Microsoft supports right to repair bill in Washington; what's the catch?

[@alanmott-smith9358]

Mad respect for you Louis. I don't know how you have time to run a business, work out, date, and lead the charge for Right To Repair. I'm proud of you and I don't even know you.

[@littlemisseevee2309]

he has a great cat for support

[@georgejones5019]

​@LittleMissEevee It's just the cats and Lou is a virtual avatar.

[@SioxerNikita]

He sacrifices a lot of free time

[@EchoLog]

While a league of legends player is in the same building Let alone playing it Mans a legend

[@robertsmith2956]

I would like to see him ride around town comparing it to nyc. I miss those bike rides.

[@JodyBruchon]

*I am adamantly against the insurance and certification requirements of this bill.* Right to repair must extend to the individual. You shouldn't be required to be a repair business to access parts and schematics.

[@MadMathMike]

"Right to repair must extend to the individual." Exactly this! 💯

[@jamesslick4790]

I am old enough to remember when TVs came with schematics packed in the back. and many radios had schematics in the manual. Now you have a hell of a time even opening up electronics. At least Dell let's you download service manuals.

[@raylopez99]

@@jamesslick4790 true, and back then, if you incorrectly handled the vacuum tubes in your TV, you could literally be shocked to death. And still the local "Five and Dime" had "vacuum tube testers"! (Boy I'm showing my age)

[@Professional_Youtube_Commenter]

and to keep your certificqation you need to use original parts from the manufacturer which makes the repair too expensive to do. Like trying to get a screen replaced at the apple store for an iphone 8... good fucking luck.

[@jamesslick4790]

@@raylopez99 To be fair if someone was changing a tube in a TV (or radio) while it was plugged in, It DID help clean up the gene pool. LOL.

[@MrBearyMcBearface]

Embrace, extend, extinguish

[@5uperM]

Exactly this.

[@milkyway5573]

Literally This is what happened to the Open standard in the 2000s

[@WarblyWark]

Ah yes, the ol i triple e

[@-na-nomad6247]

The EA syndrome ?

[@AexisRai]

every time

[@richneptune]

Love the rant about CompTIA. I got paid to go on a Network+ certification course in the mid 00's, most of the course was about antiquidated network topologies and technologies (vampire taps, coax ethernet, token ring networks etc.) that hadn't been in use a decade, and even then me and my colleagues didn't learn anything useful for our current day jobs. "Garbage certification" sums their certifications perfectly, if I saw one on a CV/resume it would make zero difference to a potential person's employability.

[@rossmanngroup]

Todd makes 1.3 million dollars per year directing that organization with money they milked out of you for certifications that were mandatory in order for you to get a job. These certifications never helped you, they didn't teach you anything, they did not prove anything other than that he can afford to live a lifestyle commensurate with his salary of over 1 million dollars per year. Let that sink in. Citations in video description.

[@StrikeWarlock]

Funny thing is, if you point this out on their IGN ads on Facebook, their marketing manager will actually come out of the woodwork to accuse you of bullshitting, and, if you respond with Louis' video, will escalate it to accusing you of being a troll. Never let these pricks fool you into thinking they're on your side. CompTIA already made their stances clear on Right to Repair, and it's to stand against it.

[@WhereTheGustGoes]

What does even qualify as a good cert nowadays? I got my CCNA cert/dipoma from a college a decade ago. Work funded a sec+. I wondering if i've been job hopping based on work history alone now. What's even good nowadays?

[@travisminneapolis]

​@@rossmanngroup I think it's harder for Republicans to get on the #righttoRepair because it removes the freedom of manufacturers to control their own product and services, and it's a wide gamut of unknowns. Does this include the right to repair pacemakers? I don't want an unknown repaired medical device... But narrowly defining it to a topic like #RightToRepairTractors or #rightToRepairWheelchairs is a slamdunk that is difficult to argue why we shouldn't have that. ++ So my point is to be specific in the rights or freedoms. Don't say we deserve the right to repair anything we want, don't argue freedom in general. Pick a specific story, topic, and argue THAT. Then when the bill comes, say that the concepts apply broadly and so should the rules.

[@StrikeWarlock]

@@WhereTheGustGoes want an actual lifehack? Salesforce certifications. Look up how much Salesforce Admins make and see how much a certification exam actually costs. An Admin certificate is actually worth its weight in gold when it can land you a job that pays AT LEAST $28 an hour. They're basically the company that has the scope and authority CompTIA pretends it has.

[@ghjong001]

I'll believe it when Microsoft actually starts making the Surface or their game controllers repairable. That's something they can do immediately, without lobbying or waiting on legislation. Just put freaking $3 hall effect joysticks in their $150 controllers.

[@GreyscaleNightmares]

Good Hall effect sensors aren’t THAT cheap unfortunately (I’ve paid around 40 bucks for a kit for my steam deck) but I do agree that the incredibly expensive elite controller should have an option for Hall effect at bare minimum. Fun fact, some early ps3 controllers had them too, but Sony unfortunately made a change to a typical analog soon after. Those controllers outlived the bloody console they shipped with..

[@barrett-si4zq]

​@@GreyscaleNightmares they actually are that cheap. Any whole sale hall affect or any other magnetic sensor is going to be less than a dollar unless you buying a nist traceable probe.The several dollars you pay as an individual is just the resale price.

[@louistournas120]

I would like screws on some of these devices. Some devices have screws, but they are useless. For example, remove the screws from a TV or monitor and it still does not come apart. You need a jackhammer to open these things. Old CRT monitors and TVs are easy to open.

[@TheSimoc]

@@GreyscaleNightmares Hall sensors are extremely cheap - they are very widely utilized in whole lotta everyday stuff and cost virtually nothing. The kit you bought has very heavy profit margin, and yeah I don't know whether it contains some mechanically customized parts or some additional costly items, but Hall sensors implemented by factory definitely don't cost anything to show up on price tag of end product.

[@TitanBeats]

the controllers are repairable, I've taken mine apart and replaced the hall sensors, and installed mouse click triggers.

[@arnoldcp11]

I don't often consider the environmental impact of repair of devices, tools, furniture as its something that I enjoy doing, and support. However, I will say, every child in grade school learns the 3 R's, Reduce, Reuse, Recycle. I think we could make it the 4 R's and add Repair. I think it deserves to be there.

[@uis246]

Repair is Reduce part

[@arnoldcp11]

@@RunicSigils could not agree more!

[@specialopsdave]

​​@@RunicSigilst's always supposed to be in order. Reduce before you reuse, reuse before recycling, recycle before throwing in the garbage. People have forgotten this and assume recycling can substitute the first 2

[@windhelmguard5295]

there are four already. it goes: reduce reuse repurpose recycle

[@awsxedc3]

wouldnt the Reuse part be considered repair? to reuse it, it has to work, so repair!

[@kevinbrewer8868]

I’ve been repairing my Microsoft consuls for years, and they put little Easter eggs inside the consuls that gamers will get. Images of the master chief molded into the plastic, things like “greetings from Seattle” printed on the PCB, so I’m pretty sure Microsoft knows we’re trying to maintain our own consuls. The only thing I would request of them is to make schematics available, and get us some type of ability to buy the parts we need to fix them.

[@AtaGunZ]

what's a consuls

[@hiramsiqueiros9018]

​@@AtaGunZ sounds like consoles*

[@leonro]

​@@hiramsiqueiros9018 sounds like it, no reason to have master chief in anything but console hardware

[@VEVOJavier]

​@@ChrisWijtmans that's what I thought he was talking about at first

[@surferdude4487]

They don't have to supply the parts (likely at a substantial mark-up) they just have to stop blocking the sale of easily available components to repair shops and individuals.

[@MenkoDany]

No, you're not being petty. You're right and we're angry about this too

[@StuffOffYouStuff]

I didn't know that about Comptia. I took their network+ exam and the study guide and test questions were so awfully misaligned....also, expecting you to remember stuff like different names and speeds of network media was utterly pointless. It was singularly the worst learning experience of my life.

[@rossmanngroup]

Todd has to make 1.3 million a year somehow.

[@ChangeOfHearts39]

Yeah and theres a+ and a bunch of others

[@StuffOffYouStuff]

I did the sec+ too. That wasn't quite as bad. I was literally about to buy the data+ but after this I'm going to see what else I could do instead. Thanks Louis

[@barrett-si4zq]

​@@StuffOffYouStuff sec+ was ridiculous. It was the most broad exam I've ever taken and had no business being that expensive.

[@hanks_2210]

​@@StuffOffYouStuff cysa will be easier imho

[@Tjalve70]

I absolutely think this is a trojan horse. And the way I see it, they have already proven that. Requiring the certification is one poison pill. And saying they will offer the same to the independent service providers as they do to their own, is another poison pill. Since they can then simply not offer anything to anyone, and they will comply with the bill.

[@akamtm]

One of the main reasons I became electronic engineer was to be able to repair my own stuff. You have all my support Louis! Regards from Lima-Peru 💪💪

[@ieaatclams]

I'm sorry you live in lima

[@raylopez99]

@@ieaatclams I visited there it's not so bad, a bit polluted, like NYC is. They have some political problems in Peru right now however.

[@TheSimoc]

We have something in common. I have been electronics professional through my professional age, also repairing my own stuff. But recently, I decided to study software development, in hopes to overcome the problem that is nowadays way worse than the repairability or durability of electronics - the corrupt software markets that make all crucial software more and more bloated and drop supports of older hardware and hardware-tied platform software, for sake of dropping, all while also making UIs and funtionality clumsier and uglier. That all renders even the repairability worthless, as you cannot practically utilize the older devices anyway, due to planned software obsolescence. By learning software development, I hope I will sometime be able to fix at least some of these issues on my own.

[@JodyBruchon]

*Embrace, extend, extinguish.* Look it up!

[@kevinmac9442]

I got some of those certifications and now that I'm working in IT I can comfortably say that they were mostly useless. The best way to describe them is "a mile wide but an inch deep". They serve as a very basic foundation and for those already working in IT or already came from a computer enthusiast background can learn more just watching KZbin videos than paying for these certifications.

[@Felice_Enellen]

They're like most certifications, including college degrees. They basically let me say, as someone hiring people, "This person took the subject seriously enough to shell out some money and spend some time learning the basic language of my industry and didn't completely flunk out of the courses, so if they aren't a complete butthead in person, I'm willing to give them a chance at learning the actual, real skills on the job." TL;DR: getting certified is just telling your potential employer they won't have to explain everything to you like you're a five year old.

[@jer1776]

I also work in IT and 100% agree I've learned the most about my profession from KZbin and figuring out things on my own.

[@_nimrod92]

​​​​@@willjohnsonjohnsonyou really have to get into the perspective of employers these days that don't train anymore it signals to them that you obtained the training necessary to do the job. Now that it will reflect on the individual on a daily basis it's up for debate.

[@Felice_Enellen]

@@willjohnsonjohnson Wat. The whole point of what I said is that they don't know what they're doing. Of course they don't. They're green. Cert just means you can speak the language in the field, in my experience. It doesn't mean you know how to do anything that matters. The point where we differ is that you think they're not willing to learn, whereas I would see them as someone who was willing to take the initiative and spend the time and money, which I see as being independent, diligent, and willing to be taught. Sure, you might get someone who gets their cert and thinks they know everything, but that kind of person is gonna be a problem whether they have a cert or not, and if you're any good at interviewing people, you'll spot them a mile away. I want to hire people who are either already knowledgeable or have at least shown the ability and willingness or even eagerness to become knowledgeable. The fact they independently made an effort towards such a goal is what I care about.

[@Felice_Enellen]

@@_nimrod92 Unless you're hiring a manager of some sort, you should always assume your new employee will need training. IT and CompSci don't tend to use the same terminology as traditional trades, with apprentices and journeymen and so on, but the basic tenets are still the same, because that's what inevitably _has_ to happen, just in a much more erratic, unplanned manner, without the traditional structured career paths of old.

[@jeremygonzal8603]

My view; Microsoft should have been supporting right to repair actively from the very start simply because it puts a huge amount of pressure on its competitor; Apple. It's not hard to imagine that a big BIG chunk of Apple's profit is from their own "repairs" of their own devices that are designed to fail in very specific and predictable ways.

[@Talguy21]

Yeah, I think Microsoft is the tech company with the most to gain from R2R. Their hardware footprint is somewhat limited compared to Apple and Samsung, and their primary market is in software. They have a lot to gain in making their competitors look bad from the PR of being anti-r2r and much less to lose. This move could hit Apple where it hurts, and reduce Apple's market share by cutting into Apple's repair nonsense business model.

[@DobleWhiteAndStabley]

I like how you casually explained gamer rage from a homie and carried on without making a big deal about it. Lol, yet another reason I love this channel. It just shows you that it's real.

[@PathForger_]

I did not detect any rage incidents. S-tier editing or F-tier attention on my part. ^_^; I do sympathize however, as a rage-infused gamer myself.

[@thesenamesaretaken]

Large tech companies claiming that independent repair should be prohibited because they'll be able to look through their customers' files is particularly absurd.

[@Razor2048]

Keep in mind that many certification requirements are used to stifle the activity they don't like. For example with other similar state laws, they can start with a small license and training requirement, then a year or 2 down the line, increase the training requirements to levels where most people will not have the time or funds to complete the process. It is effectively applying the anti gun policies to repair, make it more and more time consuming and expensive to get permission in order to prevent the average person from even attempting to get permission.

[@marioprawirosudiro7301]

This is true. However, I'd like to put out another possibility. And that is, the possibility that MS is doing this to hinder Apple, which is one of their primary competitor. Apple's hardware sales and repair makes a huge chunk of their income. Forcing them to make their devices repair-friendly would disproportionately disadvantages Apple, as opposed to Microsoft (which focuses on software, though they do sell a few hardwares like Xboxes and Surfaces) or Microsoft's hardware partners (which, while focusing on hardware, does not enforce first-party repair as hard as Apple - many Lenovo or Dell owners, for example, bring their devices to independent manufacturers or modify their devices themselves, warranty be damned, so it's somewhat moot for them anyway). Again, this is just another possibility, but I wouldn't be surprised if this is true. Big corpos, for some reason, does not seem as keen to forming cartels nowadays, if the spat between MS-Google or Apple-Intel are any indication.

[@YenRug]

Louis, regarding the third party certification, definitely read up on exactly what they want to put in the bill because that is the devil in that detail. Namely: 1. Are they requiring every technician in the company be certified to gain access to the components? If not, fall on your sword and take the courses yourself, or nominate one of your managers; alternatively, set up a subsidiary company consisting of yourself, then supply everything to the "parent" company. 2. Does it specify the third party, or can it be any kind of certification? If it's the latter, set up your own certification programme on component level board repair, demonstrating how to use common tools and how to identify common points of failure. Basically, play them at their own game, something I think your own employer might agree with.

[@kicksanddude]

Louis has acquired a League of Legends player, noted.

[@user-tz5uq2bt1s]

I was thinking about why Microsoft would do this and I suspect part of the reason might be that right to repair hurts the bottom line of apple more than Microsoft.

[@simonspacek3670]

Interesting idea. I think that they also plan to be the third party certification company.

[@therealchayd]

100% regarding CompTIA, I did consider taking this certification in my last job (about 12 years back), and even then it was pretty much "give us a wad of money, answer some trivial questions and we'll give you a piece of paper". It's likely that those questions are still the same as they were, then. There seem to be an increasing number of these so-called "certifications" where they get a name for themselves in the minds of clueless corporate management, who then insist on everyone having these "certifications" in order to have a job.

[@TruthDoesNotExist]

I'm a vintage electronics collector and own some vintage omputers from the 70s and 80s, I was reading a college text about factory IT work from 2020 and was surprised when I saw it saying how to use a 1983 commodore 64 computer with a cassette tape drive (when computers used those) and a 5 1/4 inch floppy disk. It features the IBM 5150 from 1981, commodore vic 20 from 1980 and several other vintage computers that are no longer in use ANYWHERE and long long long obsolete. Not a word in the entire 200 dollar book about modern computers or even legacy windows xp computers which are used in factories. It only talked about collectible computers and even old school terminals and mainframes which no longer exist anymore because of the upkeep cost of having 50 old computer hardware. Its not just these certs that are a scam, its college too. I can't imagine paying the thousands of dollars for that course or spending all that money on the book that talks about computer hardware and software nearly half a century old that is only getting rarer and more obsolete by the day

[@sapphireglaceon]

you shouldn't need a cert to say "hey i can fix a computer"

[@sapphireglaceon]

@@ChrisWijtmans yea F that guy who forced this crap

[@alan2a1l]

As VP of IT, many years ago, I offered to pay for my 2 network techs to get their MCSE certs & they turned me down. They'd started it before and found the material covered to be antiquated & useless. As you said. They were great at their jobs without that crap. I just wanted to help their careers.

[@greyfade]

For what it's worth, Microsoft's Surface team is gradually rolling field-replaceable units into the pipeline, and new devices are increasingly field-repairable with each new device. (Source: I worked in building 86 and 88 for a few years.)

[@QuantumRedux]

DoD Employees are required to at least get COMPTIA Sec+ to work on their networks, and i can assure you that i have used none of the nonsense they make us study in my day to day operations

[@StuffOffYouStuff]

And then there's the epic CISSP. Another cert that's a mile wide and inch deep. I'll never forget the director of offensive security saying it was largely useless

[@TravisStamper]

I still do not like Microsoft, that's from 25yrs in IT though. I hope this is not an Apple right to repair scheme just created by microsoft. Thanks for the video Louis

[@joer8854]

Yeah tons of people don't understand just how scummy and horrible Microsoft has been. It's difficult to think they could be doing something that is anything but trying to screw everyone.

[@samreddig8819]

They've been making strides lately. I wouldn't say I trust it. But I'd rather have them as a ally.

[@horroRomantic444]

As an owner of 10 shares of Microsoft, I want to believe that I helped.

[@jarihaukilahti]

i guess you own 1 trilliont of microsoft then 1000x1000 +1 000 000= seem s as fair that a virus own a human body

[@OrionRahl]

I can agree about the legislative aspect regarding CompTIA. I did, in fact, however, use a lot of the knowledge I learned while studying for the A+. Combined with a few weeks of training by my next employer, I was in great shape to resolve most of my customers' issues, and I ended up getting promoted twice. Had a comfortable WFH job for 10 years with that company.

[@cinquecento1985]

10-15 years microsoft did sue a guy, how for pc recycling burned copies of the manufacture recovery CDs. It was not pirating, only for reinstall the "OS". Dont know how it ended up, but he really had to fight.

[@Dracossaint]

I think this is them, admitting some form of defeat and getting ahead of it so they can use that as a marketing bullet point. I wholeheartedly believe they will bring up how apple repair is done and use it as a stone against them.

[@justinhaller2055]

Thanks so much for coming to Washington State. I appreciate you.

[@EgaoKage]

Microsoft has been fairly consistent in saying that they want to move away from producing and selling actual hardware; instead focusing on producing and selling software which runs on hardware produced and sold by others. Even their XBOX, as a physical device, is likely to be retired; shifting to some sort of cloud-based / virtual service. To see them supporting right to repair makes a certain sort of sense, as this also translates into _their_ right to offer repair services for devices that they do not produce or sell; as well as generally facilitating a healthy device environment on which they no doubt hope their software will be running.

[@Sir_Uncle_Ned]

That CompTIA is probably why one of the questions asked on a FINAL EXAM for a networking degree was quite literally “Which of these ports is USB”

[@ifixorfreerepair3022]

Oh, and Microsoft is so concerned about Right to Repair that they serialized the hard drive in Xbox Series X so when the hard drive fails it can't be replaced. Awesome

[@DFX4509B]

So a step forward using an m.2 drive, and a million steps back to the XB360 days then.

[@midimusicforever]

Louis is our hero!

[@nutriapeluda]

Not saying that CompTIA is not a troll toll but people in charge of hiring give them the power they have. The culture of hiring managers needs to change to a more nuanced approach but they requires resources and can't be automated (thus requiring effort)

[@heroslippy6666]

Same issue with college degrees. Certain industries have zero need for a degree.

[@ethereal-material]

Seriously. Currently working towards getting into IT and every entry-level position will want you having an A+ at the bare minimum, especially if you have no prior experience. It's just a $500 assurance to HR that you at least know how to operate a computer before they hire you.

[@creedolala6918]

My A+ test featured a question about what might cause your floppy disk to stay on continuously (the cable is plugged in upside down) . They also had one question where two of the multiple choice answers were identical, and they happen to be the correct one. The test administrator said don't worry about it, if you pick the wrong one but pass anyway it won't matter. They were dated even 20 years ago, but I will say that the class I took for it, which was overkill, taught me a lot of basics about computers.

[@Noxis07]

You've mastered the KZbin clickbait game, Louis. Cats are the key to success on thos platform. Respect to you, good sir.

[@judeffr]

Haha true. Not the first catgirl I scrolled past XD

[@matthewfghjkl]

Before I got the job I have now I was studying for my A+ and network+ certifications. During my technical interview my boss told me he used to teach classes for both, and that they mean absoloutely nothing. Been working now for 6 months as a field tech repairing all kinds of devices and doing many network installations and I can confirm; my time was wasted. Thank god I never paid them $500 or whatever it is to take the tests.

[@VGMoose]

Microsoft has been making some similar moves in the open source software space in the past few years. I think they got heavily left behind and are trying to catch up by appealing to users (which is good!). You can also see this in their approach with Xbox, which has a built-in and easily accessible web browser (unlike Switch and PS5, which _also_ have browsers built in, but they have them hidden / harder to use).

[@suroguner]

To be fair to PS5 and Switch, they're game systems, not PCs or computer phones. Why try to make them a jack of all trades when they just need to be the masters of being game consoles?

[@fatboy7276]

Xbox has been a pretty easy console to fix

[@aceae4210]

(for those interested, you can find limited access to the internal browser by using the share to facebook/twitter thing (in screenshots for example) what will happen is it will open up a very restrictive browser to open up the login screens for them the way people got around this was by abusing the advanced wifi settings and making the DNS IP address to a service that then lets you access to the open web (but note the most things don't work the best apparently)

[@suroguner]

@@dustojnikhummer Is play station a PC or game system? Next thing you're going to tell me is I can write a 5 page essay on it and hook it up to a printer.

[@moho472]

@@dustojnikhummer Two major reasons. 1. Not many people used the Web Browser on the PlayStation 3/4, so they decided to drop it. 2. (and probably the main reason) They don't want users to find WebKit exploits in the browser. A big reason why PS4's and PS3's were soft-modded were due to deficiencies in their Web Browser (I know technically OFW 3.55 was the main way to use CFW on PS3s in the day, but now we use WebKit exploits on the browser). Sure, there's a small minority that might want the Web Browser, but Sony and Nintendo deemed it as a liability, and they heavily restrict its use.

[@leosthrivwithautism]

I had employers long ago that required an A+ certification. I got the cost reimbursed by them. But it had no relevance at all to the job I had back then. My cert is more than 20 years old and even back then it was already antiquated. Most worthless Cert that I own.

[@camstegames8437]

I think one of the main reasons MS would support a right to repair bill is....they aren't truly a hardware focused company à la an apple or cisco. Even the xbox side, their biggest name hardware, they are more focused on game pass than upping xbox sales. I think they recognize they aren't going to catch sony or apple on the hardware side, and the right to repair our own hardware will MASSIVELY affect the bottom line of their competitors way more than them. It's smart business.

[@timvanranderaad7833]

I hope that the EU will crackdown on anti-repair behavior of companies, especially Apple

[@ralfvandeven3155]

I think screwing over Apple and other competitors is a big incentive for Microsoft. While at the same time the consoles are struggling with declining market share. The gamers that want the latest in gaming are more inclined to Playstation because it has exclusive titles which the xbox is lacking. So forcing people to replace their consoles is a losing proposition for Microsoft. This is just a business move from Microsoft. But you know what they say: the enemy of my enemy is my friend.

[@arbyyyyh]

As soon as I heard you say CompTIA I immediately shuddered. How am I not surprised their bullshit comes up in all this.

[@TheBHAitken]

The reason Microsoft would support right-to-repair is that except for a small handful of items, Microsoft doesn't produce it's own hardware. That being said, it's been a long time since you could buy the specs for the 4086 at your local book store.

[@realpainediaz7473]

💡

[@zachkorinis3935]

I can't think of a time I attended a class for anything and didn't roll my eyes when asked to "read up " on outdated, redundant or irrelevant sections that did not relate to what I actually do in the field. For instance, as a carpenter in a union that builds a ton of metal scaffold for a ton of projects, that attended a mandatory class and was asked to build a spice rack. I ask what is this, "industry critical " or summer camp! And yes it costs 100's of dollars and takes weeks to complete that level including "refreshing" grade 10 math but miss a day or be late a couple times and you'll be booted so really its one of those "all you need to do is show up to pass" scenarios. Mind you, the torch welding section was my favorite but was only about 5-10% of the time.

[@zBrain0]

Louis, would you ever consider creating a third party course for electronics repair that actually was relevant? If all the bill says is that it needs to be third-party, you are a third party to almost everybody. The only people that would need the a+ exam would be your staff LOL

[@Sciborg9]

The choice of who can repair a device should be up to the device owner. If certifications give device owners more warm fuzzies about who to trust, then okay; but those certifications shouldn't be mandatory for buying parts. With that said, I wonder why they are pushing comptia instead of ipc.

[@Jim26D]

The bigger scam with comp Tia is now you have to re take it every couple years. It used to not expire, And yes the firewire daisy chain question was on the test.

[@ZenithWest169]

When I first heard this I just thought about their major competitors Apple (notorious for making it hard to repair) and PlayStation. My thought process was it would hurt competitors more.

[@naughtiusmaximus830]

Microsoft is cross platform. It kinda makes sense.

[@Mysdia]

Yeah.. I'm thinking over time Right to Repair would lower hardware costs and make more viable old devices available on the secondary market - these devices would still run MS' subscription products such as Office 365, and the Windows app store, etc. More hardware in the hands of consumers that people can pay for software to run on.

[@MK-of7qw]

I took my A+ back in 2000. It still has questions about Microchannel Architecture on it!

[@AtreidaeChibiko]

As a Microsoft MVP (a volenteeer) I see a fair bit of the internal structure at MS. Microsoft has taken a very hard stance towards sustainability. Even to the point for conferences they no longer create tons of useless swag. So i imagine this is also part of this movement too

[@nz75Kingston]

LOL I legit thought, "Because they're playing League?" right before you said why.

[@tonyjklh]

I think that lately Microsoft has really been trying to improve their public image. They definitely want to lose the bad guy reputation. For that reason, I do think they are going to put genuine support for right to repair. As far as third-party certification, from an outside (general public) perspective it makes sense to require a basic certification. One important thing to note is that it doesn't require CompTIA, it just says third-party certification. That to me isn't a negative compromise. How about a new, maybe $30, third party certification? The fact that they're not asking for first party certification is a win in my opinion.

[@saladgreens912]

If they can legislate that certification training then it could be worth pushing to legislate that that training needs to be kept up to date and relevant. Might not be the worst compromise to take.

[@nutriapeluda]

Cat thumbnail must....click!

[@alphaod]

The certification should come from an association with Louis' on the board.

[@gerthddyn]

There was a time when some of the certifications were actually useful, though never A+. Novell actually had a pretty impressive set of exams. Borland for a period of time had a developer certification in Delphi that was relevant and still somewhat difficult to obtain and required knowledge of admittedly edge cases, but things that do come up. NASA has certifications for soldering. So the question is, Louis, if you hate A+ and other independent certifications, why don't you make one of your own that IS useful? You've already got hundreds of board repair videos where you explain this stuff.

[@uis246]

NASA-certified soldering guy sounds like you are launching rockets

[@robertsmith2956]

@@uis246 Has the added benefit of laser certification. Since NASA uses lasers to strip wire so you don't nick a copper strand.

[@miyakogfl]

They may not be useful for actually learning things (for the most part), but every single IT job near me I've ever seen requires at least one of them, usually multiple. I'd say more postings than not require an A+ or Sec+. I have actual IT job experience and been passed over because of it before lol. It's mostly government things that do that I've seen but it's most of what's around me. Hiring managers/staff are just so disconnected from the reality of it. They like it because it is a way to filter out people without actually giving them an interview...

[@kellysouter4381]

You know he has one or two other things to do?

[@TwinShadow_Fox]

@@miyakogfl I kinda have a sneaking suspicion that this may have been why I was eventually passed up on a job at a local computer repair shop in my city. Building was nice, the manager there even liked I went in cold turkey (essentially, they had put out a recent ad they were looking for people, but I was a walk-in asking if they were hiring). I got called in for 2 interviews, but in the end I was passed up anyway despite having various bits of knowledge in computers throughout the years. Still kinda salty about it to this day, but I've given up on IT work, it's too expensive to even attempt to start into the field these days for someone like me.

[@deilusi]

can we just agree that people advocating for stuff like that should be under oath like they are in court? Lie? jail.

[@tessierrr]

Repairing things is more green than throwing it away 🤔 i dont believe these studies 😂

[@hachnslay]

2:20 - nonono, the real reason Microsoft supports it is because it hurts Microsoft's competitors, aka Apple, more than them.

[@Windowsfan100]

Microsoft: We support the right to repair! Also Microsoft: But we won't support your PC if its older than some arbitrary date we came up with

[@paulh.9526]

By that logic, Microsoft would still have to provide updates for MS-DOS. Which is absurd.

[@Windowsfan100]

@@paulh.9526 I'm not saying they should support all software they wrote, I'm saying it's absurd to arbitrarily gatekeep the hardware. Tons of office PCs that are still plenty fast for Average Joe will end up in the landfill because Windows 11 does not install on anything older than Ryzen 1000 or 8th gen Intel without going through hoops.

[@paulh.9526]

@Windowsfan100 Oh, my apologies, I saw support and I though you were complaining about end of support for OSs. So you would've wanted Microsoft to not require a minimum processor generation. However, Microsoft has to test extensively before saying a product is released and can't just say "here it is, if it doesn't work tell us", at least for the general public versions. Arguably, they probably should have focused the testing tighter on fewer generations in order to spot the bugs that came with it at launch. Also, you know that if they didn't some sleazy company was going to put windows 11 on an intel core 2 duo and the customer will blame Windows for the performance.

[@andreivaughn1468]

Dude, for someone with "Windows XP" in their name, maybe stick to talking about Windows XP, you clearly know NOTHING about modern windows. How this level of stupidity is possible, I don't even know. The actual truth is that: Microsoft won't allow an UPGRADE to W11 from W10 based on some arbitrary requirements - but a fresh install of W11 on ANY hardware currently running W10, will go without a hitch, hell, even really old hardware can have Windows 11 installed on it, it just depends on how insane you are. I literally had a 2008 PC with a core 2 duo CPU, ddr2 ram, no tpm, no ssd, on Windows 11 (of course I did the logical thing and put Windows 7 on it, a real OS, as it came with W11 but didn't perform well on it), but the fact of the matter is that there's no problem. Try reading more than just the headline next time. I work as IT support for an "office" company, trust me no PCs are going in landfill because we can rub two neurons together unlike you :) Old gen PCs that can't keep up, get securely wiped, dusted, and sold on - and if we need to get W11 on some older hardware for some reason (soon it won't be optional), we can do that without problems. I don't even like W11, it's truly a garbage OS, barely better than 10 which also sucks - but why go around telling people nonsense??

[@szaszm_]

In software development, there's always a tradeoff between going fast vs supporting older tech. They get their money through the typical consumer buying a new laptop, but don't get recurring revenue by supporting that hardware forever, so after a couple of years, it starts to make less and less sense to spend their limited resources on supporting ancient hardware instead of developing that shiny new feature that will get more people to upgrade. I don't like the TPM requirement either, but at this point most hardware younger than 8 years old should have one, and there are legitimate security arguments for enforcing Secure Boot. 10 years ago, if an attacker had physical access to the computer, then all bets were off. Nowadays only very advanced attackers can afford to attack properly secured individual computers, even with physical access. I'm kind of playing the devil's advocate here. I'm not using Secure Boot, or Windows at all, but I'm a software engineer (not at Microsoft), and using relatively well secured Linux with disk encryption.

[@wisenber]

The elevation of credentialism has been used as a cudgel depriving people of agency and input.

[@Flynn217something]

Micro$oft is every bit a part of the "you will own nothing" hegemony. Already at this very moment the second you install windows 10 or 11 your 'Personal Computer' stops being yours and becomes theirs, Microsoft has the final say over your updates, over your privacy, over the *ADS* you will see when you open your start menu and probably soon over the programs you can even install. If micro$oft is supporting something that's what I like to call a *Giant RED Flag!* Considering this is the same company who's operating system holds a gun to the user's head to make a Microsoft account just to use the OS they *payed* for and made a telemetry "privacy" button that does f****ing *NOTHING* unless you edit the registry and even then its likely just cope.

[@flyingturret208thecannon5]

Already over installable programs for Windows S mode.

[@Flynn217something]

@@flyingturret208thecannon5 I'm well aware. S mode isn't the default for fresh windows installations... _yet._ Hence the "soon" part of my comment, the frog must be boiled slowly after all. They've already got most people at the "well every corporation has all my data anyway, what's micro$oft added to list?" stage, they'll just keep pushing the windows store on people until "they 'like' it".

[@flyingturret208thecannon5]

@@Flynn217something And that's why linux.

[@Flynn217something]

@@flyingturret208thecannon5 Amen 🙏🐧

[@doltBmB]

Windows 12 is backpedalling hard. They're dropping UWP entirely.

[@logicalfundy]

Should be noted that Microsoft has their own certifications as well, so they very much have a vested interest in keeping the cash flowing for those certifications.

[@computer9764]

MS is definitely far from trustable. They have figured out how to do evil things while looking innocent. 20 years ago, they didn't care about public perception; now they've figured out that that's the most important thing when doing shady business. Such as trying to become the largest gaming company.

[@ofrund]

The catch with Microsoft is always the same three leters.

[@MattyEngland]

Meow

[@dr.manhattan4537]

Unfortunately, back in 2005 I fell for that COMPTIA certification and it cost me $15k. Most of their coursework was taking advantage of people, like myself who were desperate and looking for a job.

[@BillyONeal]

Note that MS makes its own certification like things, e.g. MCSE, which seem to maintain relevancy better

[@michal.jaskolski]

I wish this spread to right to own and right to use forever. Like if there's nothing wrong with a device and it can be used with no issues, we should be able to do so. Even if the manufacturer doesn't support it anymore (e.g. no updated drivers for new OSes). This should be done by open-sourcing drivers, unlocking bootloaders, open sourcing firmwares or at least part of the firmwares once a device support ends.

[@anonymousdaniel7267]

They want to claim they are for it while neutering it as much as possible.

[@datastorm75]

I think Microsoft, Apple, etc know they can force an upgrade by making software and other functions require newer operating system versions, and then saying that newer operating system versions just happen to be incompatible with older hardware.

[@dlengelkes]

What do you think about Cisco certifications?

[@kuurnn]

Is it possible to make FUTO / fund with FUTO an organization to compete with ComptIA A+ cert specifically, make better exams and invest the collected fees into lobbying for RtR?

[@DanCojocaru2000]

Louis, maybe Repair Preservation Group should create a certification that's actually good and cheap!

[@vinyl_soul9292]

Thank you sir for providing this eye opening information about A+.

[@denisdespins1127]

KEEP HAMMERING ! There is the NEXT Victory to look forward to !

[@eliberatorr]

Thanks for the great content! Your straightforward recording setup really stands out, it really makes a statement that you are not pushing products like half of KZbin. Appreciate your focus on the right to repair. Keep it up!

[@ianstedman8672]

THANK YOU For calling out CompTIA for being the grift it is. I have been a technical engineer for 12 years and ever since they went to the whole "you have to renew every 3 years" model it has become a complete joke to anyone who has actually done the job.

[@simmo1024]

"Embrace, Enhance, Extinguish".

[@deilusi]

1.7M emails just saying a single sentence "please let me repair my stuff" would already cause something, especially if it's to personal address, not company helpdesk. Same as 1M people just standing in front of the building staring blankly into the windows. No shouting, no banners, just stand and stare and whoever is inside will use yearly supply of adult diapers.

[@sheldonshells]

1:22 ahhh i love when a guilty person accuses you of what they’re actually are doing. gaslighting at its finest!

[@Modhunter42]

I did my CompTIA testing Before they added Expiry dates to them. None of the material on any of my tests was actually used on the job(s) that wanted it.

[@albertusvanlubeeck9161]

Shareholders are the ones with 95% of the power. They are the ones we need to convince.

[@VintageBlacklist]

As a Washingtonian, I can confirm this place is almost hopeless.

[@ratman7969]

For the A+ I got the exact same score and it was less than 30 points from passing. It had the dumbest questions and was inconsistent with the process of certain computer builds. Wasted $500 and that was in 2017.

[@jfwfreo]

It's past time that these lobbyists for manufacturers and manufacturer groups be pushed to provide evidence to back up their claims (which they will be unable to do since their claims are BS)

[@tramsgar]

Hey I used Firewire just the other week. Didn't daisy chain, tho, fortunately. Worked absolutely fine.

[@nunyabusiness7602]

COMPTIA! THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU for pointing out what a worthless company this is and the how the A+ is nothing more than a money grab for this worthless company. I was a high school IT technology teacher for 18 years (2000 to 2018). In 2016 my state started requiring to get high school students industry certifications and of course, I was tasked with the CompTIA A+. When I tried to explain that was actually stepping backwards I was met with absolute resistance as though I had no idea what I was talking about. The Firewire port questions are just one of many reason the A+ is bull shit. How long did they hold onto requiring you to know IRQ, I/O, and DMA addresses of ports, well after plug and pray did away for this need? Too long. I left teaching in 2018 because it''s now all testing and certification bullshit, not for the benefit of the student, but instead to keep these testing companies relevant. Common Core is also bullshit, but that's another topic.

[@triplefreeerror]

I work for Microsoft. Microsoft doesn’t use in-house silicon for Azure. They want RTR so they aren’t beholden to their vendors. it’s just your regular corporate motives

[@cyrilvankeirsbelk7299]

Looks like it's time to start a Right of Repair Certification non-profit.

[@RicardoSantos-oz3uj]

The right to repair. Is the right to own. If you are not "allowed" to repair something then you do not own it.

[@tdtrecordsmusic]

yup comptia is absolutely like a obsolescent toll road. They could easily provide good education, but last I did all that(working in that industry), it was in no way valuable. WHY was it required !!

[@nerdicusdorkum2923]

As a general rule, I trust NOTHING coming from the western half of my home state. Be it coffee, big tech, or laws.

[@KLP99]

I've been a hiring manager and an employee looking for a job. I've never had any certification and have never had any trouble finding the job I wanted. As a hiring manager, I've had to fire several people and every one of them had been certified in the job they were supposed to have been doing for me, but couldn't. Certifications make absolutely no difference in a person's ability to do work. They are a waste of money, time, and effort. Of course, keep in mind that all of my experiences are mine, so your mileage may vary...

[@trollnoble6445]

Just as an update CompTIA did update the training material. Couldn't say how much, but it was recently updated.