collaboration.
Our electronic devices take a serious environmental toll, and one of the best ways to mitigate that is to use them for as long as possible before replacing them. But itâs hard to know how long a new gadget will last if youâre unsure how easy it will be to fix. Now, companies are going to have to start coming clean about thatâin France, at least.
In a world-first move last month, France began requiring makers of certain electronic devices, including smartphones and laptops, to tell consumers how repairable their products are. Manufacturers selling these devices in France must give their products a score, or ârepairability index,â based on a range of criteria, including how easy it is to take the product apart and the availability of spare parts and technical documents. While France wonât be enforcing use of the index with fines until next year, some companies have already begun releasing scores for their products.
Planned obsolescence: France has a repairability index plan to make your smartphone last way longer slate.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from slate.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
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A boy receives online learning from his school amid the coronavirus disease (Covid-19) outbreak at his home in Keele, Staffordshire, Britain. Reuters
LONDON: When British single mother Martha sensed another Covid-19 lockdown was looming, one of her biggest worries was how her three young sons would cope with online schooling again when the family still didn’t have a computer.
Martha’s children, who are all at primary school in London, struggled during the first round of school closures last year – unable to access their school’s digital lessons and cut off from their classmates.
“They missed out on the fundamentals that were supposed to be in place – and they missed out on basic things like being in contact with their friends,” said Martha, who asked not to give her full name to protect the family’s identity.
London, January 18
When British single mother Martha sensed another COVID-19 lockdown was looming, one of her biggest worries was how her three young sons would cope with online schooling again when
Published:
3:00 PM January 18, 2021
Pupils at Poplar s Lansbury Lawrence primary school receiving laptops to do classwork online from home during lockdown
- Credit: Rehan Jamil
Another 10,000 laptops and other devices are needed for every child in the East End to be able to go online for schooling from home.
A survey of Tower Hamlets schools has uncovered a severe shortage which is preventing youngsters from poorer backgrounds getting access to online education.
Now the education secretary is being urged by the mayor of Tower Hamlets to provide laptops and broadband in overcrowded homes where more than one child needs remote learning at the same time.