In a recent discussion, it was brought to our attention that Microsoft’s new Surface Laptop scored a 0 out of 10 for repairability. You can read Fstoppers full article by using the following link

Microsoft’s New Surface Laptop Scores 0 out of 10 for Repairability

Now I’m not even going to argue points like Apple’s, et al., have been doing this for years. This is true. And if everyone jumps off the bridge, you’re going to do that too!  So let’s move on.

This was Microsoft’s opportunity to shine and set themselves apart from there competitors, to be bigger and better, to show confidence in their product, to show respect to their users, and they didn’t. They chose to simply do as everyone else does, how disappointing.

Microsoft could have taken the environmental lead and promoted a product that could be upgraded and/or repaired instead of thrown out. But sadly, they seem to have aligned themselves with the disposable world we are living in with no regard for the long term environmental impact of their decision.

They have chosen to not empower their users. They have chosen to not enable them to upgrade the RAM, Hard Drive, etc…  which are simply expected occurrences with a computer/laptop (remember this isn’t a tablet, it is a laptop!  Their definition of the product, not mine.) allowing end-users to retain their product for a longer time frame.  Instead, it would appear that Microsoft wants you to throw it in the garbage and upgrade to a newer model that will fill your needs at that point in time.

Personally, I believe this is a very calculated action on Microsoft’s behalf.

Every Engineer knows about Design for Maintenance/Maintainability (there are numerous others – Design for Manufacturing, Design for Assembly, …), or at least should.  It’s not like it would have been hard to build the unit so it could be serviced if necessary (were talking about screws and not soldering components together – this is not rocket science). I think they truly are trying to copy a page out of Apple’s book again and build an extended warrantee business were people will pay extra to get their units simply replaced (there’s that disposable society we are living in). I think that they value a reduction in production costs, and the ability to charge for extra coverage to be much more advantageous over any environmental benefits they could have. Profits before all else would seem to be the order “du jour”. In my opinion, this is very short sighted of them.  This makes simply lumps them into the same group as everyone else.  They choose to follow rather than become leaders and lead the change that needs to become standard practice, both for the environment, but also to empower their users.  They had so much to gain, and completely missed the mark.

Here was their chance to shine! They could have shown that they offered a great product and that it even offered the end-user the ability to upgrade it, and most importantly repair it should something ever go wrong, and things go wrong that is life.  People drop laptops, spill drinks, … They could have sold their corporate environmental virtues over the competition’s. Something as simple as replacing the battery is not possible, at least not by the commoner, and based on the above article, not a good idea for even a seasoned repair technician!

Don’t forget we are not talking about a $150-$300 unit here, these retail for over $1K! At that price, I expect more forethought, more flexibility.

Don’t get me wrong, I’m sure the units will sell. Most people don’t think about repairing a unit as they are making a purchase, but I do think a lot of people will be in for a rude awakening the day they have a problem and are told they need to buy a new unit altogether. Things fail, accidents happen, that is simply part of life, but Microsoft figures you’ll just toss it out and buy a new one?!

You can’t even replace the battery! Think about it for a moment.  What were they thinking!

Copying Apple is not the solution to Microsoft’s woes, yet they keep doing it.  You can’t lead your competition by copying them.

What are your thought on the matter?

• Does this surprise you?
• Do you expect to be (whether it be yourself or a service technician) able to service your laptop?
• Did Microsoft miss another opportunity to stand out?