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I just don’t like Rossman. I’m sure there are solid technical criticisms that he makes, and I personally agree that Apple is too draconian re: repairability (bo

I just don’t like Rossman. I’m sure there are solid technical criticisms that he makes, and I personally agree that Apple is too draconian re: repairability (both in design and policy). However, I absolutely cannot trust someone who has such a financial incentive, or as deep a history of twisting facts to make Apple look bad. Beyond that, there is something entitled about earning your entire income repairing another company’s devices while also demanding they make proprietary parts and knowledge available to you. I wish there were a critic of Apple’s repair policies that had less of an agenda than Rossman.

groovybits 7y ago
> deep a history of twisting facts to make Apple look bad. Can you provide examples?
- oflannabhra 7y ago
  1. In 2016, Rossman claimed that Apple was filing suit against him, and was seeking to shut down his YouTube channel. In actuality, one of his videos had shown a schematic, that Rossman illegally obtained, and Apple requested that the schematic be removed from the video. [0] 2. In 2016, Rossman claimed that Apple had a 4 Gigabyte memory chip buffer on their webcams. He speculates that this is due to a nefarious intent on Apple's part. In actuality, it is a 4 Gigabit (512 MB) chip that acts as a buffer. [1] 3. In 2018, Rossman claimed that Apple had contacted Customs and Border Protection to have his import shipment of Apple batteries seized. He claimed that they were genuine OEM batteries, maybe scavenged from old devices. [2] In actuality, the devices really were counterfeit. Rossman had contracted an OEM manufacturer to build batteries to Apple's original spec, which bore Apple's logo, most likely without Apple's knowledge. [3] [0] - https://www.gamerevolution.com/features/12677-free-speech-under-attack-youtuber-repair-specialist-louis-rossmann-alludes-to-apple-lawsuit https://www.gamerevolution.com/features/12677-free-speech-un... [1] - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tw3-j_RaX74 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tw3-j_RaX74 [2] - https://youtu.be/AVL65qwBGnw https://youtu.be/AVL65qwBGnw [3] - https://www.reddit.com/r/apple/comments/9pow06/louis_rossmann_admits_to_using_parts_from_a/ https://www.reddit.com/r/apple/comments/9pow06/louis_rossman...
  - Someone1234 7y ago
    No.1 you essentially admit, and cite, that what he claimed was accurate (that Apple threatened to sue/get his channel shut down) but you feel it was his fault. No.2 dude messed up. No disagreement there. But you are spinning his confusion into: "due to a nefarious intent on Apple's part." That wasn't the tone of the video at all. No.3 you say, and cite, that what he claimed was true (that a shipment of Apple compatible batteries he had imported was seized). In the original video he said quite clearly they weren't OEM because Apple no longer supplies these "vintage" batteries to even authorized repair centers. Here's the YT transcript (as is): > the Apple store and I say I would like to buy this battery can i buy this battery please they say no if I become an Apple authorized service provider and I wish to obtain parts to a machine that has been considered vintage Apple will say no if I talk to somebody in China who says hey these are not those knockoff batteries where we take you know where we just like put apple logos on a bunch of crappy cells and send it to you these are the good batteries these are the batteries that are responsible for us being 4.9 out of five But you said: "He claimed that they were genuine OEM batteries" the transcript above from the video you linked paints a very different picture. Your original claim was: > deep a history of twisting facts to make Apple look bad. But you haven't made that case here. Your position on the guy feels a little "cart before the horse." You dislike what the guy believes/stands for/his criticism, and then went out looking for reasons to justify that belief. Your post essentially implies he's a criminal for using "stolen" schematics to repair customer's own equipment and making compatible batteries (which, I'll fully admit, shouldn't have had the Apple logo on them: not cool).
    - bubblethink 7y ago
      >he's a criminal for using "stolen" schematics to repair customer's own equipment and making compatible batteries Sounds a lot like Terry Gilliam's Brazil.
      - wetpaws 7y ago
        Life imitates art
    - oflannabhra 7y ago
plttn 7y ago
Honestly, I just prefer the days when he talked through repairing a computer, and wasn't standing on a soapbox while he did it. It was really relaxing and interesting to watch, but now that he's complaining about Apple half the time, it's significantly less enjoyable for me to watch.
keanzu 7y ago
If Apple provided a superior or even comparable service, Rossman would be out of business tomorrow. No-one wants to seek third party repair, they are driven to it.
Someone1234 7y ago
> Beyond that, there is something entitled about earning your entire income repairing another company’s devices while also demanding they make proprietary parts and knowledge available to you. Apple won't let third parties produce Apple compatible parts (or sell parts sold to Apple also to non-Apple repair centers). Even if Apple just got out of the way, and offered no help/supply chain, it would be a stark improvement. But instead they've been using hardware DRM to effectively make third party repairs impossible. If you replace a part with an identical part, you need Apple's software to authorize the change otherwise it won't boot.
- benologist 7y ago
  Apple are actively fighting to prevent third parties being able to lawfully repair their devices. https://www.macrumors.com/2019/04/30/apple-right-to-repair-consumer-harm/ https://www.macrumors.com/2019/04/30/apple-right-to-repair-c...
- oflannabhra 7y ago
  Yep, and I totally agree that such behavior is draconian, and I disagree with Apple's stance. That doesn't change the fact that I also find Rossman entitled.
MiroF 7y ago
Amazing how negative a comment re: Rossman this is despite including not a single example
turk73 7y ago
I don't completely understand why you disklike Rossman. I think he's an archetype for a "tell it like it is" New Yorker (like me). Maybe I have a soft spot for people like him, but they're superior to the more common "asshole NYer" that have now ranged far and wide and who take advantage of people as mercilessly as possible. Rossman has it right. You're paying thousands of dollars for what amounts to an utter POS laptop. The earlier models were technical marvels and then Apple bean counters took over. But Apple needs to get on the same page with all the professionals who use their products and rely on them to make a living. How could they lose touch so badly?
- ScottFree 7y ago
  > I think he's an archetype for a "tell it like it is" New Yorker (like me). > they're superior to the more common "asshole NYer" West Coasters don't see the distinction. California culture (and many other cultures, I'm sure) believes that making people feel bad is the ultimate social sin and should be avoided at all costs. In their eyes, "telling it like it is" makes you an asshole.

groovybits 7y ago

> deep a history of twisting facts to make Apple look bad. Can you provide examples?

oflannabhra 7y ago
1. In 2016, Rossman claimed that Apple was filing suit against him, and was seeking to shut down his YouTube channel. In actuality, one of his videos had shown a schematic, that Rossman illegally obtained, and Apple requested that the schematic be removed from the video. [0] 2. In 2016, Rossman claimed that Apple had a 4 Gigabyte memory chip buffer on their webcams. He speculates that this is due to a nefarious intent on Apple's part. In actuality, it is a 4 Gigabit (512 MB) chip that acts as a buffer. [1] 3. In 2018, Rossman claimed that Apple had contacted Customs and Border Protection to have his import shipment of Apple batteries seized. He claimed that they were genuine OEM batteries, maybe scavenged from old devices. [2] In actuality, the devices really were counterfeit. Rossman had contracted an OEM manufacturer to build batteries to Apple's original spec, which bore Apple's logo, most likely without Apple's knowledge. [3] [0] - https://www.gamerevolution.com/features/12677-free-speech-under-attack-youtuber-repair-specialist-louis-rossmann-alludes-to-apple-lawsuit https://www.gamerevolution.com/features/12677-free-speech-un... [1] - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tw3-j_RaX74 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tw3-j_RaX74 [2] - https://youtu.be/AVL65qwBGnw https://youtu.be/AVL65qwBGnw [3] - https://www.reddit.com/r/apple/comments/9pow06/louis_rossmann_admits_to_using_parts_from_a/ https://www.reddit.com/r/apple/comments/9pow06/louis_rossman...
- Someone1234 7y ago
  No.1 you essentially admit, and cite, that what he claimed was accurate (that Apple threatened to sue/get his channel shut down) but you feel it was his fault. No.2 dude messed up. No disagreement there. But you are spinning his confusion into: "due to a nefarious intent on Apple's part." That wasn't the tone of the video at all. No.3 you say, and cite, that what he claimed was true (that a shipment of Apple compatible batteries he had imported was seized). In the original video he said quite clearly they weren't OEM because Apple no longer supplies these "vintage" batteries to even authorized repair centers. Here's the YT transcript (as is): > the Apple store and I say I would like to buy this battery can i buy this battery please they say no if I become an Apple authorized service provider and I wish to obtain parts to a machine that has been considered vintage Apple will say no if I talk to somebody in China who says hey these are not those knockoff batteries where we take you know where we just like put apple logos on a bunch of crappy cells and send it to you these are the good batteries these are the batteries that are responsible for us being 4.9 out of five But you said: "He claimed that they were genuine OEM batteries" the transcript above from the video you linked paints a very different picture. Your original claim was: > deep a history of twisting facts to make Apple look bad. But you haven't made that case here. Your position on the guy feels a little "cart before the horse." You dislike what the guy believes/stands for/his criticism, and then went out looking for reasons to justify that belief. Your post essentially implies he's a criminal for using "stolen" schematics to repair customer's own equipment and making compatible batteries (which, I'll fully admit, shouldn't have had the Apple logo on them: not cool).
  - bubblethink 7y ago
    >he's a criminal for using "stolen" schematics to repair customer's own equipment and making compatible batteries Sounds a lot like Terry Gilliam's Brazil.
    - wetpaws 7y ago
      Life imitates art
  - oflannabhra 7y ago

plttn 7y ago

Honestly, I just prefer the days when he talked through repairing a computer, and wasn't standing on a soapbox while he did it. It was really relaxing and interesting to watch, but now that he's complaining about Apple half the time, it's significantly less enjoyable for me to watch.

keanzu 7y ago

If Apple provided a superior or even comparable service, Rossman would be out of business tomorrow. No-one wants to seek third party repair, they are driven to it.

Someone1234 7y ago

> Beyond that, there is something entitled about earning your entire income repairing another company’s devices while also demanding they make proprietary parts and knowledge available to you. Apple won't let third parties produce Apple compatible parts (or sell parts sold to Apple also to non-Apple repair centers). Even if Apple just got out of the way, and offered no help/supply chain, it would be a stark improvement. But instead they've been using hardware DRM to effectively make third party repairs impossible. If you replace a part with an identical part, you need Apple's software to authorize the change otherwise it won't boot.

benologist 7y ago
Apple are actively fighting to prevent third parties being able to lawfully repair their devices. https://www.macrumors.com/2019/04/30/apple-right-to-repair-consumer-harm/ https://www.macrumors.com/2019/04/30/apple-right-to-repair-c...
oflannabhra 7y ago
Yep, and I totally agree that such behavior is draconian, and I disagree with Apple's stance. That doesn't change the fact that I also find Rossman entitled.

MiroF 7y ago

Amazing how negative a comment re: Rossman this is despite including not a single example

turk73 7y ago

I don't completely understand why you disklike Rossman. I think he's an archetype for a "tell it like it is" New Yorker (like me). Maybe I have a soft spot for people like him, but they're superior to the more common "asshole NYer" that have now ranged far and wide and who take advantage of people as mercilessly as possible. Rossman has it right. You're paying thousands of dollars for what amounts to an utter POS laptop. The earlier models were technical marvels and then Apple bean counters took over. But Apple needs to get on the same page with all the professionals who use their products and rely on them to make a living. How could they lose touch so badly?

ScottFree 7y ago
> I think he's an archetype for a "tell it like it is" New Yorker (like me). > they're superior to the more common "asshole NYer" West Coasters don't see the distinction. California culture (and many other cultures, I'm sure) believes that making people feel bad is the ultimate social sin and should be avoided at all costs. In their eyes, "telling it like it is" makes you an asshole.