
Apple using CBP to seize Rossmanns shipment of original Macbook batteries - pentae
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AVL65qwBGnw
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officialchicken
Apple's repair policies are terrible for the environment, entirely anti-
consumer, and violate anything close to resembling the hacker ethic. But I
doubt Rossmann's claim that the CBC video was the cause for Apple's action. It
was probably his work in Albany on the Right to Repair bill where he was
repairing legislators and staff laptops, on site, in the lobby of the
building.

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oceanghost
I'm with Rossmann.

If you look at the wider issue, EVERYTHING in the Apple ecosystem is broken.
This isn't just an issue about repair. OSX is buggy. iOS is buggy. iTunes is
buggy. Photos is buggy... etc etc.

The hardware used to be solid at least. I have a 12-year-old MacBook that's
still running. But, my new machines don't last.

It used to be that Apple would fix stuff, so you didn't really worry about the
hardware so much. But now, they'll refuse to fix things in warranty, even.

So we've arrived at a point where Apple's software doesn't work, Apple's
hardware doesn't work, and Apple won't acknowledge it-- and it's all at a
premium price.

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sschueller
Would any of these right to repair bills prevent this? If not it will be quite
difficult to repair devices if the parts are not made available.

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odensc
I believe most of the proposed right to repair bills include a provision
requiring manufacturers to provide diagnostic tools and replacement parts
under "reasonable terms."

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zeusk
I find his claim dubitable at best whereas there can be real concerns from
Apple's side about _possibly_ counterfeit or ill-gotten merchandise that isn't
up to their standards making it into a customer's machine and ending up in a
fire or something.

He should really be complaining about Apple not offering service parts from a
first party /trusted source.

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kiallmacinnes
I find parts of his claim dubious... Specifically the Apple + CBP timing
conspiracy.

However, the rest seems more than fair - Apple won't even sell the parts to
authorized repair shops, nor will they repair the laptops themselves.

He believes the batteries he ordered are genuine Apple parts, and I see no
reason to doubt that. Shenzhen has entire buildings filled with both genuine
and fake Apple parts.

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JohnTHaller
Apple: We refuse to sell you parts

Also Apple: These parts you imported are probably counterfeit because you
didn't buy them from us

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oliwarner
CBP says that because these parts are imported through non-official channels
and bear trademarks, they're most likely counterfeit. Louis says they're
original.

Having your stuff taken sounds shitty but I'm not sure that's a significant
problem here. The batteries were seized, not destroyed. Louis has (albeit
deeply inconvenient) recourse available to get them back, but at some point,
somebody is going to have to decide that these _are_ genuine, or they'll be
destroyed.

This structure is in place because there _are_ floods of fake parts out there
pretending to be genuine. That much should be obvious when anybody can have
their phone screen replaced for a fully-branded replacement for $20.

And yes, it's the branding here that's the most obvious catch. If these were
unlabelled (video comments talk about just crossing the logo out with a
Sharpie), it would be a much harder thing for CBP to assume.

But yeah, these parts should all be on general sale, from Apple. And if they
don't want to do it, they need to allow _their_ suppliers to supply those
parts to market.

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equalunique
Just discovered his YouTube channel today. Fantastic.

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Krasnol
Poor Rossmann getting too much attention lately.

I wouldn't be surprised if Apple tries to finish him off.

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andrewmcwatters
He's been sued by Apple before, and Apple failed.

