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]
Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: My top six things to note around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the week to July 27 were:1. The Minister for Ford Rangers strikes againTransport Minister Simeon Brown was again the busiest of the Cabinet ministers this week, announcing an ...
You got a fast carAnd I want a ticket to anywhereMaybe we make a dealMaybe together we can get somewhereAny place is betterYesterday’s newsletter, Trust In Me, on the report of abuse in state care, and by religious organisations, between 1950 and 2019, coupled with the hypocrisy of Christopher Luxon ...
New Zealand is again having to reconcile conflicting pressures from its military and its trade interests. Should we join Pillar Two of AUKUS and risk compromising our markets in China? For a century after New Zealand was founded in 1840, its external security arrangements and external economics arrangements were aligned. ...
The ‘50 Shades of Green’ farmers’ protest in 2019 was heavy on climate change denial, but five years on, scepticism and criticism about the idea that pine forests can save us is growing across the board. File photo: Lynn GrievesonTL;DR: Here’s the top six news items of note in climate ...
This morning the sky was bright.The birds, in their usual joyous bliss. Nature doesn’t seem to feel the heat of what might angst humans.Their calls are clear and beautiful.Just some random thoughts:MāoriPaul Goldsmith has announced his government will roll back the judiciary’s rulings on Māori Customary Marine Title, which recognises ...
In 2003, the Court of Appeal delivered its decision in Ngati Apa v Attorney-General, ruling that Māori customary title over the foreshore and seabed had not been universally extinguished, and that the Māori Land Court could determine claims and confirm title if the facts supported it. This kicked off the ...
Earlier this week at Parliament, Labour leader Chris Hipkins was applauded for saying that the response to the final report of the Royal Commission of Inquiry into Abuse in Care had to be “bigger than politics.” True, but the fine words, apologies and “we hear you” messages will soon ring ...
TL;DR: In news breaking this morning:The Ministry of Education is cutting $2 billion from its school building programme so the National-ACT-NZ First Coalition Government has enough money to deliver tax cuts; The Government has quietly lowered its child poverty reduction targets to make them easier to achieve;Te Whatu Ora-Health NZ’s ...
Kia ora. These are some stories that caught our eye this week – as always, feel free to share yours in the comments. Our header image this week (via Eke Panuku) shows the planned upgrade for the Karanga Plaza Tidal Swimming Steps. The week in Greater Auckland On ...
1. What's not to love about the way the Harris campaign is turning things around?a. Nothingb. Love all of itc. God what a reliefd. Not that it will be by any means easye. All of the above 2. Documents released by the Ministry of Health show Associate Health Minister Casey ...
Trust in me in all you doHave the faith I have in youLove will see us through, if only you trust in meWhy don't you, you trust me?In a week that saw the release of the 3,000 page Abuse in Care report Christopher Luxon was being asked about Boot Camps. ...
TL;DR: The podcast above of the weekly ‘hoon’ webinar for paying subscribers last night features co-hosts and talking about the Royal Commission Inquiry into Abuse in Carereport released this week, and with:The Kākā’s climate correspondent on a UN push to not recognise carbon offset markets and ...
TL;DR: As of 6:00 am on Friday, July 26, the top six announcements, speeches, reports and research around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day are:Transport: Simeon Brown announced$802.9 million in funding for 18 new trains on the Wairarapa and Manawatū rail lines, which ...
The northern expressway extension from Warkworth to Whangarei is likely to require radical changes to legislation if it is going to be built within the foreseeable future. The Government’s powers to purchase land, the planning process and current restrictions on road tolling are all going to need to be changed ...
Text within this block will maintain its original spacing when publishedFirst they came for the doctors But I was confused by the numbers and costs So I didn't speak up Then they came for our police and nurses And I didn't think we could afford those costs anyway So I ...
Photo by Joshua J. Cotten on UnsplashWe’re back again after our mid-winter break. We’re still with the ‘new’ day of the week (Thursday rather than Friday) when we have our ‘hoon’ webinar with paying subscribers to The Kākā for an hour at 5 pm.Jump on this link on YouTube Livestream ...
Notes: This is a free article. Abuse in Care themes are mentioned. Video is at the bottom.BackgroundYesterday’s report into Abuse in Care revealed that at least 1 in 3 of all who went through state and faith based care were abused - often horrifically. At least, because not all survivors ...
Luxon speaks in Parliament yesterday about the Abuse in Care report. Photo: Hagen Hopkins/Getty ImagesTL;DR: The top six things I’ve noted around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy today are:PM Christopher Luxon said yesterday in tabling the Abuse in Carereport in Parliament he wanted to ‘do the ...
About a decade ago I worked with a bloke called Steve. He was the grizzled veteran coder, a few years older than me, who knew where the bodies were buried - code wise. Despite his best efforts to be approachable and friendly he could be kind of gruff, through to ...
Some of the recent announcements from the government have reminded us of posts we’ve written in the past. Here’s one from early 2020. There were plenty of reactions to the government’s infrastructure announcement a few weeks ago which saw them fund a bunch of big roading projects. One of ...
TL;DR: My pick of the top six links elsewhere around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day or so to 7:00 am on Thursday, July 25 are:News: Why Electric Kiwi is closing to new customers - and why it matters RNZ’s Susan EdmundsScoop: Government drops ...
Hi,I felt a small wet tongue snaking through one of the holes in my Crocs. It explored my big toe, darting down one side, then the other. “He’s looking for some toe cheese,” said the woman next to me, words that still haunt me to this day.Growing up in New ...
Yesterday I happily quoted the Prime Minister without fact-checking him and sure enough, it turns out his numbers were all to hell. It’s not four kg of Royal Commission report, it’s fourteen.My friend and one-time colleague-in-comms Hazel Phillips gently alerted me to my error almost as soon as I’d hit ...
TL;DR: As of 6:00 am on Thursday, July 25, the top six announcements, speeches, reports and research around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day were:The Abuse in Care Royal Commission of Inquirypublished its final report yesterday.PM Christopher Luxon and The Minister responsible for ...
The Official Information Act has always been a battle between requesters seeking information, and governments seeking to control it. Information is power, so Ministers and government agencies want to manage what is released and when, for their own convenience, and legality and democracy be damned. Their most recent tactic for ...
TL;DR: The top six things I’ve noted around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy today are:Transport and Energy Minister Simeon Brown is accelerating plans to spend at least $10 billion through Public Private Partnerships (PPPs) to extend State Highway One as a four-lane ‘Expressway’ from Warkworth to Whangarei ...
I live my life (woo-ooh-ooh)With no control in my destinyYea-yeah, yea-yeah (woo-ooh-ooh)I can bleed when I want to bleedSo come on, come on (woo-ooh-ooh)You can bleed when you want to bleedYea-yeah, come on (woo-ooh-ooh)Everybody bleed when they want to bleedCome on and bleedGovernments face tough challenges. Selling unpopular decisions to ...
Please note:To skip directly to the- parliamentary footage in the video, scroll to 1:21 To skip to audio please click on the headphone iconon the left hand side of the screenThis video / audio section is under development. ...
Given the crackdown on wasteful government spending, it behooves me to point to a high profile example of spending by the Luxon government that looks like a big, fat waste of time and money. I’m talking about the deployment of NZDF personnel to support the US-led coalition in the Red ...
TL;DR: My pick of the top six links elsewhere around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day or so to 7:40 am on Wednesday, July 24 are:Deep Dive: Chipping away at the housing crisis, including my comments RNZ/Newsroom’s The DetailNews: Government softens on asset sales, ...
As I reported about the city centre, Auckland’s rail network is also going through a difficult and disruptive period which is rapidly approaching a culmination, this will result in a significant upgrade to the whole network. Hallelujah. Also like the city centre this is an upgrade predicated on the City ...
Today, a 4 kilogram report will be delivered to Parliament. We know this is what the report of the Royal Commission of Inquiry into Abuse in State and Faith-based Care weighs, because our Prime Minister told us so.Some reporter had blindsided him by asking a question about something done by ...
TL;DR: As of 7:00 am on Wednesday, July 24, the top six announcements, speeches, reports and research around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day are:Beehive:Transport Minister Simeon Brownannounced plans to use PPPs to fund, build and run a four-lane expressway between Auckland ...
NewstalkZB host Mike Hosking, who can usually be relied on to give Prime Minister Christopher Luxon an easy run, did not do so yesterday when he interviewed him about the HealthNZ deficit. Luxon is trying to use a deficit reported last year by HealthNZ as yet another example of the ...
Back in January a StatsNZ employee gave a speech at Rātana on behalf of tangata whenua in which he insulted and criticised the government. The speech clearly violated the principle of a neutral public service, and StatsNZ started an investigation. Part of that was getting an external consultant to examine ...
Renting for life: Shared ownership initiatives are unlikely to slow the slide in home ownership by much. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The top six things I’ve noted around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy today are:A Deloittereport for Westpac has projected Aotearoa’s home-ownership rate will ...
You're broken down and tiredOf living life on a merry go roundAnd you can't find the fighterBut I see it in you so we gonna walk it outAnd move mountainsWe gonna walk it outAnd move mountainsAnd I'll rise upI'll rise like the dayI'll rise upI'll rise unafraidI'll rise upAnd I'll ...
There’s been a change in Myers Park. Down the steps from St. Kevin’s Arcade, past the grassy slopes, the children’s playground, the benches and that goat statue, there has been a transformation. The underpass for Mayoral Drive has gone from a barren, grey, concrete tunnel, to a place that thrums ...
This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections Global society may have finally slammed on the brakes for climate-warming pollution released by human fossil fuel combustion. According to the Carbon Monitor Project, the total global climate pollution released between February and May 2024 declined slightly from the amount released during the same ...
TL;DR: My pick of the top six links elsewhere around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day or so to 7:00 am on Tuesday, July 23 are:Deep Dive: Penlink: where tolling rhetoric meets reality BusinessDesk-$$$’sOliver LewisScoop:Te Pūkenga plans for regional polytechs leak out ...
TL;DR: As of 6:00 am on Tuesday, July 23, the top six announcements, speeches, reports and research around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day are:Health: Shane Reti announcedthe Board of Te Whatu Ora-Health New Zealand was being replaced with Commissioner Lester Levy ...
Health NZ warned the Government at the end of March that it was running over Budget. But the reasons it gave were very different to those offered by the Prime Minister yesterday. Prime Minister Christopher Luxon blamed the “botched merger” of the 20 District Health Boards (DHBs) to create Health ...
Long ReadKey Summary: Although National increased the health budget by $1.4 billion in May, they used an old funding model to project health system costs, and never bothered to update their pre-election numbers. They were told during the Health Select Committees earlier in the year their budget amount was deficient, ...
As a momentous, historic weekend in US politics unfolded, analysts and commentators grasped for precedents and comparisons to help explain the significance and power of the choice Joe Biden had made. The 46th president had swept the Democratic party’s primaries but just over 100 days from the election had chosen ...
TL;DR: I’m casting around for new ideas and ways of thinking about Aotearoa’s political economy to find a few solutions to our cascading and self-reinforcing housing, poverty and climate crises.Associate Professor runs an online masters degree in the economics of sustainability at Torrens University in Australia and is organising ...
The Finance and Expenditure Committee has reported back on National's Local Government (Water Services Preliminary Arrangements) Bill. The bill sets up water for privatisation, and was introduced under urgency, then rammed through select committee with no time even for local councils to make a proper submission. Naturally, national's select committee ...
Some years ago, I bought a book at Dunedin’s Regent Booksale for $1.50. As one does. Vandrad the Viking (1898), by J. Storer Clouston, is an obscure book these days – I cannot find a proper online review – but soon it was sitting on my shelf, gathering dust alongside ...
History is not on the side of the centre-left, when Democratic presidents fall behind in the polls and choose not to run for re-election. On both previous occasions in the past 75 years (Harry Truman in 1952, Lyndon Johnson in 1968) the Democrats proceeded to then lose the White House ...
This is a free articleCoverageThis morning, US President Joe Biden announced his withdrawal from the Presidential race. And that is genuinely newsworthy. Thanks for your service, President Biden, and all the best to you and yours.However, the media in New Zealand, particularly the 1News nightly bulletin, has been breathlessly covering ...
A homeless person’s camp beside a blocked-off slipped damage walkway in Freeman’s Bay: we are chasing our tail on our worsening and inter-related housing, poverty and climate crises. Photo: Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The top six things I’ve noted around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy ...
What has happened to it all?Crazy, some'd sayWhere is the life that I recognise?(Gone away)But I won't cry for yesterdayThere's an ordinary worldSomehow I have to findAnd as I try to make my wayTo the ordinary worldYesterday morning began as many others - what to write about today? I began ...
TL;DR: My pick of the top six links elsewhere around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day or so to 7:00 am on Monday, July 22 are:Today’s Must Read: Father and son live in a tent, and have done for four years, in a million ...
TL;DR: As of 7:00 am on Monday, July 22, the top six announcements, speeches, reports and research around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day are:US President Joe Biden announced via X this morning he would not stand for a second term.Multinational professional services firm ...
A listing of 32 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, July 14, 2024 thru Sat, July 20, 2024. Story of the week As reflected by preponderance of coverage, our Story of the Week is Project 2025. Until now traveling ...
This weekend, a friend pointed out someone who said they’d like to read my posts, but didn’t want to pay. And my first reaction was sympathy.I’ve already told folks that if they can’t comfortably subscribe, and would like to read, I’d be happy to offer free subscriptions. I don’t want ...
National: The Party of ‘Law and Order’ IntroductionThis weekend, the Government formally kicked off one of their flagship policy programs: a military style boot camp that New Zealand has experimented with over the past 50 years. Cartoon credit: Guy BodyIt’s very popular with the National Party’s Law and Orderimage, ...
Day one of the solo leg of my long journey home begins with my favourite sound: footfalls in an empty street. 5.00 am and it’s already light and already too warm, almost.If I can make the train that leaves Budapest later this hour I could be in Belgrade by nightfall; ...
Do you remember Y2K, the threat that hung over humanity in the closing days of the twentieth century? Horror scenarios of planes falling from the sky, electronic payments failing and ATMs refusing to dispense cash. As for your VCR following instructions and recording your favourite show - forget about it.All ...
Climate Change Minister Simon Watts being questioned by The Kākā’s Bernard Hickey.TL;DR: My top six things to note around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the week to July 20 were:1. A strategy that fails Zero Carbon Act & Paris targetsThe National-ACT-NZ First Coalition Government finally unveiled ...
Summary:As New Zealand loses at least 12 leaders in the public service space of health, climate, and pharmaceuticals, this month alone, directly in response to the Government’s policies and budget choices, what lies ahead may be darker than it appears. Tui examines some of those departures and draws a long ...
The Minister of Housing’s ambition is to reduce markedly the ratio of house prices to household incomes. If his strategy works it would transform the housing market, dramatically changing the prospects of housing as an investment.Leaving aside the Minister’s metaphor of ‘flooding the market’ I do not see how the ...
As previously noted, my historical fantasy piece, set in the fifth-century Mediterranean, was accepted for a Pirate Horror anthology, only for the anthology to later fall through. But in a good bit of news, it turned out that the story could indeed be re-marketed as sword and sorcery. As of ...
An employee of tobacco company Philip Morris International demonstrates a heated tobacco device. Photo: Getty ImagesTL;DR: The top six things I’ve noted around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy on Friday, July 19 are:At a time when the Coalition Government is cutting spending on health, infrastructure, education, housing ...
TL;DR: My pick of the top six links elsewhere around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day or so to 8:30 am on Friday, July 19 are:Scoop: NZ First Minister Casey Costello orders 50% cut to excise tax on heated tobacco products. The minister has ...
Kia ora, it’s time for another Friday roundup, in which we pull together some of the links and stories that caught our eye this week. Feel free to add more in the comments! Our header image this week shows a foggy day in Auckland town, captured by Patrick Reynolds. ...
TL;DR : Here’s the top six items climate news for Aotearoa this week, as selected by Bernard Hickey and The Kākā’s climate correspondent Cathrine Dyer. A discussion recorded yesterday is in the video above and the audio of that sent onto the podcast feed.The Government released its draft Emissions Reduction ...
Save some money, get rich and old, bring it back to Tobacco Road.Bring that dynamite and a crane, blow it up, start all over again.Roll up. Roll up. Or tailor made, if you prefer...Whether you’re selling ciggies, digging for gold, catching dolphins in your nets, or encouraging folks to flutter ...
Waiting In The Wings:For truly, if Trump is America’s un-assassinated Caesar, then J.D. Vance is America’s Octavian, the Republic’s youthful undertaker – and its first Emperor.DONALD TRUMP’S SELECTION of James D. Vance as his running-mate bodes ill for the American republic. A fervent supporter of Viktor Orban, the “illiberal” prime ...
TL;DR: As of 6:00 am on Friday, July 19, the top six announcements, speeches, reports and research around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day are:The PSAannounced the Employment Relations Authority (ERA) had ruled in the PSA’s favour in its case against the Ministry ...
Te Rangi e tu nei (The sky above us) Te Papa e takoto nei (The land beneath us) Tatou katoa te hunga ora (To us all the living) Tena koutou katoa (Greetings) ...
A late change to charter school legislation will cheat educators out of fair pay and negotiating power proving charter schools are just a vehicle to make profit out of our education system. ...
In 2004 te iwi Māori rallied against the Crown’s attempt to confiscate our coastlines and moana with the Foreshore and Seabed Act. This led to the largest hīkoi of a generation and the birth of Te Pāti Māori. 20 years later, history is repeating itself. Today the government has announced ...
It has been five and a half years since the Royal Commission of Inquiry into Abuse in Care was established to investigate the abuse of children, young people, and vulnerable adults within state and faith-based institutions. Yesterday, the final report - Whanaketia through pain and trauma, from darkness to light ...
The Green Party is calling on the Government to take action off the back of the International Court of Justice ruling on Israel’s illegal occupation of Palestine. ...
On Friday the International Court of Justice reaffirmed what Palestinian’s have been telling us for decades: that the occupation and colonisation of Palestinian lands by Israel is illegal and must end immediately. They also called for reparations for Palestinian’s who have lived under Israeli occupation since it began in 1967. ...
Labour calls on the Government to act after the International Court of Justice (ICJ) ruled that Israel’s occupation of Palestinian Territories is illegal. ...
The 53.7 percent rise in benefit sanctions over the last year is more proof of this Government’s disdain for our communities most in need of support. ...
Aotearoa could be a country where every child grows up feeling safe, loved and with a sense of belonging in their whānau and community. But for some of our children, this is far from reality. Instead, they are trapped in a maze of intergenerational harm that they can’t escape on ...
Te Pāti Māori are calling for David Seymour to resign as Associate Health Minister in response to his call for Pharmac to ignore the Treaty of Waitangi. “This announcement is just another example of the government’s anti-Tiriti, anti-Māori agenda.” Said Co-leader and spokesperson for health, Debbie Ngarewa-Packer. “Seymour thinks it ...
The soaring price of renting is driving the rise of inflation in this country - with latest figures from Stats NZ showing rents are up 4.8 per cent on average while annual inflation is at 3.3 per cent. ...
National’s Emissions Reduction Plan will take New Zealand further from the economy we need to ensure the next generation has a stable climate and secure livelihoods. ...
Following consultation with named parties and thorough consideration of privacy interests, the Green Party is in a position to release the Executive Summary of the final report from the independent investigation into Darleen Tana. ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon should be asking serious questions of his Minister for Resources Shane Jones now it’s been revealed he misled the public about a dinner with mining companies that he didn’t declare and said wasn’t pre-arranged. ...
Te Pāti Māori have submitted to the Justice Select Committee against the Sentencing (Reinstating Three Strikes) Amendment Bill. The bill will further entrench racism in our justice system and fails to focus on rehabilitation. “Reinstating Three Strikes will empower a systematically racist system and exacerbate the overrepresentation of Māori in ...
The Transport and Infrastructure Committee is set to make a determination on the Residential Tenancies Amendment (RTA) Bill in the coming weeks. “This legislation will give landlords the power to kick our whānau out onto the street for no reason” said Housing spokesperson, Mariameno Kapa-Kingi. “Their solution to the housing ...
“National’s campaign was about tackling crime and the best they can do is a two-year long Ministerial Advisory Group,” Labour justice spokesperson Duncan Webb said. ...
“There are more examples of charter schools failing their students than there are success stories. The coalition Government is driving to dismantle our public school system and instead promote a privatised, competitive structure that puts profits before kids,” Jan Tinetti said. ...
“This government is choosing to deliberately mislead and withhold information, keeping our people in the dark about this government’s agenda and the future of our mokopuna,” said co-leader and spokesperson for Health, Debbie Ngarewa-Packer. The call comes after the demand from the Chief Ombudsman that Associate Minister of Health, Casey ...
“Today’s climate announcement by Simon Watts makes clear the National Government is simply paying lip service to meeting its climate change targets,” Megan Woods said. ...
National is choosing to make life harder for workers by taking away the rights our communities have fought hard for. Here's how they’re taking workers backwards. ...
Australia, Canada and New Zealand today issued the following statement on the need for an urgent ceasefire in Gaza and the risk of expanded conflict between Hizballah and Israel. The situation in Gaza is catastrophic. The human suffering is unacceptable. It cannot continue. We remain unequivocal in our condemnation of ...
Attorney-General Judith Collins today reminded all State and faith-based institutions of their legal obligation to preserve records relevant to the safety and wellbeing of those in its care. “The Abuse in Care Inquiry’s report has found cases where records of the most vulnerable people in State and faith‑based institutions were ...
Minister of Internal Affairs Brooke van Velden says the Government’s online safety website for children and young people has reached one million page views. “It is great to see so many young people and their families accessing the site Keep It Real Online to learn how to stay safe online, and manage ...
Tēnā tātou katoa, Ngā mihi te rangi, ngā mihi te whenua, ngā mihi ki a koutou, kia ora mai koutou. Thank you for the opportunity to be here and the invitation to speak at this 50th anniversary conference. I acknowledge all those who have gone before us and paved the ...
New Zealand’s payroll providers have successfully prepared to ensure 3.5 million individuals will, from Wednesday next week, be able to keep more of what they earn each pay, says Finance Minister Nicola Willis and Revenue Minister Simon Watts. “The Government's tax policy changes are legally effective from Wednesday. Delivering this tax ...
An experimental vineyard which will help futureproof the wine sector has been opened in Blenheim by Associate Regional Development Minister Mark Patterson. The covered vineyard, based at the New Zealand Wine Centre – Te Pokapū Wāina o Aotearoa, enables controlled environmental conditions. “The research that will be produced at the Experimental ...
The Coalition Government has confirmed the indicative regional breakdown of North Island Weather Event (NIWE) funding for state highway recovery projects funded through Budget 2024, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. “Regions in the North Island suffered extensive and devastating damage from Cyclone Gabrielle and the 2023 Auckland Anniversary Floods, and ...
Indonesia’s Foreign Minister, Retno Marsudi, will visit New Zealand next week, Foreign Minister Winston Peters has announced. “Indonesia is important to New Zealand’s security and economic interests and is our closest South East Asian neighbour,” says Mr Peters, who is currently in Laos to engage with South East Asian partners. ...
He aha te kai a te rangatira? He kōrero, he kōrero, he kōrero. The government has reaffirmed its commitment to supporting the aspirations of Ngāti Maniapoto, Minister for Māori Development Tama Potaka says. “My thanks to Te Nehenehenui Trust – Ngāti Maniapoto for bringing their important kōrero to a ministerial ...
Transport Minister Simeon Brown has thanked outgoing Chair of the Civil Aviation Authority, Janice Fredric, for her service to the board.“I have received Ms Fredric’s resignation from the role of Chair of the Civil Aviation Authority,” Mr Brown says.“On behalf of the Government, I want to thank Ms Fredric for ...
The Government is proposing legislation to overturn a Court of Appeal decision and amend the Marine and Coastal Area Act in order to restore Parliament’s test for Customary Marine Title, Treaty Negotiations Minister Paul Goldsmith says. “Section 58 required an applicant group to prove they have exclusively used and occupied ...
Regulation Minister David Seymour says that opposition parties have united in bad faith, opposing what they claim are ‘dangerous changes’ to the Early Childhood Education sector, despite no changes even being proposed yet. “Issues with affordability and availability of early childhood education, and the complexity of its regulation, has led ...
After receiving more than 740 submissions in the first 20 days, Regulation Minister David Seymour is asking the Ministry for Regulation to extend engagement on the early childhood education regulation review by an extra two weeks. “The level of interest has been very high, and from the conversations I’ve been ...
The Coalition Government is investing $802.9 million into the Wairarapa and Manawatū rail lines as part of a funding agreement with the NZ Transport Agency (NZTA), KiwiRail, and the Greater Wellington and Horizons Regional Councils to deliver more reliable services for commuters in the lower North Island, Transport Minister Simeon ...
Local Government Minister Simeon Brown has announced his intention to appoint a Crown Manager to both Hawke’s Bay Regional and Wairoa District Councils to speed up the delivery of flood protection work in Wairoa."Recent severe weather events in Wairoa this year, combined with damage from Cyclone Gabrielle in 2023 have ...
Mr Speaker, this is a day that many New Zealanders who were abused in State care never thought would come. It’s the day that this Parliament accepts, with deep sorrow and regret, the Report of the Royal Commission of Inquiry into Abuse in Care. At the heart of this report are the ...
For the first time, the Government is formally acknowledging some children and young people at Lake Alice Psychiatric Hospital experienced torture. The final report of the Royal Commission of Inquiry into Abuse in State and Faith-based Care “Whanaketia – through pain and trauma, from darkness to light,” was tabled in Parliament ...
The Government has acknowledged the nearly 2,400 courageous survivors who shared their experiences during the Royal Commission of Inquiry into Historical Abuse in State and Faith-Based Care. The final report from the largest and most complex public inquiry ever held in New Zealand, the Royal Commission Inquiry “Whanaketia – through ...
With a week to go before hard-working New Zealanders see personal income tax relief for the first time in fourteen years, 513,000 people have used the Budget tax calculator to see how much they will benefit, says Finance Minister Nicola Willis. “Tax relief is long overdue. From next Wednesday, personal income ...
Workplace Relations and Safety Minister Brooke van Velden says a bill that has passed its first reading will improve parental leave settings and give non-biological parents more flexibility as primary carer for their child. The Regulatory Systems Amendment Bill (No3), passed its first reading this morning. “It includes a change ...
Two Bills designed to improve regulation and make it easier to do business have passed their first reading in Parliament, says Economic Development Minister Melissa Lee. The Regulatory Systems (Economic Development) Amendment Bill and Regulatory Systems (Immigration and Workforce) Amendment Bill make key changes to legislation administered by the Ministry ...
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The Government has welcomed news the NZ Transport Agency (NZTA) has begun work to replace nine priority bridges across the country to ensure our state highway network remains resilient, reliable, and efficient for road users, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says.“Increasing productivity and economic growth is a key priority for the ...
Acting Prime Minister David Seymour has been in contact throughout the evening with senior officials who have coordinated a whole of government response to the global IT outage and can provide an update. The Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet has designated the National Emergency Management Agency as the ...
New Zealand and Japan will continue to step up their shared engagement with the Pacific, Foreign Minister Winston Peters says. “New Zealand and Japan have a strong, shared interest in a free, open and stable Pacific Islands region,” Mr Peters says. “We are pleased to be finding more ways ...
New developments in the heart of North Island forestry country will reinvigorate their communities and boost economic development, Regional Development Minister Shane Jones says. Mr Jones visited Kaingaroa and Kawerau in Bay of Plenty today to open a landmark community centre in the former and a new connecting road in ...
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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