4 ms·

Maybe I'm just grumpy since I haven't had coffee yet this morning, but why is this worthy of being #1 on HN? Author got a part replaced on his phone. Wow.

gdubs 12y ago
Here's why I find it interesting. We live in a world (in the west) where our gadgets are a big part of our lives, and yet we're pretty helpless when anything goes wrong with them. We use these pocket-sized supercomputers for the most mundane tasks, and compared to the rest of the world, we live a life of leisure. This piece is interesting because it's a nice short story that gives a great sense of place. To me, it feels like Blade Runner. There's a society of people that can repair a $500 smartphone like it was reattaching rubber to a boot. They possess advanced repair skills, but belong to a class that would be doing menial labor here in America.
- judk 12y ago
  They are doing menial labor in China as well (being paid nearly nothing), And most of us here can't reattach rubber to a boot either.
  - gdubs 12y ago
    Yes, that was my point -- though I worded it poorly.
- rasz_pl 12y ago
  In case you are wondering most of them (probably >90%) dont know how those gadgets work either. They are taught procedures (there are whole repair technicians schools in China), not operation theory. For example they can diagnose which part on a laptop motherboard is broken by observing current draw/time when booting and looking up answer in the notes (notes made by real engineer or guessed/bruteforced by another tinkerer). This way unqualified worker can tell you in under 30 second what needs to be replaced on a phone/tablet/laptop PCB. Its like a human powered repair database lookup machine, they are all working from the script. You could say they are all Indian DELL phone support line :) Im not saying its bad, its just how it works.
- noonespecial 12y ago
  I just try to keep in mind that eventually the Morlocks end up eating the Eloi.

gdubs 12y ago

Here's why I find it interesting. We live in a world (in the west) where our gadgets are a big part of our lives, and yet we're pretty helpless when anything goes wrong with them. We use these pocket-sized supercomputers for the most mundane tasks, and compared to the rest of the world, we live a life of leisure. This piece is interesting because it's a nice short story that gives a great sense of place. To me, it feels like Blade Runner. There's a society of people that can repair a $500 smartphone like it was reattaching rubber to a boot. They possess advanced repair skills, but belong to a class that would be doing menial labor here in America.

judk 12y ago
They are doing menial labor in China as well (being paid nearly nothing), And most of us here can't reattach rubber to a boot either.
- gdubs 12y ago
  Yes, that was my point -- though I worded it poorly.
rasz_pl 12y ago
In case you are wondering most of them (probably >90%) dont know how those gadgets work either. They are taught procedures (there are whole repair technicians schools in China), not operation theory. For example they can diagnose which part on a laptop motherboard is broken by observing current draw/time when booting and looking up answer in the notes (notes made by real engineer or guessed/bruteforced by another tinkerer). This way unqualified worker can tell you in under 30 second what needs to be replaced on a phone/tablet/laptop PCB. Its like a human powered repair database lookup machine, they are all working from the script. You could say they are all Indian DELL phone support line :) Im not saying its bad, its just how it works.
noonespecial 12y ago
I just try to keep in mind that eventually the Morlocks end up eating the Eloi.