Silence Them? The ruling obsession of the contemporary Left is that political action undertaken by individuals or groups further to the right than the liberal wings of mainstream conservative parties should not only be condemned, but suppressed.WEB OF CHAOS, a “deep dive into the world of disinformation”, ...
Muriel Newman writes – As the new Government puts the finishing touches to this month’s Budget, they will undoubtedly have had their hands full dealing with the economic mess that Labour created. Not only was Labour a grossly incompetent manager of the economy, but they also set out ...
Today the British PM, Rishi Sunak, called a general election for the 4th of July. He spoke of the challenging times and of strong leadership and achievements. It was as if he was talking about someone else, a real leader, rather than he himself or the woeful list of Tory ...
This post marks the return of an old format: Photo of the Day. Recently I was in an apartment in one of those new buildings on Great North Road Grey Lynn at rush hour, perfect day, the view was stunning, so naturally I whipped out my phone: GNR 5pm Turns ...
The Government may struggle with the political optics of scrapping assistance for first home buyers while also cutting the tax burden on landlords, increasing concerns over the growing generational divide. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The Government confirmed it will dump first home buyer grants in the Budget next ...
Yesterday, the Reserve Bank confirmed there will be no free card for the economy to get out of jail during the current term of the Government. Regardless of what the Budget next week says, we are in for three years of austerity. Over those three years, we will have to ...
It doesn’t inspire confidence when politicians change their minds. But you must give credit when a bad idea is dropped. Last year, we reported on the determination of British PM Rishi Sunak to lead the world in regulating the dangers of Artificial Intelligence. Perhaps he changed his mind after meeting ...
This video includes conclusions of the creator climate scientist Dr. Adam Levy. It is presented to our readers as an informed perspective. Please see video description for references (if any). Is carbon dioxide removal - aka "negative emissions" - going to save us from climate change? Or is it just a ...
Headed for the legislative wastepaper basket… Buzz from the Beehive It looks like this government is just as ready as its predecessor to dip into the public funds it is managing to dispense millions of dollars to finance – and favour – the parties it fancies. Or ...
Rob MacCulloch writes – National and Labour and ACT have at various times waxed on about their “vision” of NZ as a high value-added world tech centerWhat subject is tech based upon? Mathematics. A Chicago mathematician just told me that whereas last decade ...
Eric Crampton writes – Danyl McLauchlan over at The Listener on the recent shift toward more contestability in public policy advice in education: Education Minister Erica Stanford, one of National’s highest-ranked MPs, is trying to circumvent the establishment, taking advice from a smaller pool of experts – ...
Ele Ludemann writes – That Kāinga Ora is a mess is no surprise, but the size of the mess is. There have been many reports of unruly tenants given licence to terrorise neighbours, properties bought and left vacant, and the state agency paying above market rates in competition ...
Bryce Edwards writes – It’s being explained as an “inadvertent error”. However, National MP David MacLeod’s excuse for failing to disclose $178,000 in donations for his election campaign last year is not necessarily enough to prevent some serious consequences. A Police investigation is now likely, and the result ...
The scathing “independent” review of Kāinga Ora barely hit the table before the coalition government had acted on it. The entire Kāinga Ora board will be replaced, and a new chair (Simon Moutter) has been announced. Hmm. No aspersions on Bill English, but the public would have had more confidence ...
I'll light the fireYou place the flowers in the vaseThat you bought todayA warm dry home, you’d think that would be bread and butter to politicians. Home ownership and making sure people aren’t left living on the street, that’s as Kiwi as Feijoa and Apple Crumble. Isn’t it?The coalition are ...
Politics is about compromise, right? And framing it so the voters see your compromise as the better one. John Key was a skilful exponent of this approach (as was Keith Holyoake in an earlier age), and Chris Luxon isn’t too bad either. But in politics, the process whereby an old ...
On February 14, 2023 we announced our Rebuttal Update Project. This included an ask for feedback about the added "At a glance" section in the updated basic rebuttal versions. This weekly blog post series highlights this new section of one of the updated basic rebuttal versions and serves as a ...
It’s being explained as an “inadvertent error”. However, National MP David MacLeod’s excuse for failing to disclose $178,000 in donations for his election campaign last year is not necessarily enough to prevent some serious consequences. A Police investigation is now likely, and the result of his non-disclosure could even see ...
The relentless drone coming out of the Prime Minister and his deputy for a million days now has been that the last government was just hosing money all over the show and now at last the grownups are in charge and shutting that drunken sailor stuff down. There is a word ...
Buzz from the Beehive Foreign Minister Winston Peters has confirmed a New Zealand Government plane will head to riot-torn New Caledonia in the next hour in the first in a series of proposed flights to begin bringing New Zealanders home. Today’s flight will carry around 50 passengers with the most ...
Precious declaration saysYours is yours and mine you leave alone nowPrecious declaration saysI believe all hope is dead no longerTick tick tick Boom!Unexploded ordnance. A veritable minefield. A National caucus with a large number of unknowns, candidates who perhaps received little in the way of vetting as the party jumped ...
Rex Ahdar writes – The Rt Hon Winston Peters, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs, likes to trace his political lineage back to the pioneers of parliamentary Maoridom. I will refer to these as the ‘big four’ or better still, the Four Knights. Just as ...
Bryce Edwards writes – Willie Jackson will participate in the prestigious Oxford Union debate on Thursday, following in David Lange’s footsteps. Coincidentally, Jackson has also followed Lange’s footsteps by living in his old home in South Auckland. And like Lange, Jackson might be the sort of loud-mouth scrapper ...
That is the only way to describe an MP "forgetting" to declare $178,000 in donations. The amount of money involved - more than five times the candidate spending cap, and two and a half times the median income - is boggling. How do you just "forget" that amount of money? ...
In this week’s “A View from Afar” podcast Selwyn Manning and spoke about the upcoming US elections and what the possibility of another Trump presidency means for the US role in world affairs. We also spoke about the problems Joe … Continue reading → ...
Hi,Two years ago I briefly featured in Justin Pemberton’s Web of Chaos documentary, which touched on things like QAnon during the pandemic.I mostly prattled on about how intertwined conspiracy narratives are with Evangelical Christian thinking, something Webworm’s explored in the past.(The doc is available on TVNZ+, if you’re not in ...
The Government is leaving the entire construction sector and the community housing sector in limbo. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The Government released the long-awaited Bill English-led review of Kāinga Ora yesterday, but delayed key decisions on its build plan and how to help community housing providers (CHPs) build ...
This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections by Daisy Simmons Farmers who can’t sleep, worrying they’ll lose everything amid increasing drought. Youth struggling with depression over a future that feels hopeless. Indigenous people grief-stricken over devastated ecosystems. For all these people and more, climate change is taking a clear toll ...
New Zealand’s relationship with China is becoming harder to define, and with that comes a worry that a deteriorating political relationship could spill over into the economic relationship. It is about more than whether New Zealand will join Pillar Two of Aukus, though the Chinese Ambassador, more or less, suggested ...
Been hoping we would see something like this from Sir Geoffrey Palmer. This is excellent.The present Bill goes further than the National Development Act 1979 in stripping away procedures designed to ensure that environmental issues are properly considered. The 1979 approach was not acceptable then and this present approach is ...
He’s Got The Moxie: Only Willie Jackson possesses the credentials to meld together a new Labour message that is, at one and the same moment, staunchly working-class, union-friendly, and which speaks to the hundreds-of-thousands of urban Māori untethered to the neo-tribal capitalist elites of the Iwi Leaders Forum.IT’S ONE OF THE ...
Tree-huggers may well accuse the Government of giving them the fingers, after Energy Minister Simeon Brown announced new measures to protect powerlines from trees, rather than measures to protect trees from powerlines. It can be no coincidence, surely, that this has been announced at the same as Fisheries Minister Shane Jones ...
Willie Jackson will participate in the prestigious Oxford Union debate on Thursday, following in David Lange’s footsteps. Coincidentally, Jackson has also followed Lange’s footsteps by living in his old home in South Auckland. And like Lange, Jackson might be the sort of loud-mouth scrapper who could take over the Labour ...
Today New Zealand First will introduce a Member’s Bill that will protect New Zealanders' right of free speech. The “Protection of Freedom of Expression Bill” will ensure that no organisation or individual, when acting within the law, is unreasonably denied use of a public venue for an organised event or ...
The Green Party unequivocally condemns the governing parties’ attempts to limit the public’s say on the controversial Māori wards legislation, after the select committee considering the legislation set a deadline for submissions of just five days. ...
Disabled children and families nationwide have recently found out they’re no longer able to use disability support funding for programmes during school hours in another quiet update from the Government. ...
Following a horrific case of stalking that ended in tragedy, Labour’s police spokesperson Ginny Andersen has drafted a bill that would add stalking to the Crimes Act. ...
The Rt Hon Winston Peters, joined by Mike King, has announced $24 million over four years for the ‘I Am Hope Foundation’, and will provide young people aged between 5 to 25 years with free mental health counselling services. This funding will help I Am Hope’s ‘Gumboot Friday’ initiative give ...
Te Pāti Māori have launched a petition to stop the repeal of Section 7AA from the Oranga Tamariki Act. This announcement comes prior to the first reading of the Section 7AA repeal bill in Parliament today. “Section 7AA forces the Government to adhere to Te Tiriti o Waitangi with respect ...
The Government has yet again failed to do the one thing that needs to happen to ensure houses can be built – commit to ongoing funding, Labour housing spokesperson Kieran McAnulty said. ...
Treasury officials have outlined many ways in which the Fast Track Approvals Bill is deeply flawed, Labour environment spokesperson Rachel Brooking says. ...
Green Party co-leaders Marama Davidson and Chlöe Swarbrick used this year's State of the Planet to call on the Government to prioritise people and planet as the delivery of the Budget approaches. A full transcript of their speeches can be found below. ...
Green Party co-leaders Marama Davidson and Chlöe Swarbrick have used their State of the Planet speeches to challenge the Government to prioritise people and planet over profit as the delivery of the Budget approaches. ...
The Government’s introduction of legislation that would enable landlords to end tenancies with no reason marks a dark day for the 1.4 million people who rent their home in Aotearoa. ...
The Minister for Mental Health has found the Suicide Prevention Office and mental health support for 111 calls slipping through his fingers, says Labour spokesperson for Mental Health Ingrid Leary. ...
Today’s justification from the Minister for Children for scrapping protections for our tamariki was either a case of ignorance or deliberate deception. ...
The Green Party says the Government’s misguided policy on gangs will fail, following the announcement of the establishment of a national gang unit and district gang disruption units to target gang activities. ...
“With Police pay negotiations still unresolved after six months in Government, Mark Mitchell has today rolled the Commissioner out for a rebrand of their approach to gang crime,” Labour police spokesperson Ginny Andersen said. ...
The Government bringing back 50 charter schools will not increase achievement and is a distraction from the core mission of the education system, Labour education spokesperson Jan Tinetti said. ...
Te Pāti Māori is showing extreme concern over the Environment Select Committees adoption of a lucky dip draw to determine hearings for the Fast Track Approvals bill. Of the 27,000 submissions, 2,900 requested to present. All organisations will be heard; however, the remaining 2,350 submitters will be subject to a ...
Today New Zealand First will introduce a Member’s Bill that will protect women’s spaces. The ‘Fair Access to Bathrooms Bill’ will require, primarily in the interest and safety of women and girls, that all new non-domestic publicly accessible buildings provide separate, clearly demarcated, unisex and single sex bathrooms. This Bill ...
The Green Party is welcoming Climate Change Minister Simon Watts’ continuation of Hon. James Shaw’s cross-party work on climate adaptation, now in the form of a Finance and Expenditure Committee Inquiry. ...
The National Government plans to cut 390 jobs at ACC, including roles in the areas of prevention of sexual violence, road safety and workplace safety. ...
The Government has been caught in opposition to evidence once again as it looks to usher in tried, tested and failed work seminar obligations for job-seeking beneficiaries. ...
The Green Party is welcoming the announcement by the Minister Responsible for RMA Reform Chris Bishop to approve most of the Wellington City Council’s District Plan recommendations. ...
David Seymour has failed to get the sweeping cuts he wanted to the free and healthy school lunch programme, Labour education spokesperson Jan Tinetti said. ...
Hon Willie Jackson has been invited by the Oxford Union to debate the motion “This House Believes British Museums are not Very British’ on May 23rd. ...
Over the next four years, Budget 24 will support the training and recruitment of 1,500 teachers into the workforce, Education Minister Erica Stanford announced today. “To raise achievement and develop a world leading education system we’re investing nearly $53 million over four years to attract, train and retain our valued ...
1. New Zealand Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Rt Hon Winston Peters; Minister of Health and Minister for Pacific Peoples Hon Dr Shane Reti; and Minister for Climate Change Hon Simon Watts hosted Cook Islands Minister of Foreign Affairs and Immigration Hon Tingika Elikana and Minister of Health Hon Vainetutai Rose Toki-Brown on 24 May ...
The Government has approved two-year extensions for four New Zealand Defence Force deployments to the Middle East and Africa, Defence Minister Judith Collins and Foreign Minister Winston Peters announced today. “These deployments are long-standing New Zealand commitments, which reflect our ongoing interest in promoting peace and stability, and making active ...
The Climate Change Commission Chair, Dr Rod Carr, has confirmed his plans to retire at the end of his term later this year, Climate Change Minister Simon Watts says. “Prior to the election, Dr Carr advised me he would be retiring when his term concluded. Dr Rod Carr has led ...
Nine highly respected experts have been appointed to the inaugural board of the new Integrity Sport and Recreation Commission, Sport & Recreation Minister Chris Bishop says. “The Integrity Sport and Recreation Commission is a new independent Crown entity which was established under the Integrity Sport and Recreation Act last year, ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters confirmed today that Vote Foreign Affairs in Budget 2024 will balance two crucial priorities of the Coalition Government. While Budget 2024 reflects the constrained fiscal environment, the Government also recognises the critical role MFAT plays in keeping New Zealanders safe and prosperous. “Consistent with ...
New social housing funding in Budget 2024 will ensure the Government can continue supporting more families into warm, dry homes from July 2025, Housing Ministers Chris Bishop and Tama Potaka say. “Earlier this week I was proud to announce that Budget 2024 allocates $140 million to fund 1,500 new social ...
Introduction Today, we are sharing a red-letter occasion. A Blackball event on hallowed ground. Today we underscore the importance of our mineral estate. A reminder that our natural resource sector has much to offer. Such a contribution will not come to pass without investment. However, more than money is needed. ...
Increasing national and regional prosperity, providing the minerals needed for new technology and the clean energy transition, and doubling the value of minerals exports are the bold aims of the Government’s vision for the minerals sector. Resources Minister Shane Jones today launched a draft strategy for the minerals sector in ...
The coalition Government’s legislation to restore the rights of communities to determine whether to introduce Māori wards has passed its first reading in Parliament, Local Government Minister Simeon Brown says. “Divisive changes introduced by the previous government denied local communities the ability to determine whether to establish Māori wards.” The ...
The coalition Government has today introduced legislation to slash the tangle of red and green tape throttling some of New Zealand’s key sectors, including farming, mining and other primary industries. RMA Reform Minister Chris Bishop says the Government is committed to unlocking development and investment while ensuring the environment is ...
The decision by Environmental Protection Authority (EPA) to approve the continued use of hydrogen cyanamide, known as Hi-Cane, has been welcomed by Environment Minister Penny Simmonds and Agriculture Minister Todd McClay. “The EPA decision introduces appropriate environmental safeguards which will allow kiwifruit and other growers to use Hi-Cane responsibly,” Ms ...
Kia ora, Ngā mihi nui ki a koutou kātoa Tāmaki Herenga Waka, Tāmaki Herenga tangata Ngā mihi ki ngā mana whenua o tēnei rohe Ngāti Whātua ō Ōrākei me nga iwi kātoa kua tae mai. Mauriora. Greetings everyone. Thank you to the EMA for hosting this event. Let me acknowledge ...
The coalition Government is investing in social housing for New Zealanders who are most in need of a warm dry home, Housing Minister Chris Bishop says. Budget 2024 will allocate $140 million in new funding for 1,500 new social housing places to be provided by Community Housing Providers (CHPs), not ...
Thousands more young New Zealanders will have better access to mental health services as the Government delivers on its commitment to fund the Gumboot Friday initiative, says Deputy Prime Minister Winston Peters and Mental Health Minister Matt Doocey. “Budget 2024 will provide $24 million over four years to contract the ...
The Coalition Government’s Residential Tenancies Amendment Bill, which will improve tenancy laws and help increase the supply of rental properties, has passed its first reading in Parliament says Housing Minister Chris Bishop. “The Bill proposes much-needed changes to the Residential Tenancies Act 1986 that will remove barriers to increasing private ...
Standing here in Cassino War Cemetery, among the graves looking up at the beautiful Abbey of Montecassino, it is hard to imagine the utter devastation left behind by the battles which ended here in May 1944. Hundreds of thousands of shells and bombs of every description left nothing but piled ...
I present a legislative statement on the Oranga Tamariki (Repeal of Section 7AA) Amendment Bill Mr. Speaker, I move that the Oranga Tamariki (Repeal of Section 7AA) Amendment Bill be now read a first time. I nominate the Social Services and Community Committee to consider the Bill. Thank you, Mr. ...
The Bill to repeal Section 7AA of the Oranga Tamariki Act has had its first reading in Parliament today. The Bill reaffirms the Coalition Government’s commitment to the care and safety of children in care, says Minister for Children Karen Chhour. “When I became the Minister for Children, I made ...
Kia ora koutou, good morning, and zao shang hao. Thank you Fran for the opportunity to speak at the 2024 China Business Summit – it’s great to be here today. I’d also like to acknowledge: Simon Bridges - CEO of the Auckland Chamber of Commerce. His Excellency Ambassador - Wang ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters has confirmed a New Zealand Government plane will head to New Caledonia in the next hour in the first in a series of proposed flights to begin bringing New Zealanders home. “New Zealanders in New Caledonia have faced a challenging few days - and bringing ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters has confirmed a New Zealand Government plane will head to New Caledonia in the next hour in the first in a series of proposed flights to begin bringing New Zealanders home. “New Zealanders in New Caledonia have faced a challenging few days - and bringing them ...
The Coalition Government will introduce legislation this year that will enable roadside drug testing as part of our commitment to improve road safety and restore law and order, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. “Alcohol and drugs are the number one contributing factor in fatal road crashes in New Zealand. In ...
The Government has announced a series of immediate actions in response to the independent review of Kāinga Ora – Homes and Communities, Housing Minister Chris Bishop says. “Kāinga Ora is a large and important Crown entity, with assets of $45 billion and over $2.5 billion of expenditure each year. It ...
Associate Health Minister David Seymour is pleased that Pseudoephedrine can now be purchased by the general public to protect them from winter illness, after the coalition government worked swiftly to change the law and oversaw a fast approval process by Medsafe. “Pharmacies are now putting the medicines back on their ...
Tēnā koutou katoa. Da jia hao. Good morning everyone. Prime Minister Luxon, your excellency, a great friend of New Zealand and my friend Ambassador Wang, Mayor of what he tells me is the best city in New Zealand, Wayne Brown, the highly respected Fran O’Sullivan, Champion of the Auckland business ...
Energy Minister Simeon Brown has announced that the Government will make it easier for lines firms to take action to remove vegetation from obstructing local powerlines. The change will ensure greater security of electricity supply in local communities, particularly during severe weather events. “Trees or parts of trees falling on ...
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I think that this policy implimented in France is the type of policy we should look at here in NZ, and the rest of the world for that matter.
The idea is to include a "repairability" index rating on products available for purchase. The rating includes factors such as availability of spare parts, ease of access to replace parts etc.
From an environmental perspective I think there is such a huge waste of resources and damage to the environment that occurs because these days products tend to be cheaply made and disposable. It is seldom worth repairing appliances, especially smaller ones these days. So, encouraging businesses to build better quality products with availability of spares has to be a good thing. If the quality is higher products will last longer and it will be more worthwhile repairing them.
When I was married 30+ years ago, my wife had a Kenwood food processor. It had been built in Britain. That lasted over 20 years before it finally was unusable. These days, we are doing well if a similar item lasts several years, especially if it is being used a lot.
Even cheap appliances could be made repairable. For instance, just by identifying the main wearing components and designing the products so those parts are easy to access and replace by the owner would make the items more worth repairing.
I think that attitudes are changing from an environmental perspective with consumers now, as can be evidenced by many companies changing the materials in their packaging to cardboard rather than plastic for instance. So, consumers may welcome this type of option becoming available.
Also, it would open up opportunities for companies inside NZ to start manufacturing better quality products. And the appliance repair industry would also get a leg up through this.
So, I think this type of idea is something political parties should consider promoting.
Yes "Built in obsolescence " needs to end. To conserve and to avoid enless plastic clutter "Repair " needs to be fashionable and rewarding again.
I've got quite good at repairing 1970's appliances like our cake mixer. They have machined parts and just consist of resistors and the like. When they burn out it is really easy to unscrew them (they use good metal and are screwed together, not snap together and the plastic is thick not cheap and brittle) identify what happened and repair to better than new.
I've still got my mothers 1940s hand operated eggbeater (well my sister pinched it but like an elephant, I never forget). It is made of solid steel. From England, when they built battleships there.
The problem is that in the 1970s and 80s cake mixers were valuable enough to be prizes on game shows. They lasted a lifetime, but they cost a bomb. Our entire post-inudstrial, late capitalist service economy model is completely reliant on a rampant consumer materialism with very high retail consumption of disposable goods – everything from a Warehouse eggbeater, a Briscoes cake mixer to disposable coffee cups to excessive overseas travel – fuelled by personal debt.
The point is making a solid, 50 year lifespan cake mixer that is repairable undermines the entire neoliberal capitalist job model of the last fifty years. If the cake mixer and other kitchen aplliances don't need replacing every 5-10 years then the all the jobs in the importers warehouse, the retailer, the distribution system, etc etc would vanish.
Yes, I understand that the cost of having appliances produced at the quality level of half a century or more back would make the cost prohibitive for many these days.
But, even with cheap appliances, it should be possible to at least make the wearable parts easily accessible and, perhaps sell the items with a set or two of spares so consumers can easily extend the life of these items without needing to take them to a repair shop.
Something else I find quite obscene is the way that people are pushed to keep upgrading what they already have. For instance, why do people feel they need to constantly upgrade their TVs to something with a few more, normally irrelevant features when their existing one works fine.
Also, business models based on encouraging consumption, such as selling printers at less than the cost of the cartridges. There is an obscene rationale from this, that it is cheaper to continually replace printers than purchase cartridges which just adds to needless waste.
Something else that contributes to the endless and needless consumerism and waste is the availability of easy credit, and the perception these days that we should all be able to have what we want now.
In my parents day, they would have just made use with what they had until they could afford to purchase what they wanted. And when they made the purchase, it would be something they purchased of good quality and would look after it and aim to keep it going for as long as possible.
These days, it is just chuck it away when it breaks down.
Further to that comment above is the annoyance with the likes of Apple TV boxes and modern TVs is that when some app is available, it isn't available for models over a certain age, sometimes as little as three or four years old.
Often it seems that there isn't any technological reason why the older models couldn't run the apps. Rather, it seems to be a deliberate policy to force people to upgrade if they want the newer features.
Another example I find really annoying is the Imac I purchased a few years ago. It basically is unrepairable. It can be repaired or upgraded by a technician. But requires careful removal of the front glass screen that involves breaking the glue holding the glass in place, and has to be done carefully to avoid breaking the glass.
Contrast that with the PC in a case where it was easy to open the side panels to clean out heat sinks, and upgrade or repair as required.
Constantly upgrading mobile phones (some do it annually)- is the ultimate in built in obsolescence.
Many (looking at you, here Apple) are either impossible or prohibitively expensive to repair. And none have an upgrade pathway.
Unless you live totally off-grid – in a 'Good Life' style existence – modern life really does require having a mobile phone.
[Yes, yes, there are exceptions – and I'm defining 'need' as 'participating in NZ 21st century life'. But if you have kids, for example – schools and ECE and holiday programmes all need a real-time contact – so unless you sit at home beside the landline, you need a mobile.]
I know this one is well beyond the ability of NZ to impose (or even influence, really) – but it's one of the areas which would make a huge difference.
I don't have a phone 🙂
We can tell from your appearance that you’re off the grid and live a subsistent life
I do have a phone but hardly ever use it – it was supa-convenient for the couple of times I had to do the Covid scans and show my vaccination status.
I communicate with distant friends using a series of sub-audial grunts, like those employed by whale and manatee. My thick, boney eyebrow ridges serve as a receiver for their replies. We don't talk often.
When you’re on the same wavelength of jungle drum, one beat can say it all! It can be exhausting having to repeat the same word over and over again because of poor reception or hard-hearing recipient.
I've built a high tower on which to sit, above the tree-tops, when sending and receiving. It's constructed from thousands of expired smart-phones, gleaned from the neighbourhood's recycling-bins.
I heard that those 1G networks are slow but very reliable. One downside of those towers is that they cannot be used during thunderstorms. The upside is that on sunny days the reflective screens of those smart-phones can be used as mirrors to send light signals, which is the 1G+ option that can rival traditional optical fibre connections and it is much cheaper. Visiting dodgy websites can be a bit of a problem because VPN is not really an option with 1G.
I broadcast and receive over the RG system; only occasionally reliable but cheap as chips to run.
Good on you! And you don’t strike me as a socially isolated teen (you wish?) and you seem to be a moderately effective local politician with some YouTube fame (and other social media, I assume)
Who needs a smart phone!!
Moderately effective!
Hrrrrrumph!
(New short-film to be released tomorrow – Happen Films present, via You tube, "Growing wild together")
I don’t want you to get too big for your boots, that you stay grounded. I’ve heard that some polies can’t handle the (relative) success & fame – do you know who I am? I’m sure you’re made of much stronger wood, so just in case
Do you have school age children, a job which requires you to be on call, or elderly parents? For teens and young adults, those without a cellphone (when everyone around them does) are really operating under a significant social handicap.
Yes, there are (as I said) some exceptions – mostly among the … richer in years … who still operate their social connections outside social media… but for the majority of us, a mobile is required to effectively participate in NZ 21st century life.
Even the government thinks so – the Civil defence/tsunami warning system operates through mobile phones, only.
You seem the think that all NZ school children at secondary (and primary?) school who can afford it have & use a mobile phone. Some (…) make a stand, for whatever reason (children can be like that), and refuse to use their phone and don’t even charge or switch it on, which can drive their parents mad because they rely on it. I don’t think the ‘requirement’ is as high as you think it is.
No, I don't think that all primary school children have mobile phones.
I do think that the vast majority of secondary school kids/teens have mobile phones. Primary, much less so – and I agree, at that age it’s much more about parental security, than kids desire for communication.
Choosing not to answer their parents – is a completely separate issue 😉
But, not having a phone is really socially isolating for teens. All of the meet-ups, etc are organized via social media, and their interaction is frequently via various apps: Discord & Instagram for the teen in this household ATM – Facebook is just for aged parents – but subject to change. Observationally, they rarely (if ever) actually speak to anyone on the phone – apart from aged grandparents – it's all texting.
Any of them who have a job – especially one of the typical zero hours contracts, that Teens so often get – will absolutely require a mobile (and one charged and switched on), or they won’t get any work.
I'm sure some do make a stand – but surprisingly few, Even the most radical of climate change activists – and passionate supporters of Greta Thunberg – amongst the peers of the household teen – still use their mobile phones to organize.
There's a good reason why removing the mobile phone is still the ultimate in behaviour-management consequences for most teens.
The point is that some teens choose to not use their phones (or even have one) for whatever reasons. Whether this is socially isolating, because they are socially isolated or choose to not engage with their peers by phone, or neither/some other reason is an interesting question that I cannot answer for you here on TS. I note that they often still can be active users of another electronic device for gaming and after-hours socialising. I also note that almost all teens have access to a device for their school work – the digital divide became clear during the lockdowns when it turned out that not all teens have online access and/or the means, but this will soon disappear again from most people’s minds. The point is/was about mobile phones being such a requirement or necessity in modern life, which I challenge – it is definitely a convenience and for some NZ teens a luxury (but so are sports shoes).
Evidence that a significant proportion of teens are choosing not to use mobile phones?
From my, admittedly unscientific, mental survey of the household teen's peers, our wider family network, and a variety of friends who teach in secondary schools at all deciles (phone management in classes is a constant student-management issue)- the numbers would be *tiny*.
The fact (which I admit) that a very small minority of the population may choose to not use mobile phones, isn't really relevant to the fact that they are required for most participation in modern life. Yes, you can choose to live off-grid, and not engage in any social interaction – but most people don't (and don't want that kind of life)
According to teacher friends in South Auckland (low decile schools) the teens they teach are much more likely to have a mobile phone, than they are to have home internet (they have chromebooks, etc. now, through the Education system, post covid – but not Internet access – except via mobile hotspot). Most do their homework (if they do it – other deprivation issues going on) – at the local library, where there is free wifi.
Either you haven’t properly read & understood my 2 comments or you want me to chase your strawmen.
FYI, mobile phone ownership & usage is very high among NZ teens and there are plenty of surveys and studies that show this.
You’re conflating high usage, personal reliance and convenience with genuine requirement for mobile phones. Your argument is that because many/most people jump into the mud they all want to and (should?) jump into the mud. If anything, it is giving into to peer social pressure rather than demonstrating the alleged requirement. Fact is that some people get by perfectly ok without using a mobile phone and without becoming social outcasts and/or uneducated illiterates.
Taking a mobile phone away from an addicted user, especially a teen, has the same response as with any addict going through withdrawal. Arguably, an ironically having the phone becomes a requirement because of the personal dependence – these effects are very real (and worrisome).
PS for simple but effective communication (e.g. emergencies or basic texting), a basic phone without all the so-called smartphone features (bells & whistles such as Giga pixel cameras) can be perfectly adequate. They tend to be called ‘dumbphones’ or ‘duty phones’. See this Approved Mobile Phone list – May 2022 from Otago University (https://www.otago.ac.nz/its/otago719498.pdf).
"Even the government thinks so – the Civil defence/tsunami warning system operates through mobile phones, only."
Or, your partner's.
Half of NZ's married or partnered population is exempt from that 'requirement'.
Yes, it's a cause of amusement in larger groups, when they test the mobile alert system, the order in which the various phones receive it and sound the alarm.
Never the same twice.
There’s no way this can be correct, and it isn’t: https://www.civildefence.govt.nz/get-ready/civil-defence-emergency-management-alerts-and-warnings/
Emergency mobile alerts – are only provided via mobile phone
https://www.civildefence.govt.nz/get-ready/civil-defence-emergency-management-alerts-and-warnings/emergency-mobile-alert/
Yes, this same information may (or may not) be supplied via broadcast media – but that relies on you (the audience) happening to be listening to the radio/tv at the time (for a 3am tsunami warning, not likely).
Specifically, none of the alerts are transmitted via the landline phone system.
You may (or may not) be living in an area with audible sirens to alert for tsunamis.
That’s saying that mobile phone calls are only made to mobile phones, i.e. a tautological statement.
Actually, mobile phone calls can easily be made to landlines.
I do it all the time when calling the less technologically literate members of the whanau (if I'm allowed to use that word)
sigh
Sigh, right back at you.
The *point* of this discussion was that non-ownership of a mobile phone excludes you from some societal benefits.
A personally targeted (i.e. sent to your mobile phone – rather than requiring you to know to go and seek it out on the radio) emergency alert was a specific example.
There is no equivalent alert system for landlines. [Although, there could be, if the govt felt that it was worthwhile. They don't, because a sufficiently high (and growing) percentage of the population have mobile phones]
No mobile phone, no alert sounding in your house.
Sometimes, I feel that we are just talking past each other.
I'll stop now.
You said “only”, which was not correct.
Have a nice day.
There is, of course, the advantage of a mobile phone is that I no longer have to buy a separate computer, camera, video and audio player, watch, calculator, star identifier, GPS navigator maps, stopwatch, alarm clock and many other items. Thanks to the constant advances in the ability of mobile phones to replace all of those.
That software changes turn many of them into useless bricks in less than 5 years is annoying. As is being charged $1000's to add to Apples bank account, for something that costs a fraction of that to produce.
Planned absolesence keeps millions in jobs, and economies afloat.
Which is why a more sustainable economy is impossible, while we have an economic system that is dependant on infinite growth.
Don’t forget the monitoring of your health data. I believe that in some cases & countries this may even be covered by private health insurers (depending on your policy, of course!
Build quality is exactly why you buy Apple products which are far more reliable and long-lasting than their cheaper PC and Android counterparts, some of which are truly disposable.
Apple's philosophy is high quality, great user experience, and seamless interconnectivity and is therefore the opposite of built-in failure and obsolescence.
LOL.
None of my families Apple products have been really useeable after two years.
Apple even lost a court case over it. Apple Agrees To Pay $113 Million To Settle 'Batterygate' Case Over iPhone Slowdowns : NPR
The ultimate in planned obsolescence. Apple investigated by France for 'planned obsolescence' – BBC News
It is a pity the excellent Nokia linux based cell phones, were bought out and buried by Microsoft.
Now we have a choice of Apple or Andriod, both of which are frankly, crap. Even Windows phone were better.
My pet peeves, especially with f-ing Apple, are batteries & charge-leads.
How about having to go to a licensed Apple dealer (and pay a premium) or void the guarantee.
That’s almost an anathema to me! Like selling my soul to the highest bidder so that I can have the logo on my forehead to show I’m a soulless hipster with good taste but questionable judgement.
Which of course reenforces that Apple are committed to reliability and length of use.
No. It shows that Apple are committed to extorting the maximum possible for the use of their products.
Their business model is to deliberately inflate the cost of repair, making purchase of a new model more desirable.
Pretty sure it would be hard to find a manufacture honouring a warranty after being repaired by someone unlicensed, or paying someone unlicensed to repair under warranty.
Nope. Any reputable dealer should be able to replace a broken screen or a battery. Apple requiring this to only be done by licensed dealers, is an absolute rort.
How come you're so hot on defending a multi-billion-dollar American corporate empire?
They're doing exactly what all the other corporates (that you so often decry) are doing – maximizing their business model and return to shareholders.
I don't denigrate them for playing the game according to the current rules – but give them no corporate brownie points for doing so.
However, I do think that the rules should change.
The articles made it really, really clear that Apple were doing the slowdown, deceptively (via automatic update, without telling users), in order to 'encourage' them to trade up to the new model. When caught, they paid up. Enough said. No corporate every pays up unless they know they are guilty – and are trying to avoid even worse court-ordered penalties.
Charge leads for Apple may not be a problem soon. The EU are forcing them into USB C.
I still have my MS surface after 5 years. They said when I bought it the battery may need replacement after 5 years. It is replaceable. Still fine though. Won’t load Win 11, but MS are still supporting 10 which works fine.
In that time, my wife has gone through 3 Apple tablets and 2 Iphones which we have had to replace for various reasons.
Ah, yes, I remember reading something about Apple & USB, but I like to hold on to my grudges.
Spent a small fortune on f-ing Apple products over the years
My Dell laptop is > 10 years old and the battery is completely dead. It also doesn’t load Win11 but I don’t care. MS Office 2010 (out of support). My brain is in dire need of an upgrade too – all good things come to an end, eventually.
How many families do you have?
The reason for Apple slowing phones down is legitimate unless you are a conspiracy theorist.
Fact is, the policy was again an attempt by Apple to prolong the use of their devices, which is the whole point of this particular thread…
Really drunk the coolaid here…..
Do you have any evidence (apart from Apple press-releases) that slowing down older phones was in any way legitimate?
Because the EU courts don't appear to agree with you (see KJT's links above)- though, perhaps they're all conspiracy theorists over there.
You can easily read the explanation about what they did and why in both those articles.
Apple phones are effectively bricks after 5 years. None of the apps are backwards compatible after that long.
Built-in obsolescence is just as much a feature of their business model as it is for Samsung and Huawei (and, all the rest). Their *entire* marketing campaign is all about 'buy the latest' not 'buy the phone which will last a lifetime'
It's just that they've cornered the top end of the obsolescence market. Pay a premium for branding.
And other manufacturers phones stop working at all after 3 years. Their marketing campaign might hype a new release but, news flash, that is what marketing campaigns do.
Yes, consumers pay a premium, for quality.
Someone should tell my Nokia 7.2 it is supposed to stop working after 3 years. Not showing any signs of it. Unlike my wife's 2 year old I thing.
And. It was a quarter of the price of the I phone.
5 years and counting on my 1st Samsung (had to replace, because of an accident to it – repairs not cost-effective – which is what this thread is about). Current Samsung 3.5 years – and not an issue in sight.
Price – less than half of an Apple iphone. Quality slightly worse (mostly in the camera, which I mourn a little, but not enough to pay for either a top of the line Samsung or an Apple product).
For Apple, you're paying for the logo and brand styling, and to be part of the 'tribe'- maybe a 'little' for quality – but the difference would be literally unnoticeable to most people for what they use their phone for.
All of the product reviews I’ve read, comparing top of the line Samsung (and other Android phones) with Apple basically say there is no difference in UX or quality.
Also no real difference in price at that spec level.
Agree about the top end specs/price for Apple/Andriod phones.
However, can buy a very decent mid-spec Samsung for way less than the bottom spec iPhone.
For sure. They are all pretty good value for a tiny supercomputer with cutting edge software like AI image processing. Evolves so fast that nothing is stable for more than a few years.
Thinking about this again (as I laced on by Allbirds and went out to the local bakery to buy bread for lunch) [getting my virtue signalling in ;-)]
I really think that that up-front cost is a significant barrier for many families – for whom there is very little disposable income.
I bought my Allbirds 3 years ago – they took me around a 7 week trip of Europe, with miles of daily walking, I continue to wear them most days in winter, and they are the most comfortable shoes I've ever owned.
They were expensive. But the cost/return ratio has certainly worked out for me.
But, I refused to buy a pair for the household teen, whose feet are still growing. In the time I've owned my Allbirds, I would have bought 8-9 pairs of shoes for the teen – both feet growing, and lost shoes (grrr)
The cost/return ratio for Allbirds doesn't work in this instance. I don't buy expensive Adidas or Nike trainers, for the teen, either.
When I was growing up, shoes were *expensive*. I remember my Mum doing the budget to buy new school shoes for the 3 of us (hand-me-downs didn't work – we were all too close in age). Roman sandals in summer were cheap enough, but winter shoes were always a struggle.
Moving to a more sustainable, long-lasting, solution – will be more expensive. And that solution isn't always warranted. Sometimes, just having a cheap pair of shoes, which will last 6 months (because the kid will have outgrown them by next winter) is actually all that's needed.
Not necessarily 'prohibitively' expensive – but 3-4 times the cost of the 'cheap' disposable one – which makes them a niche product – only available for the relatively wealthy who can afford the 'excess' cost in return for the luxury brand.
My Kitchen Aid mixer (US – solid as a rock, and absolutely able to be repaired, should it need it) – is going on for 30 years of regular use. I bought it, deliberately, because I did a lot of baking, and wanted a heavy-duty mixer that would last the distance. At the time – it was approx 5x the cost of a cheapie plastic one (and I bought it at a super-end-of-season markdown price – with no choice of colour (sniff)). Long-term, a good buy – but it's hard to see that as a young person (everyone I knew was horrified – 'you spent that much on a mixer' – or as my mother said 'an eggbeater!')
Boots theory – Wikipedia
Yep, I'm thoroughly familiar with the inimitable Sam Vimes.
Terry Pratchett continues to be one of my favourite 'comfort' re-reads (sadly taken from us much too soon). Characterization, Language, Humour and the ability to poke a stick at the most unlikely of social constructs – all a constant joy.
Mmm – the quality doesn't cost, it pays argument!
I have a 25 year old Magimix food processor, 20 year old Dualit toaster (elements have been replaced), 10 year old Kitchen Aid mixer, 20 year old Italian espresso machine (boiler cap has been replaced). All regularly used and still going strong.
And…
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2022/jun/04/why-your-ability-to-repair-a-tractor-could-also-be-a-matter-of-life-and-death
Yes, those printed computer boards are incredibly annoying.
I have had that experience with a dishwasher that failed due to the control board failing. The cost of the replacement board plus the cost of someone to fit it was prohibitively expensive.
I am sure the board was being sold at a price many more times the cost of production, and was part of the "built in obsolescence" plan of the manufacturers who probably thought I would by a new dishwasher.
I think I did actually do that. The problem for the manufacturer was that I was pissed off at them as a result of that so purchased a different brand.
Just an FYI friend of mine had a LG tv it stopped – "it's the circuit board it's a frisbee now" fortunately his brother is a very skilled and knowledgeable IT guy.
Circuit board goes in the oven bag into a warm oven and remove it as soon as you smell solder and hey presto one working tv – Apparently with the soldered connections on circuit board the solder can crack causing it to fail. Heating can re-melt the solder causing a repair. Strange world.
Best yarn of the day. Barfly.
One of the current issues on ships is the very short life span of computerised control systems.
Before computerised engines, it was rare for engines to break down at sea. I had only three in ten years. The mechanical parts still rarely fail.
Computerised fuel and other systems, cause problems on a regular basis. And it usually seems to be the ones you don't have a spare board for.
It makes me laugh when they talk about autonomous ships. The costs of reliable electronic control systems, that last 15 to 20 years would easily exceed crew costs.
My (building) frustrating experience with most modern appliances (incl. cars) is that their weakest point often is poorly designed and/or poorly manufactured electrics/electronics with sub-standard components, not so much the wear & tear of the moving parts. They also have no in-build ‘resilience’, i.e., one faulty component kills the whole thing dead and useless.
Our british bought Kenwood processor lasted well over 25 years.
On our second for the last decade.
Don't get me wrong. Was cool.
But one of the more surreal moments in my life. Getting out of bed. Turning on the TV and there is Tom Cruise presenting the Jubilee and then the Trinidad and Tobago military band playing "Dancing Queen" by ABBA.
As I say cool…..But a bit weird when you have just woken up 🙂
Good Morn tsmithfield, Patricia, and Sanctuary. Re planned/inbuilt Obsolescence,and UNrepairable and/or UNrecyclable appliances etc…
I dont know if you have heard of, or seen….
https://community.greenpeace.org.nz/petitions/make-it-our-right-to-repair
https://www.facebook.com/RepairCafeNZ/
But they Both are trying very hard to change this very sad state of affairs.
Personally I live as Sustainably as possible. (and that is absolutely possible : )
I rebuild Bicycles ( 100 plus : ) that would have gone to the scrap metal.
And…being practical…can "sometimes" fix a washing machine, stereo,video/dvd, etc etc. Problem being….a lot are now UNrepairable. Printers are one very bad throwaway….(the jerks sell the printer cheaper than the replacement ink cartridge !!
And in lot of newer type appliances, cant even open them up…as NO screws!
anyway, please look at Petition and repair Cafe Aotearoa.
My wife and I buy most of our clothes at Savemart and other op shops
What's interesting about that is the differences between men and women, in that my wife has no issues finding expensive clothing barely worn (sometimes tag's still on) whereas for me it's a lot harder
Seems like women are more likely to buy clothes, not wear them then donate them whereas men are less likely
Great for her but makes it harder for me
You could browse the women's section for something nice 🙂
Signed the petition.
I think from a marketing perspective there is some hope in all this.
One good thing about the marketing approach is that it focuses on understanding consumer desires, attitudes, and beliefs and aims at meeting those needs.
Thus as consumers become more concerned about environmental factors (as they are) then the marketing perspective should lead to companies picking up on those changes in public sentiment, and aiming to align their products and services accordingly.
We can already see this approach having an effect in various aspects. For instance, companies using a lot more cardboard in packaging rather than polystyrine, supermarkets trying to eliminate plastic from there packaging etc.
At the moment, this is all a bit superficial. But, I think that is where governments can align their policies with the change in sentiment as well so that companies have an environment that enables them to make more fundamental changes without the fear of losing out to their competitors.
Hence, that policy that France has adopted that I pointed to in my first post seems to make a lot of sense. From a marketing perspective it gives companies a point to differentiate there products so that people feel they are getting value for spending more on a product that should last them longer.
Oh good on you signing ! And yep, absolutely Consumer Awareness/pressure will make Manufacurers/Suppliers change (I hope not kicking and screaming? : )
I've been involved in Sustainability and associated for…a long time,and as in your link, I look World wide for updates and Innovation.
Re the polystyrene and excess packaging ! I remember reading years back where Germans (Great Recyclers ! ) just started unpacking the appliance Instore..and leaving extraneous detritus there. Well…that focused the Store Owner !
As to Polystyrene….possibly one of THE worst pollutants. And a developed byproduct of the petroleum industry : (
As I like to look ..for Alternatives..there is any amount of Compression Resistant Cardboard (some like a honeycomb ) etc.
And…back to Consumer Pressure. I'm ever hopeful..but also try to let people know HOW.
cheers
Polystyrene packaging? Gold. (Assuming y'all are into power-conserving haybox cooking.)
(And somewhere in this modern take on the Haybox is a bit of corrugated cardboard as well.)
towels work too.
Signed.
"Rage Against the Machine"
The Machine was probably a printer.
Or a "micros@ft" product. Plenty of memes of Xbox's (INBUILT Red Ring of Death : (
And Windows (vista ?! etc etc etc) going out …sometimes, through…a Window. : )
Of course…Geeks/Nerds have shown ways to repair the Xbox…even when they were supposedly throwaways. And Update PC’s with Alternatives .
Take that, Bill Gates…Lord of Nearly a Lot : )
Yes, Thank you P.L.A. Great.
Hi, cheers for signing too !
One thing that annoys me about the current approach to sustainability is that there often seems to be a short-sighted focus on the most obvious aspect without considering other factors.
For instance, I am all for EV technology.
But the focus seems to be on the cars themselves without considering the other highly relevant factors. For instance, the sourcing of raw materials, the effect of manufacturing on the environment, the availability of charging infrastructure, the availability of renewable generation to charge the batteries, and end of life disposal of batteries.
The result of a narrow focus can be that people feel they are doing the right thing. But it ends up becoming an exercise in virtue signalling if the whole production and use chain from beginning to end isn't considered.
The whole paradigm of duplicating capabilities of petrol cars needs to be considered.
For many people the range and carrying capacity of petrol cars is not needed.
Making the resource intensity of car manufacturing much less.
For example, Mazda with the MX 30 use a battery big enough to be more than adequate for most city owners. But smaller than competitors. Saving weight, resources and energy usage.
From an overall environmental perspective, I like the concept of hydrogen-powered cars if they can become viable. The biggest issue is around producing the hydrogen in the first place. However, if this can be done economically, I think the overall environmental footprint would be better than EVs.
There is no way hydrogen for cars can have a better footprint than EV's. The sums simply don't add up.
Reticulation and storage come into the equation as well. Hard to beat an electric grid for energy transmission.
As lightweight high energy "batteries" for ships and planes hydrogen has potential. For land transport the numbers don't add up.
Oh yea…with you on all that. And I get that not everyone can..or "could" Cycle. Why I also talk Public Transport…and Transition Towns.
But
https://theconversation.com/cycling-is-ten-times-more-important-than-electric-cars-for-reaching-net-zero-cities-157163
And there is Apathy of course…
As
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Somebody_else%27s_problem
Anyway…as I said Ever Hopeful…(and its a Sunny Day, so off to the Outside World)
Nice talk..and keep Looking : )
Having spent some time in Korea, I have to agree with Simon Draper.
Stuff closed the comments pretty quick – they don't feed the preferred narrative.
South Korea has a vision for the future. Where is New Zealand's? | Stuff.co.nz
A typical think piece based entirely on wishful thinking and a category mistake. No consideration of how South Korea got to be in the economic and developmental position it is in the first place after the Korean War – i.e. a military junta from 1961 to 1963, and a virtual dictatorship from 1963 to 1972 driving development. Nor do I think the degree of nationalism you see in South Korea today would catch on here.
It's one of those daft arguments like "we should model ourselves on Singapore" which pays no attention to the unique conditions that allow Singapore to operate the way it does – ie. it's vital position in SEA, the fact it's the only non-corrupt tech hub to do business in in that part of the world, and a degree of top down authoritarianism we simply wouldn't put up with in this country.
Not wrong about NZ, lack of vision, however.
Having spent some time with the architect of their economic policy from 1950, Lee Kie- Hong, there is much that we could learn – but the conventional response is always to reject such suggestions out of hand, without considering any of the details. The contrast is informative.
NZ is actually quite keen on economic resurgence. It became a platform for Muldoon, Douglas, and was much of the misplaced attraction of John Key – but none of them was much cop frankly. NZ produces regular crops of self-styled 'steady hands' and 'economic miracle workers' none of whom have a ghost of a clue what they're doing.
In the meantime Korea has equipped itself with high speed rail, universal internet, the best subway system in the world – the kinds of things NZ governments barely dare to dream of – a single conventional train from Hamilton to Auckland, which we had a hundred years ago, is about as far as things go. The same lack of vision is presently dooming our climate response.
Strike what, kindergartens, hospitals, schools, churches, care facilities?
https://twitter.com/Gerashchenko_en/status/1533406786702741504
It looks like Putin is alg about the Himars systems going to Ukraine (with the 80km range missiles not the 300km ones) saying that Ukraine already had missiles with that range, so it doesn't change anything.
That being the case, the US should send a few hundred of the systems.
Yes , four's a bit measly, a token effort, almost as if the US is not serious
I understand that four were immediately available in Europe.
The Ukrainians need to be trained on these so I expect that is what the first four will be used for and that more will likely be on the way.
I don’t think the US and NATO fully disclose everything they are doing for obvious reasons.
Are people who post on political blogs nuts? Of course we are. We are the electronic version of people who write letters to the editor, except we are nuttier. To loosely paraphrase Chris Trotter (re blogs):
'' a hand full of people jumping up and down and arguing on a very small part of the internet''
In my opinion there are two classes of nut: Those who know they are nuts and carry on regardless. And those who have no idea they are nutty. They believe they are pontificating arguments of importance that will influence something, somebody, down the track. Thankfully I belong to the former class.
Jumping forward.
A while back I commented to Iprent that I dealt more with emotional feel and psychic imprints around a topic rather than dry facts. Hence, Incognito stating I can argue my opinions but not the facts. That is true to a DEGREE.
The problem with facts is you can attack their architecture. The fact may remain but a taint is added: eg ''The study was 5 years old, so may not be currently accurate.'' Even though the facts show, and a recent review confirms the original study is still current and proven valid, a taint has been added.
Iprent shows two examples of this in his replies to stories I have posted:
1- I posted that inflation was at the time running at 5.9%. He added much commentary around that figure. But nothing had changed. The figure was still 5.9%.
2- I posted that the current radio survey/ratings had Mike Hosking's show top in its time segment and that it had picked up increased audience numbers. Iprent basically said those type of surveys are inaccurate and meant little. I knew he was incorrect simply because of the anger out in the community aimed at Labour. I knew he was incorrect because of the hate Lefties have for Hoskings. 77, 000 people signed a petition to get rid of Hosking a few years back when he was at TV1. I bet many of those who signed were Lefties who didn't even watch the great one. I knew Iprent was incorrect because in many of Mikey's interviews, the interviewee says '' that's a good question.'' before answering. So I'm getting my feel for the topic/fact, not from the facts, but from peripheral issues/emotions surrounding the topic.
https://www.change.org/p/tvnz-get-rid-of-hosking-1347aa6d-8044-4a33-ba59-7fe0a5dba42b/c/468079907
I have always thought I would love to have my system made into a programme that could be used to save myself time. A programme that could scan issues and posts for the emotions and feeling underneath facts and words.
And someone has done that, but with the twist of using computers to analyse social media posts and gain an insight into people's mental states.
Quote:
''What sets the new model apart is a focus on the emotions rather than the specific content of the social media texts being analysed. In a paper presented at the 20th International Conference on Web Intelligence and Intelligent Agent Technology, the researchers show that this approach performs better over time, irrespective of the topics discussed in the posts.
https://techxplore.com/news/2022-03-ai-mental-disorders-based-web.html
Lordy – the results of scanning this blog would be interesting.
What a surprise – the ignorant and opinionated dolt is impressed by another ignorant and opinionated dolt.
So your grasp on realty is so tenuous you admire a calumniator – why tell us? Go direct to Hosking talkback – there you will find many other stupid people whose discourse is likewise unleavened by inconvenient facts.
[Don’t take the bait, don’t feed the trolls, don’t attack others here, don’t start flame wars and leave it to the Mods – Incognito]
Mod note
Noted.
Thankyou. That's all I wanted.
You don’t always get what you want and be careful what you wish for here from now on.
This comes across as yet another unhinged rant by you because you have a chip on your shoulder and you’re confused about how this site works. It is also a broad attack on the site and its commenters implying that they have mental disorders and they’re nutty without knowing it.
Whether you call it “emotional feel and psychic [sic] imprints”, views or viewpoints, or opinions, it is all the same, but none give you a free pass to spout your BS without consequences. Facts, claims of facts, assertions, all of those you need to be able to support, as part of your argument.
You should read this first: https://thestandard.org.nz/policy/#rules.
You make up some BS hypothetical example about a fact, which proves nothing and clears up nothing. And it’s f-ing irrelevant. Taking liberties with facts, making tentative extrapolations, and projections into the future are all symptoms and very recent examples of your disingenuous commenting here. But then you give 2 examples by Lprent that supposedly show how right you were and how wrong Lprent was.
You did not include links!! I should ban you for this alone.
The first one about inflation I could trace to this: https://thestandard.org.nz/open-mike-02-02-2022/#comment-1857344. You were being educated and you still don’t realise it. And you didn’t state that inflation was 5.9%, FFS!
The second one about Mike Hosking is a bit of a guess, but I assume it is this one: https://thestandard.org.nz/open-mike-06-12-2021/#comment-1839806. However, I cannot see the connection with your present rant, so maybe I’ve got the wrong one.
No, forget your ‘feels’ and learn to properly argue here, following the simple rules of this site.
I’m deliberately not moderating you here because I want to give other Mods a chance to do so. If not, I’m sure I will moderate one of your comments soon enough because you have no credit left and show no signs of improvement.
The guest knew his time would be short and so, before he was chosen for the departure line, determined on gaslighting the neighbourhood.
One more reason to have an online username and maintain internet ID privacy … .
So the psychiatric gulag is hunting patients online. It might however provide useful information as a background check for access to guns.
However, it could be so easily manipulated by those who know of the design. A few deliberate provocations, or calculated insults to create an impact/effect.
Anything to say about the post? Apart from invective? I won't ask you to self reflect and state what class of nut you are, simply because you are incapable of doing that. Idiot.
[It looks like you’re heading for self-martyrdom and want to drag other commenters, who are stupid enough to take the bait, down with you. Suffice to say, the bans won’t be of equal length – Incognito]
Mod note