I'm sorry for assuming your meaning, I didn't realize you meant to refer only to software. I do agree that we could benefit from re-localizing. I'd prefer it not come wrapped in a new cold war, though. We have all the motivation needed for mass mobilization in ecological crisis, if we could see or feel it more directly.
Right. I can't agree with you more about smothering the planet in mostly-unnecessary stuff. I'm truly fed up with the fact that almost every appliance or bit of gear we buy is designed with a short limited life and not meant to be serviced. No wonder the world is awash with e-waste and similar broken/junked stuff. Once, just about every bit of electronics I bought or owned I could fix, now I can't even open up gear without smashing my way inside because it's glued up or snapped shut with one-use-only one-way snap-lock catches, etc. It's a damn disgrace.
Two weeks ago the USB socket on my Netgear modem became intermittent and I literally had to smash my way through the plastic case to get inside to gain access to the circuit board. Unfortunately, in doing so I damaged something else which (I think) has rendered it useless (I'll know for sure when I get a chance to take a microscope to the PWA). The fact remains that I haven't been able change a 20 cent socket and to save time I've had to buy a new device!
It seems to me that green and ecological movements should do more in this area to stop the millions of tons of e-waste—and getting behind Right to Repair movements is a good place to start.
