#iphone repair business

[jessica-larson]

🌐 Navigating Digital Excellence: Crafting Your Dynamic Tech Odyssey 🚀

Introduction

Welcome to a realm where computer repair transcends the ordinary, leading you towards seamless digital empowerment. In our quest to provide the perfect business plan for your tech needs, Tech Odyssey unfolds - a dynamic journey merging expertise, innovation, and a comprehensive approach to redefine the very essence of computer repair.

Mastery Unveiled 🎓

This transcends the realms of a typical repair service; it's a mastery of technology. Our adept technicians, armed with cutting-edge knowledge 📚 and tools, seamlessly transform your tech challenges into triumphs. Each repair is a testament to our unwavering commitment to excellence - a cornerstone of our dynamic business plan.

Our technicians don't just fix; they craft solutions with precision and finesse, ensuring your devices perform at their absolute best.

Client-Centric Bliss 🌈

In the sphere of computer repair, transparency and client satisfaction reign supreme. "Transparency Through Communication" is more than a principle; it's the heartbeat of our client-centric approach. Clear and open communication throughout the repair process is pivotal to your informed decisions, an integral part of our comprehensive business plan.

Our customer service transcends transactions; it's an ongoing relationship where your feedback shapes our continuous improvement. Your satisfaction is not just our goal; it's our relentless commitment to the perfect business plan that revolves around your unique needs.

Innovation Elevation 🚀

This journey isn't about settling for the mundane; it's about redefining the repair experience with innovative solutions. In "User-Friendly Tech Solutions," we delve into our commitment to crafting repairs that are not only effective but also user-friendly. We believe in making technology understandable and accessible to everyone, a hallmark of our dynamic business plan.

Our technicians aren't just repair wizards; they are educators, empowering you with insights and knowledge to navigate the digital landscape confidently.

Transparent Financial Radiance 💰

In a world often clouded by ambiguity, transparency stands as a beacon. "Budget-Friendly Tech Care" is not just a promise; it's a commitment ingrained in our practices. We guide you through clear pricing structures and ethical billing practices. Your investment in our services is met with transparency, ensuring the best value for your trust in our comprehensive business plan.

Transparent financial practices, coupled with affordable solutions, create a radiant experience where trust thrives.

Community Connection Extravaganza 🌐

This isn't just a service; it's a thriving community. In "Connecting with Tech Enthusiasts," we showcase a community-centric marketing approach. Beyond transactions, we believe in building genuine relationships with our clients.

Our engagement strategy transcends traditional marketing, creating an extravaganza of content that informs, resonates, and builds a vibrant community of tech enthusiasts - a pivotal part of our dynamic business plan.

Pioneering Future Frontiers 🚀

The tech landscape is ever-evolving, and here, we are not just prepared for the future; we are pioneers shaping it. "Pioneering User-Friendly Solutions" explores our strategies for staying ahead. We invest in ongoing training for our technicians, collaborate with industry leaders, and actively participate in the tech community to stay abreast of emerging trends.

We don't just fix today's problems; we anticipate and prepare for tomorrow's challenges. Our commitment is to be at the forefront of innovation, ensuring that your tech experience is not just seamless today but remains an exciting journey into future frontiers - a dynamic business plan for the ever-changing digital horizon.

Where Confidence Soars 🚀

As we conclude this dynamic odyssey through the digital realm, we invite you to soar with confidence into a future where every tech service is an exhilarating experience. "In Every Repair, Confidence Thrives" is not just a tagline; it's our commitment to building a world where your trust in technology is strengthened with every interaction.

Join us in this dynamic digital odyssey, where harmony and your satisfaction are the keystones of our seamless tech solutions. We don't just repair devices; we elevate the entire tech experience, ensuring that you not only get your devices fixed but also gain insights and confidence in navigating the ever-evolving digital horizon. 🚀🤝

[indiaphpexpert]

If you want to unlock the full potential of your iPhone repair business? Check our Websites and Contact us today to schedule an iPhone Repair Script demo!

[mostlysignssomeportents]

Apple fucked us on right to repair (again)

Today (September 22), I'm (virtually) presenting at the DIG Festival in Modena, Italy. Tonight, I'll be in person at LA's Book Soup for the launch of Justin C Key's "The World Wasn’t Ready for You." On September 27, I'll be at Chevalier's Books in Los Angeles with Brian Merchant for a joint launch for my new book The Internet Con and his new book, Blood in the Machine.

Right to repair has no cannier, more dedicated adversary than Apple, a company whose most innovative work is dreaming up new ways to sneakily sabotage electronics repair while claiming to be a caring environmental steward, a lie that covers up the mountains of e-waste that Apple dooms our descendants to wade through.

Why does Apple hate repair so much? It's not that they want to poison our water and bodies with microplastics; it's not that they want to hasten the day our coastal cities drown; it's not that they relish the human misery that accompanies every gram of conflict mineral. They aren't sadists. They're merely sociopathically greedy.

Tim Cook laid it out for his investors: when people can repair their devices, they don't buy new ones. When people don't buy new devices, Apple doesn't sell them new devices. It's that's simple:

https://www.inverse.com/article/52189-tim-cook-says-apple-faces-2-key-problems-in-surprising-shareholder-letter

So Apple does everything it can to monopolize repair. Not just because this lets the company gouge you on routine service, but because it lets them decide when your phone is beyond repair, so they can offer you a trade-in, ensuring both that you buy a new device and that the device you buy is another Apple.

There are so many tactics Apple gets to use to sabotage repair. For example, Apple engraves microscopic Apple logos on the subassemblies in its devices. This allows the company to enlist US Customs to seize and destroy refurbished parts that are harvested from dead phones by workers in the Pacific Rim:

https://repair.eu/news/apple-uses-trademark-law-to-strengthen-its-monopoly-on-repair/

Of course, the easiest way to prevent harvested components from entering the parts stream is to destroy as many old devices as possible. That's why Apple's so-called "recycling" program shreds any devices you turn over to them. When you trade in your old iPhone at an Apple Store, it is converted into immortal e-waste (no other major recycling program does this). The logic is straightforward: no parts, no repairs:

https://www.vice.com/en/article/yp73jw/apple-recycling-iphones-macbooks

Shredding parts and cooking up bogus trademark claims is just for starters, though. For Apple, the true anti-repair innovation comes from the most pernicious US tech law: Section 1201 of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA).

DMCA 1201 is an "anti-circumvention" law. It bans the distribution of any tool that bypasses "an effective means of access control." That's all very abstract, but here's what it means: if a manufacturer sticks some Digital Rights Management (DRM) in its device, then anything you want to do that involves removing that DRM is now illegal – even if the thing itself is perfectly legal.

When Congress passed this stupid law in 1998, it had a very limited blast radius. Computers were still pretty expensive and DRM use was limited to a few narrow categories. In 1998, DMCA 1201 was mostly used to prevent you from de-regionalizing your DVD player to watch discs that had been released overseas but not in your own country.

But as we warned back then, computers were only going to get smaller and cheaper, and eventually, it would only cost manufacturers pennies to wrap their products – or even subassemblies in their products – in DRM. Congress was putting a gun on the mantelpiece in Act I, and it was bound to go off in Act III.

Welcome to Act III.

Today, it costs about a quarter to add a system-on-a-chip to even the tiniest parts. These SOCs can run DRM. Here's how that DRM works: when you put a new part in a device, the SOC and the device's main controller communicate with one another. They perform a cryptographic protocol: the part says, "Here's my serial number," and then the main controller prompts the user to enter a manufacturer-supplied secret code, and the master controller sends a signed version of this to the part, and the part and the system then recognize each other.

This process has many names, but because it was first used in the automotive sector, it's widely known as VIN-Locking (VIN stands for "vehicle identification number," the unique number given to every car by its manufacturer). VIN-locking is used by automakers to block independent mechanics from repairing your car; even if they use the manufacturer's own parts, the parts and the engine will refuse to work together until the manufacturer's rep keys in the unlock code:

https://pluralistic.net/2023/07/24/rent-to-pwn/#kitt-is-a-demon

VIN locking is everywhere. It's how John Deere stops farmers from fixing their own tractors – something farmers have done literally since tractors were invented:

https://pluralistic.net/2022/05/08/about-those-kill-switched-ukrainian-tractors/

It's in ventilators. Like mobile phones, ventilators are a grotesquely monopolized sector, controlled by a single company Medtronic, whose biggest claim to fame is effecting the world's largest tax inversion in order to manufacture the appearance that it is an Irish company and therefore largely untaxable. Medtronic used the resulting windfall to gobble up most of its competitors.

During lockdown, as hospitals scrambled to keep their desperately needed supply of ventilators running, Medtronic's VIN-locking became a lethal impediment. Med-techs who used donor parts from one ventilator to keep another running – say, transplanting a screen – couldn't get the device to recognize the part because all the world's civilian aircraft were grounded, meaning Medtronic's technicians couldn't swan into their hospitals to type in the unlock code and charge them hundreds of dollars.

The saving grace was an anonymous, former Medtronic repair tech, who built pirate boxes to generate unlock codes, using any housing they could lay hands on to use as a case: guitar pedals, clock radios, etc. This tech shipped these gadgets around the world, observing strict anonymity, because Article 6 of the EUCD also bans circumvention:

https://pluralistic.net/2020/07/10/flintstone-delano-roosevelt/#medtronic-again

Of course, Apple is a huge fan of VIN-locking. In phones, VIN-locking is usually called "serializing" or "parts-pairing," but it's the same thing: a tiny subassembly gets its own microcontroller whose sole purpose is to prevent independent repair technicians from fixing your gadget. Parts-pairing lets Apple block repairs even when the technician uses new, Apple parts – but it also lets Apple block refurb parts and third party parts.

For many years, Apple was the senior partner and leading voice in blocking state Right to Repair bills, which it killed by the dozen, leading a coalition of monopolists, from Wahl (who boobytrap their hair-clippers with springs that cause their heads irreversibly decompose if you try to sharpen them at home) to John Deere (who reinvented tenant farming by making farmers tenants of their tractors, rather than their land).

But Apple's opposition to repair eventually became a problem for the company. It's bad optics, and both Apple customers and Apple employees are volubly displeased with the company's ecocidal conduct. But of course, Apple's management and shareholders hate repair and want to block it as much as possible.

But Apple knows how to Think Differently. It came up with a way to eat its cake and have it, too. The company embarked on a program of visibly support right to repair, while working behind the scenes to sabotage it.

Last year, Apple announced a repair program. It was hilarious. If you wanted to swap your phone's battery, all you had to do was let Apple put a $1200 hold on your credit card, and then wait while the company shipped you 80 pounds' worth of specialized tools, packed in two special Pelican cases:

https://pluralistic.net/2022/05/22/apples-cement-overshoes/

Then, you swapped your battery, but you weren't done! After your battery was installed, you had to conference in an authorized Apple tech who would tell you what code to type into a laptop you tethered to the phone in order to pair it with your phone. Then all you had to do was lug those two 40-pound Pelican cases to a shipping depot and wait for Apple to take the hold off your card (less the $120 in parts and fees).

By contrast, independent repair outfits like iFixit will sell you all the tools you need to do your own battery swap – including the battery! for $32. The whole kit fits in a padded envelope:

https://www.ifixit.com/products/iphone-x-replacement-battery

But while Apple was able to make a showy announcement of its repair program and then hide the malicious compliance inside those giant Pelican cases, sabotaging right to repair legislation is a lot harder.

Not that they didn't try. When New York State passed the first general electronics right-to-repair bill in the country, someone convinced New York Governor Kathy Hochul to neuter it with last-minute modifications:

https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2022/12/weakened-right-to-repair-bill-is-signed-into-law-by-new-yorks-governor/

But that kind of trick only works once. When California's right to repair bill was introduced, it was clear that it was gonna pass. Rather than get run over by that train, Apple got on board, supporting the legislation, which passed unanimously:

https://www.ifixit.com/News/79902/apples-u-turn-tech-giant-finally-backs-repair-in-california

But Apple got the last laugh. Because while California's bill contains many useful clauses for the independent repair shops that keep your gadgets out of a landfill, it's a state law, and DMCA 1201 is federal. A state law can't simply legalize the conduct federal law prohibits. California's right to repair bill is a banger, but it has a weak spot: parts-pairing, the scourge of repair techs:

https://www.ifixit.com/News/69320/how-parts-pairing-kills-independent-repair

Every generation of Apple devices does more parts-pairing than the previous one, and the current models are so infested with paired parts as to be effectively unrepairable, except by Apple. It's so bad that iFixit has dropped its repairability score for the iPhone 14 from a 7 ("recommend") to a 4 (do not recommend):

https://www.ifixit.com/News/82493/we-are-retroactively-dropping-the-iphones-repairability-score-en

Parts-pairing is bullshit, and Apple are scum for using it, but they're hardly unique. Parts-pairing is at the core of the fuckery of inkjet printer companies, who use it to fence out third-party ink, so they can charge $9,600/gallon for ink that pennies to make:

https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2020/11/ink-stained-wretches-battle-soul-digital-freedom-taking-place-inside-your-printer

Parts-pairing is also rampant in powered wheelchairs, a heavily monopolized sector whose predatory conduct is jaw-droppingly depraved:

https://uspirgedfund.org/reports/usp/stranded

But if turning phones into e-waste to eke out another billion-dollar stock buyback is indefensible, stranding people with disabilities for months at a time while they await repairs is so obviously wicked that the conscience recoils. That's why it was so great when Colorado passed the nation's first wheelchair right to repair bill last year:

https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2022/06/when-drm-comes-your-wheelchair

California actually just passed two right to repair bills; the other one was SB-271, which mirrors Colorado's HB22-1031:

https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billNavClient.xhtml?bill_id=202320240SB271

This is big! It's momentum! It's a start!

But it can't be the end. When Bill Clinton signed DMCA 1201 into law 25 years ago, he loaded a gun and put it on the nation's mantlepiece and now it's Act III and we're all getting sprayed with bullets. Everything from ovens to insulin pumps, thermostats to lightbulbs, has used DMCA 1201 to limit repair, modification and improvement.

Congress needs to rid us of this scourge, to let us bring back all the benefits of interoperability. I explain how this all came to be – and what we should do about it – in my new Verso Books title, The Internet Con: How to Seize the Means of Computation.

https://www.versobooks.com/products/3035-the-internet-con

If you'd like an essay-formatted version of this post to read or share, here's a link to it on pluralistic.net, my surveillance-free, ad-free, tracker-free blog:

https://pluralistic.net/2023/09/22/vin-locking/#thought-differently

Image: Mitch Barrie (modified) https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Daytona_Skeleton_AR-15_completed_rifle_%2817551907724%29.jpg

CC BY-SA 2.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0/deed.en

--

kambanji (modified) https://www.flickr.com/photos/kambanji/4135216486/

CC BY 2.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/

--

Rawpixel (modified) https://www.rawpixel.com/image/12438797/png-white-background

[josemiersunvalley]

Jose Mier Recommends Sun Valley, CA iPhone Repairs

Jose Mier, avid mobile phone owner and user, knows that we’re tried to our cell phone. When one of these devices stops working or gets damaged, we feel like we’re on a deserted island. We need repairs fast. That’s why, in Sun Valley, you should take advantage of repair shops like LA Phone Repair Freaks. The proliferation of smartphones, especially the iPhone, has led to a booming market for…

[cellandcomprepair]

Swift Laptop Screen Repair Solution | Cell N Comp Repairs

Cell N Comp Repairs New in Chicago delivers prompt and efficient laptop screen repair solutions for your device's rapid recovery. We acknowledge the pivotal role your laptop plays in your everyday activities, and our expert technicians are prepared to expedite your device's return to functionality. With our reliable services, you can trust us to restore your laptop screen and get you back on track with minimal disruption.

Visit Us for more Information:- https://posts.gle/nP5yAE5dwJQLGF8k7

[davethenerdguy]

Why is the US Government banning TiKToc?

The popular social media APP TicToc has a security flaw or is it just spying? When we dig deeper into this subject we find that the parent company is TenCent. This company is owned by a Chinese businessman who calls himself “Pony Ma”. It’s rumored that he got his start by ripping off another business ICQ chat platform. He called his cloned version OICQ. Cloning other’s ideas or work has always…

[nico-di-genova]

For the ask game:

22. “I’ve seen the way you look at me when you think I don’t notice.”

For Lestappen please! 🙏🏼

Thank you, have a lovely day 🫶🏼

22. "I've seen the way you look at me when you think I don't notice."

Charles has just about had it. Had it with the media who shove microphones in his face and demand to know what happened, why he and Max had ended up tire deep in the gravel. Had it with Pierre making little jokes about Charles and his ‘anger issues’. Had it with the disappointed looks Fred keeps casting his way during debriefs, as the damage to the car is discussed and the cost it will take to fix it. He’s had it with the social media team, the word ‘inchident’, the way his bad English in his teens seem to be one of his longest lasting legacies.

“It’s okay, we can spin this," they say, as if he gives a shit. It was a race. He raced, he saw a gap, he went for it, Max moved, and they both ended up out. It wasn’t anything.

But jesus, if Max gives him another one of those looks, Charles is going to lose every bit of media training he’s ever endured and strangle him right on this stage. In front of God, the cameras and everyone. He clenches his fists in his lap, grinds his teeth, feels his jaw tense. The cameras are probably picking it up, so he schools his expression into bored indifference. A neutral mask, they will know he is unhappy but they will not know it is with the Dutch bastard staring him down from the other end of the couch.

“It was nothing. Just an inchident, right Charles?” Max says, with that edge of ‘I think I’m hilarious, aren’t I?’ that makes Charles want to actually scream.

Instead, he picks up his own mic and laughs, nearly a giggle as he’s been instructed, it plays cuter. Makes him look less like the track menace who rammed into the back of Max’s car on turn sixteen of the Chinese circuit, as he cursed out Max’s speed in the straights over the radio.

“Yes, hah, right. We will, uh, we will do better this weekend.” He hopes he doesn’t sound as strained as he feels, rehearsed, it’s harder to pretend when he can feel the weight of Max’s gaze on him like the full weight of his own car, plus half the rest of the grids just for good measure.

Max grins, wicked little glint in his eye, “Absolutely.” And then he’s spinning the attention away from Charles and back to the Red Bull’s performance in high wind conditions – there’s a tropical storm brewing off the coast and it’s been fucking with the weather. How his team is confident they will be able to pull away from the rest of the grid with enough ease that situations like the last race don’t happen again.

Charles thinks about beating him to death with the microphone in his hands. Not seriously, not in a way he would ever act on, just in a way that would mean he doesn’t have to stare at the back end of a Red Bull wing for another fifty-seven laps.

The rest of media day is fairly uneventful. He knocks out some joint video stuff with Carlos, does a few social media photos and merch signings, and tries to ignore the questions about Max that just seem to keep coming.

Only once does he bite, when someone asks him if he and Max will ever refollow each other on Instagram.

He laughs, “He will have to follow me back first.”

There’s a camera recording his response, grainy iPhone footage that he will definitely see on Twitter later. Good. Let Max see the gauntlet he’s thrown down. Let him see the Ferrari cap Charles had been signing with the easy flick of his wrist and sharpie across the brim. Let him see Charles does not care.

Because he doesn’t.

Why should he?

Except that maybe he does, because when Max shows up at his hotel room that night he can’t help the annoyed sound that escapes him.

“What?”

“What?”

“What?”

“So we’re fine a week ago, but you send me into the gravel and it’s you who gets to play the silent game?”

He’s been ignoring Max’s texts. There had been a lot of them.

“There is no game, I am busy. Meetings. Repairs. You know, the damage to the car.”

“Oh you’re moonlighting as your own mechanic now? Ferrari is that desperate?”

Max is angry, but more than that he’s hurt. Charles can see the flash of it in his eyes and in the tension when he clenches and unclenches his fists at his side.

“You’re-“ Max glances down the hall, at the Aston Martin employee who’s casting them glances.

Charles waves.

Max lowers his voice until only Charles can hear, “You are such a sore loser.”

The sting of it is well aimed, lands right between Charles ribs, pisses him off enough that he drops the act for a minute and tells Max to go fuck himself in Italian before slamming the door in his face.

It’s not that he’s never been called that before, more than he’s never been called it by Max. Somehow that hurts more.

Max wins in Miami. Charles has engine trouble on lap thirty and has to retire by lap thirty-two. The smile that he forces on afterward when he lies through his teeth that ‘it is like this’ hurts more than his pounding head after the DNF in China.

He tries to drown it all out by hiding in his room until his flight the next morning, instead he ends up at Max’s door.

“I hate you,” he says when the man opens it wide enough that Charles can slink past.

His hair is damp, sticking up in spikey points atop his head, and his white shirt is sticking to wet patches of his skin. He smells like ember, or leather, or something distinctly sharp. Charles tries not to think about it.

Instead, he paces tracks into the plush carpet and keeps his eyes glued to the movement of his own feet while the words spew out of him faster than he can stop them. It’s not all in English, spoken so fast he’s sure Max has missed most of it.

“I fucking hate you. You stupid. Moronic. Annoying. Idiot. You and your inchident like I am stupid. Fuck you. That was my race. My line-.”

“Is this about China?”

“Yes,” Charles spits, “Of course it is about China.”

Max crosses his arms. Watches as Charles motions wildly in the air.

“It is about China. And Suzuka. And Melbourne. About every circuit you follow me onto.”

“I follow you onto?”

“Shut up.”

“Interesting perspective.”

“Stop.”

“I didn’t even finish Melbourne.”

“Shut. Up!” He yells, he can’t help it, feels like something in his chest finally snaps and then there is a long silence where neither of them say anything at all. They both stare at each other, like someone took out a gun and shot the other. Charles does not yell. He is polite, kind, he is exceedingly lovely.

He does not yell.

Except that sometimes he does, and right now he would like to just so he could feel the pure release of it. Sometimes he does not want to be fucking kind. But he also does not want to yell at Max, realizes the pointlessness of it all.

“You want to be friends? Still?” Charles asks, because it is Max who had begun this whole dance of repairing whatever shattered thing sat between them from when they were kids. Max who had started texting him asking to play FIFA and paddle, to go running with him, offered his private jet for flights if needed. Giving everything hand over fist to Charles, assumedly because Red Bull had seen how well he listened to team orders, and behaved, and wanted to own him before Ferrari could lock him down again. Charles had played the game, and he’d maybe even become Max’s friend in the process, but there’s still a part of him that is twelve and bitter – bitter that Max has always had the money, the better kart, bitter he can’t seem to catch up no matter how hard he pushes down on the throttle.

“Do you want to be friends?” Max asks, keeping a wary distance from Charles that once would have felt normal but now seems unfamiliar. He looks at Charles like he is a ticking time bomb. Charles hates it. He hates feeling weak.

“I…I don’t know.”

“We don’t have to be, “ Max says, like the thought has not occurred to Charles.

“I know-.”

Max cuts him off like he can hear the growing edge in Charles' voice and wants to avoid alerting the housekeeping staff in the hall to their bickering.

“Then just say that. I won’t text. I’ll leave you alone. Don’t do something you don’t want to do, Charles.”

It is reminiscent of Max telling him choose whatever team he wanted a few months back, telling him to fuck expectation and do something just because he wanted it. Which was ironic coming from the three-time world champion who only wanted to race cars online. Charles chose Ferrari, because there was never realistically a world where he wouldn’t.

The simpleness of it, the way Max is so willing to just let him go, to give up on the bridge they’d slowly been building between them – Charles suddenly hates him all over again. Max Verstappen and his chivalry and his kindness and his brutal honesty because he has no need to lie. It sparks that familiar jealousy in Charles.

Which is maybe why he throws some of Max’s own medicine back at him.

“I have seen the way you look at me,” he blurts out, “When you think I will not notice.”

Max takes a moment to catch-up with the twist in conversation. His eyebrows doing this expressive little dance that Charles almost finds endearing before it settles on hurt shock.

“What?”

“You are not subtle.”

“I don’t-.”

“You’re only nice to me because you think you can fuck me now. That doesn’t make you special Max, that is all anyone wants me for anyway.”

There is a moment where he thinks Max will tell him to get out, a moment where he would go, it is a moment that is quickly lost in the anger that makes itself at home in Max’s eyes. The bridge crumbles, they are twelve and all they want to do is hurt.

“God, how do you see anything over that massive ego of yours, Leclerc.”

“You’re the three time champion, Verstappen. You tell me.”

Max steps closer, Charles steps back, he meets the resistance of the dresser and Max is suddenly there. Chest to chest, the two of them staring each other down with enough vitriol that it would probably put Pierre and Esteban to shame.

“You’re a fucking dick, Charles.” Max growls, “It’s not my fault Ferrari can’t pull their shit together enough to put you in a decent car.”

“Your car is a violation,” Charles spits back, “easy to win when you ignore the rules. Like always.”

They should stop, Charles thinks, knows they’re toeing along the precipice of something. But he’s sick of playing by the rules, so he pushes.

“Cheating is how you win, yes?”

Max's hands fist in the fabric of his shirt and push him further against the dresser before he even has the chance to blink. The furniture digs into his spine, until Charles can’t help the wounded sound that escapes him.

Max wrestles with something inside himself, Charles watches the struggle. He starts to pull away, but Charles grabs him by the hips and keeps him there. Max looks at him with that familiar expression, the one that Charles has been ignoring for months, want and need and longing all wrapped in steely grey that should be cold but might be warmest thing Charles has ever been cast in the light of.

“I don’t want to hurt you,” Max says, and Charles feels rage. But it isn’t rage, not at all. It’s want. It’s the same feeling he gets when he’s gaining on Max in a race, hungry with the need to pass, to overtake, to get ahead and taste the clean air for once. It’s what landed them both in the gravel two weeks back.

Charles is smart, calculated when he needs to be, and right now he doesn’t want to play dumb.

“If I want you to hurt me?” he asks, really asks, even if he’s sure he hasn’t read the signs wrong.

Max’s expression does another dance, settles on the same want that Charles is reflecting back at him, “I don’t cheat.” He states.

Charles smiles, and it’s not the PR smile, all pretty for the cameras, it’s the smile of a man who drives on the limit and curses when he still can’t get ahead. “I don’t care. I’m going to beat you one day either way.”

Max wins in Imola, but Charles wins in Monaco.

They stand on the podium as the Monégasque anthem blares and he looks at Charles with pride, longing, reverence.

Charles notices, he always does.

[task800]

HMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMaaaaaaaany fics where androids are portrayed as living forever and are immortal and have that “ohhhh we are ageless and can fix ourselves with a mechanic whereas humans are weak and get arthritis therefore we will inherit the earth” logic . but!!!!! to my knowledge, comma, i’ve outlived every phone i ever owned, and planned obsolescence is a widespread business model, and cyberlife was trying to make moneyyyy i think androids should die like iphones is what i’m saying, at least in their default “fresh outta the box” form. like they have self repair abilities, but the self-repair was deliberately throttled during production because minor repairs are okay - perceived durability = brand loyalty - but if they’re TOO durable then how is cyberlife gonna make bank? and nobody really thinks about it until androids start exhibiting signs of senescence

[indiaphpexpert]

Wondering what features should a phone repair business website? Check our Websites today to schedule phone repair shop software demo!

[enchantedchocolatebars]

Camila and Luz catch Philip tinkering with their thing several times, to the point Camila had to sit him aside to talk about it. Philip says that as much as he loves taking care of the house, Luz and her, but when there's nothing else to do. He gets bored, and well, he's an inventor and scientist by heart.

Feeling guilty, he tells Camila that he loves his new life, but every time he sees Luz on her laptop or phone. He can practically feel his fingers ich to take it apart and improve it.

This, in turn, makes Camila feel guilty, too, as she didn't see Philip's struggles. So she helps him make a small side business im her g.arage buying, selling, and repairing old junk.

AAAAA, YESSSS!!!

(Tagging @talisman975 and @pokeycub).

I LOVE THE IDEA OF BEARDO PHILIP BEING INTO TECH AND TECHNICAL STUFF / INVENTIONS!

He also repairs computers, phones (I saw a headcanon about Belos being able to fix an iPhone, lol), printers, etc., and uses his earnings to purchase groceries and cleaning supplies for the house, instead of being dependent on Camila's credit card, as well as pays for things that the girls need.

They, in return, save up and get him a Bindle (The Owl House universe's version of a Kindle).

He LOVES IT so much.

[solarpunkbusiness]

Surera Ward, CEO and founder of Girls Fix It, LLC

Girls Fix It, LLC, which she calls a technology solutions company specializing in cell phones, tablets, smartwatches, game consoles and computers. 

Surera (pronounced “Shore-ah”) is part of the fastest-moving technology industry trend: consumer electronic repair and maintenance. Before starting Girls Fix It, she spent 20 years in the corporate sector, leading software development teams for Fortune 500 companies as an IT business analyst\project manager.

Ward taught herself to program in the 1990s when she worked in software development. 

“Growing up,” she said, “I always liked to take things apart and fix them, like when a tape got stuck in the VCR machine. I got good at fixing.”  At 19, Ward started a software development company in Delaware, Infinity Software Systems. After four years, she transitioned to teaching in schools in Wilmington and New Castle. Currently, Girls Fix It offers training to senior citizens, and Ward also does business consulting for Cellbotics, an electronic device repair training firm based in Atlanta.

But a major problem for Ward and others like her is the planned obsolescence that one also finds in the auto industry. After all, if a product works perfectly for many years, why buy a new one?

Ward is finding, for example, that once she and her two assistants have conducted a repair on a customer's phone, the device will “often throw up error messages hard-coded in by manufacturers to discourage users from going to third-party experts.”

And a practice known as “parts pairing,” which ties individual parts to the devices they're shipped with using unique serial numbers, has made it harder to repair them.

But consumers and small independent repair experts like Ward are fighting back. According to a recent WHYY report, a “Right to Repair” movement is gaining traction around the country. “Four states have passed laws that require manufacturers to make it easier for consumers to repair their devices – a cracked screen, broken phone camera or broken laptop,” according to the story. “There’s legislation in New Jersey, Delaware and a bill in the Pennsylvania Senate, and another in the House. Advocates of these laws say they will save consumers money, save the planet from tons of e-waste and will support small local businesses.” 

Ward insists, “The 'Right to Repair' movement is for consumers and small businesses to have access to parts and schematics that they need. The manufacturers deliberately make the products hard to repair. Parts are often unavailable; schematics are often not accessible, and they create error messages. It's getting harder and harder to repair different devices. Any Apple iPhone 10 phone or better is very hard to repair. Legislation could help, but it would not fully resolve the issue.”

[sizzleissues]

Planned/manufactured obsolescence is bad. You shouldn’t have to go to the manufacturer to repair broken items.

My father: But that’s how they make money. *continues explaining that this is just how it is now and really what everyone should do is just not buy from those companies or not be stupid enough to be tricked into bad deals where the product bricks itself after three years, he would know, he does business and has to deal with these companies all the time and everyone has to buy licenses nowadays to use a printer. And there’s nothing we can do about companies getting away with making shitty products, that’s just the way it is and he’s perfectly happy to let it keep going that way because he cannot visualise anything else even though he lived before it was so prevalent.*

Me: Yeah, i know. But can you admit it’s bad. Your phone made prior to this trend in business still works. Now an iPhone which costs 700x times the price bricks itself after three years. That’s bad.

Him: No. How will businesses make money?

Me: MAYBE BY SELLING GOOD LONG-LASTING PRODUCTS THAT DON’T END UP IN LANDFILLS AFTER TWENTY MINUTES OF USE

[iphoneabmbulance]

iPhone Ambulance: Your Lifesaver for Cracked Screens, Dying Batteries, and More!

Introduction:

Has your iPhone Submit to a cracked screen, a lagging battery, or other woes? Don't panic! iPhone Ambulance, your friendly neighborhood mobile repair experts, are here to swiftly diagnose and revive your beloved device. Serving Brisbane and Ipswich, we offer prompt, professional, and affordable iPhone repair solutions, getting you back to enjoying your mobile life without the stress.

Our Core Services:

Expert iPhone Screen Repairs: We understand the agony of a shattered iPhone screen. Our technicians are highly skilled in replacing cracked or damaged screens with genuine Apple parts, ensuring flawless functionality and original display quality.

Battery Replacements that Breathe New Life: Is your iPhone struggling to hold a charge? Our battery replacement service revitalizes your device with genuine, high-capacity batteries, bringing back extended uptime and peace of mind.

Comprehensive Mobile Repair Solutions: Beyond screens and batteries, we offer a wide range of repair services for various iPhone issues, including charging ports, cameras, buttons, water damage, and more. Don't hesitate to bring us your device for a free diagnosis and repair estimate.

Why Choose iPhone Ambulance?

Local Expertise & Speedy Service: We're a local, Brisbane-based business, that understands the importance of prompt and reliable service. Our technicians are highly trained and experienced, ensuring quick turnaround times to get you back to your iPhone quickly.

Genuine Apple Parts & Quality Assurance: We believe in using only genuine Apple parts for all repairs, guaranteeing optimal performance and long-lasting results. Every repair undergoes rigorous quality checks to ensure your satisfaction.

Affordability & Transparency: We offer competitive prices and transparent communication, providing upfront quotes before any repairs begin. No hidden fees or surprises—just honest, professional service.

Convenient Locations: With multiple locations in Brisbane and Ipswich, we're close to you! Simply choose the most convenient store and visit us for a free diagnosis and repair quote.

Additional Services:

Data Backup & Transfer: Worried about losing your data during repairs? We offer secure data backup and transfer services to ensure your information remains safe and sound.

Same-Day Repair Options: In need of a quick fix? We often offer same-day repair options for common issues, getting you back to your iPhone ASAP.

Free Consultations & Diagnostics: Not sure what's wrong with your iPhone? Bring it in for a free consultation and diagnosis. We'll assess the issue and provide a solution without any obligation.

Conclusion:

Don't let iPhone troubles disrupt your life! iPhone Ambulance is here to rescue your device with expert repairs, genuine parts, and speedy service. Contact us today for a free diagnosis and experience the iPhone Ambulance difference. Remember, we proudly serve Brisbane and Ipswich!

[davethenerdguy]

FBI Best Tool is Free!

We have all seen the movies with the FBI using a seemly sophisticated tool. Black boxes pop up all over the screens. Is that the way they do it? Or is there another way they don’t want you to know about? Let’s say I am wanted by the FBI. I might be on an FBI watch list. So I want to disappear forever. What would I need to do? First thing I need to do is ditch my phone. Second, use only cash for…

[maqias]

been contemplating communication methods for a setting for a fantasy rp server i've been brainstorming for a while now, and something i keep coming back to that seems just ridiculous and fantasy enough while still being pretty practical in theory is a shellphone, or a seashell cellphone.

in my head, they can be fairly expensive to get a hold of, though any adventurer or traveling worker (messengers, carriage drivers, etc) worth their salt will immediately invest in one for the sake of both convenience and business ventures. because seashell phones are made of illusory magicks and are often sold by wizards and warlocks of all sorts, virtually any seashell can be turned into a shellphone, albeit they'll function a little different or get you a couple weird looks

a knobbled welk, or a queen conch, for example, will get you more landline-esque phone shapes - and will often require vocal components to call others and "dial" their numbers, and often not have much else to it. very novelty - nobles/the bourgeoisie love it, especially seashells you can still hear the sea from, but not too loud so as to overpower your conversations. they also love it because it lets them hear the sound of their own voice, since "dialing" other numbers requires vocal components and for the speaker to "technically" ""cast"" someone else's phone number

a basic scallop? a sea scallop, or a bay scallop, or even different types of clams? flip-phones. all of em. some of them are less so flip phones and more so the sliding phones with little keyboards that come out, but regardless these are a little cheaper - and smaller - than the knobbled welks or the queen conches, but they're more convenient, easier to carry around in your pocket, and how common they are makes it extremely easy to replace your shellphone's shell for another, bringing re-casting/repair costs down.

and the cycle continues on like this. flatter seashells make good smartphone-equivalents. smaller, round seashells - little periwinkle shells, for example - make really good toy shellphones, which often people will enchant themselves for how easy it can be, and how it isn't worth to bring to a professional wizard to make it function like one.

plus, the way I see it, buying a commercial shellphone involves these really refined, upped, seashells with almost porcelain features - if they're the fancy ones - or very rigorous tough material that makes you say "is this a seashell?!" if it's an adventurer's shellphone. but any ol' spellcaster with enough determination and a bit of chalks and inks and sundry material components can just grab a seashell from anywhere on the beach and be like "fuck it, i cast iphone"

anyway, just a few thoughts for the magic setting i'm writing. next time i'll elaborate upon magic mirrors as a form of communication i think