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Many phones and laptops on the market are made to be so difficult to fix they become essentially disposable. We want to choose electronics that are durable and fixable, but how do we know which products are designed to last and which are destined for the dump?

This report calculates a repairability score for the most popular cell phone and laptop brands, and grades which manufacturers are designing devices to last and which are “Failing the Fix.” This year’s scorecard includes a section highlighting the three most repairable cell phones and laptops available on the market from each manufacturer to help you buy a fixable device.

Today, Microsoft announced paid extended support (ESU) for Windows 10 after we delivered 20,000 petition signatures asking them to extend support! The best choice for our planet is for them to provide automatic updates, but this is a step in the right direction. We'll keep pushing for longer support to prevent the up to 400 million PCs that can't upgrade to Windows 11.

https://pirg.org/media-center/release-microsoft-offers-exten...

VR risks for children and teens range from dangerous data collection to impacts on developing brains VR risks are significant enough the child health experts we spoke to recommend parents steer clear for now.

'Bad for consumers [and] bad for the planet,' PIRG says of Microsoft's decision to end support for Windows 10 in 2025, even though an estimated 1 billion PCs can't upgrade to Windows 11.

This is a big victory for the parents, teachers, and students who wrote to Google asking them to make this change. https://pirg.org/articles/why-google-announced-chromebooks-w...

Google and other tech companies should continue to find ways to stop the disposability treadmill that pressures us to replace our phones and laptops in favor of newer models. With e-waste the fastest growing waste-stream in the U.S., it’s not sustainable to consume technology at this rate. This is a meaningful step toward a tech industry making products designed to last.

Thirteen different Chromebooks recently lost support from Google, but eight are available for sale on Amazon, including two listed as “new."

It sounds like you found the best ink for your needs! All consumers should have that choice rather than be locked into OEM ink via firmware restrictions.

In terms of the quality of third-party ink, your experience isn't entirely uncommon. Some folks have great experiences, some don't. There's a lot of variability by brand. For aesthetic/craft printing, that variability might not be tolerable.

The biggest problem I had researching consumer tips for inkjet ink is that there are NO universal quality standards for third-party brands. Other consumer groups like Consumer Reports don't test third-party ink because the industry is too volatile. The market is confusing, which is a shame. The industry rumor is that the remanufacturing trade group is implementing a certification system at some point, which is sorely needed.

Manufacturers lock us into buying inkjet cartridges at exorbitant prices. Three policy solutions to fix inkjet printers with transparency, competition, and choice. If we can fix printers, maybe we can fix it all. We can have technology that’s designed to last, is fixable, and restores our freedom to choose.

Inkjet cartridges are sold at an absurd markup. Black printer ink can be purchased wholesale for $1.18 per fl. oz., while functionally the same ink in a cartridge costs $118 per fl. oz.

Americans could save $10 billion per year by using remanufactured (refilled) ink cartridges. Refilling rather than manufacturing single-use plastic cartridges could save the plastic equivalent to 4 million single-use plastic grocery bags per year.

Printer restrictions are the poster child for the growing conflict between common-sense ideas of ownership and restrictive copyright claims.