Louis's M1 video

[Mac... nificent]

I can see situations where having someone with the skill to do component level repair could be useful.

Yep. Repairing vintage audio equipment would be one such example.

 

[Hoo Doo Dude]

I got the impression that the data was pretty valuable. I certainly wouldn't want to use the MacBook for anything other than offloading the data after watching the repair video. Something fried the motherboard and the repairs seemed to be just enough to get the computer to boot. Long term, I can't imagine that the MacBook would be reliable.

Even the best backup strategies can fail. Sometimes things just don't go as planned.

Pretty sure everybody's data is valuable, but I get your point. While the best backup strategies can fail, not having a backup is not a strategy. And you've made my point, the computer was made to boot and perhaps make a backup that should have been done in the first place. But having the computer not be reliable in the long run further erodes the benefit of the boutique service.

But the situation still stands that while data is recovered the user now has an unreliable, out of warranty machine that is practically brand new. In the end I suppose people that don't engage in good practices end up in dire need of ultimate last resort services at great cost. It's so much easier and less costly to have a backup drive or use iCloud or some other service to insure your data is not lost and your warranty stays intact.

I did have clients over the years who were too preoccupied to backup, protect themselves from malware, use up to spec power supplies, password protect sensitive data, or do any other basic security practices that I strongly recommended. But there was sometimes little I could do for them as my time was occupied assisting others who had maintained good practices. They ended up with "boutique" services and that often meant redos and return visits and large repair bills due to the corners being cut.

 

[Maconplasma]

Instead of assuming what I have and have not done in my life, you should actually just admit that Rossman places agenda over everything else. Defending his actions is not justification, it is nothing more than enabling an self-entitled egotist with his own agenda to push.

Don't waste your breath with reason and facts. Over on Reddit there a lot of people that don't care for Rossman at all and they are very vocal about it. Rossman also makes sure his defenders are standing close by.

 

[ouimetnick]

Don't waste your breath with reason and facts. Over on Reddit there a lot of people that don't care for Rossman at all and they are very vocal about it. Rossman also makes sure his defenders are standing close by.

Are they defending him, or the right to repair? His attitude is why I only watch an occasional repair video on his channel. His commentary, bitching and moaning about everything when he isn’t an actual engineer nor does he know the thought process behind circuit design is unnecessary. I’m not familiar with actual circuit design either, just the basics of repairing.

I agree/defend him on his views of right to repair, that’s pretty much it. I like being able to repair my audio gear (some as old as 1950s, some as new as 2008) and am glad to have access to schematics, service info and parts lists. Sometimes a transistor is NLA and has to be substituted with a newer more modern one.

In a preamp I have, early designs used a integrated voltage regulator that’s NLA. In later production runs the manufacture used separate voltage regulators (one regulator for the positive rail and one for the negative rail) If the regulator in the first gen fails, you have to modify the circuitry and retrofit a proper 2 regulator setup. Several small holes are drilled into the PCB, some resistors added, etc to basically make it like a Series II preamp. Is it factory authorized? Nope! The proper solution would be to replace the entire preamp circuit board (everything is on one board) with a revised one. The company in question doesn’t even exist anymore so you can’t. You can either throw it out/recycle it, or retrofit a proper solution to make it work. I’m all for fixing things.

I like having the service information for my car. Even though I can’t rebuild an engine, the information is helpful to those who can. The electrical diagrams are helpful to me if I need to find out what pin in a certain connector connects to on the other end.

I have the parts diagram and service guide for my 2008 Toro snowblower. It’s handy to have the torque specs when I had to disassemble it last month. It’s nice to have a pet number for a worm gear so I can order it (even if it’s a 3rd party gear) Heck I even have the service guide w/schematics for my 2018 Sony TV. Lots of off the shelf components with the exception of the main processor IC.

As far as using genuine parts, to me, it depends on how much the parts costs and how much the item in question is worth. I use genuine parts when safety is a concern. No 3rd party chargers or batteries. Some components like a capacitor, transistor, diode, etc are just common off the shelf components that you can get from Mouser, DigiKey, etc so it doesn’t matter as long as the component value is correct.

But if I’m working on a 11 year old MacBook that’s worth $200 tops, I’m just going to do what’s needed to get it working for a little while longer. It’s keeping it out of the landfill/recycling center for a little while longer, that’s all. I don’t care (nor does the customer) if it’s a used trackpad or one from eBay. The ram doesn’t need to be from Hynix or Samsung like the ones Apple used.