If the shop could replace the battery with nothing more niche than a torx bit in 5 minutes we wouldn't be talking about this.

I had to make the choice of getting another phone (used in great condition, as I do) or pay half the cost I paid to get the battery replaced but also knowing it would still be heaviy used and more likely to fail in other ways because of use.

If labor cost and decreased relaibility weren't factors, swapping the battery would have been the choice.

Now the question is: are there more people like me or more people who need a sealed, hard to repair phone? I don't know but if I did I'd accept keeping the current situation.

Then I won't chance any submersion and I can't think of an accurate way to test it.

I'll be the first to complain if the new standard isn't adopted in due time, but as a strong example I'm still very content with how the GSM legislation standard has played out.

Any noteworthy examples in the past five years?

If I know my company is going to do something on March 16th, I can bet against it happening until that day, and then bet big it will happen that day. I don’t need to influence the company to change what it’s going to do to make money on it.

From one day to the next it started showing positive effects and a week and a half later I was fine. I was kicking myself for waiting so long.

Nowadays screens are being used as a cost cutting measure. It stands to reason that if an automaker reintroduces more costly physical controls it’s going to be to address the issue of cumbersome controls. Hopefully, anyway.

Everyone could self promote, they just couldn’t contract someone to do it for them. Employees could promote for their employer, but it couldn’t be subcontracted out. And you can’t pay a company to put up your ad on their billboard or their website, etc.

Ignoring how this might be enforced, would it be enough to let people express themselves while cutting out the impact of negative externalities of advertising?

You can self promote, but you can’t pay third parties to do it for you and you can’t sell it as a service.

These AI datacenters right now are a prime example. They needed more power, and suddenly they’re building it for them.

WEC (and IMSA a bit) solve those problems but they have so many drivers and teams that it takes a lot of dedication to follow along.

In the end you end up wondering if your favorites could hack it in the WRC.

Disclosing names wouldn’t help. People actually knowing the person would help.

I feel the current rules against earmarking has made it so they negotiate less.