The heating system in my beloved’s apartment conked out soon after we returned to Zagreb two days ago. There has been no heating or hot water ever since. Repairmen came twice yesterday, and they will return later today. The electronic board controlling the system needs replacing. When the washing machine in my house conked out a few years ago, it was the electronic board that went awry. It took me quite a while to figure out that a new washer was the only way to go. I hear similar stories from friends and acquaintances. Electronic boards on all sorts of appliances seem to be their most treacherous parts. The same applies to cars, as well. They cannot be repaired any longer without access to the fickle boards, which are the sole domain of their makers. And electronics is the last bit of engineering introduced only half a century ago or so. It has promised so much, and so loudly, but its only advantage seems to be going to the manufacturers. Electronic boards are expensive, and a new appliance thus pops up as an appealing alternative soon enough. From the vantage point of a manufacturer, the main advantage of electronic boards is that they cannot be fixed by all and sundry. The so-called consumer society and consumerism are but misnomers. How about producer society and producerism instead?