Right To Repair
- gizmodo.com Kamala Picking Governor Walz for VP Is a Win for the Right-to-Repair Movement
The Minnesota governor signed one of the country’s most consequential and expansive laws aimed at helping people fix their own stuff.
- • 100%www.theverge.com Kobo and iFixit partner for OEM parts and repair guides
Fixing them will require patience, but at least it’s doable now.
From the initial assessment to the final clean-up, Dwyer Restoration is committed to delivering efficient and effective restoration services.
Contact Dwyer Restoration today for all your restoration needs and let us help you restore your property to its pre-damaged condition.
I’ve just watched the video. I find it pretty outrageous. The word about it should spread.
- pirg.org "Smart" Washing Machines are Dumb
For a machine designed to pour water on clothes and spin them around, “smart” washing machines are over-engineered and inconvenient.
- zaufanatrzeciastrona.pl O trzech takich, co zhakowali prawdziwy pociąg – a nawet 30 pociągów | Zaufana Trzecia Strona
cross-posted from: https://lemmy.world/post/9227800
> Polish train manufacturer that lost servicing tender programmed train controller to brick itself after train stays for some time in 6 ISP facilities or in 1 their faculity(for testing?) until undocumented button combination is pressed. Some controller versions brick itself after train is idle for 10 days. After news about this became public, manufacturer removed ability to unlock train by button combination. > > Also manufacturer is able to remotely brick train over internet(connected via GSM) at any time. > > Mod wanted ONLY article, so enjoy reading in polish.
- www.404media.co A Massive Repair Lawsuit Against John Deere Clears a Major Hurdle
The class-action antitrust suit is one of the biggest challenges to Deere's tractor repair monopoly.
>A judge rejected John Deere’s motion to dismiss a landmark class action lawsuit over the agricultural giant’s repair monopolies, paving the way for a trial that will determine whether the company’s repair practices are illegal >At issue are the many tactics Deere has used to make it more difficult and often impossible for farmers to repair their own tractors, from software locks and “parts pairing” that prevent farmers from replacing parts without the authorization of a Deere dealership >"Deere—by itself or through its agents—repeatedly made public statements that purchasers could make repairs to their own Tractors but the reality was that they couldn’t,” Johnson wrote.
- ifixit.com European Parliament Just Approved Fair Parts Pricing and a Ban on Parts Pairing | iFixit News
EU Parliament voted nearly unanimously for a new draft of “Common rules promoting the repair of goods,” featuring strong changes championed by advocates.
I feel it is important to support projects and businesses who are working on making it easier to repair and upgrade the things they make. So here's a thread about laptop computers.
Context
Desktop computers were not perfect in terms of being able to be fixed/upgraded, but they were better than laptops. So, where can one go to find laptops that can be repaired or upgraded?
The List
- https://mntre.com/ Open source, modular, ARM-based laptops
- There's also a smaller model in the works
- https://www.crowdsupply.com/mnt/pocket-reform
- https://hackaday.com/2023/04/11/a-miniature-mnt-for-every-pocket/
- There's also a smaller model in the works
- https://frame.work/ Faster, intel based modular laptop
- Components can be reconfigured into a tablet form factor https://www.instructables.com/Framework-Tablet-Assembly-Manual/
Honorable mentions
Some honorable mentions that are no longer available (or never were):
- https://www.crowdsupply.com/sutajio-kosagi/novena
- https://www.crowdsupply.com/eoma68/micro-desktop
Multi-pronged approach
I'm not opposed to asking politicians to solve the problem of sustainability, but it typically takes many years, and even then with mixed results. So I thought a thread on some more direct action was in order. I believe there is room for both strategies in our fight to fix our stuff.
A call to action
If you know of other sources that we can shop to get quality gear, while supporting people who are actively giving people the right to repair right here and now (and without being forced to against their will), post 'em in the replies.
Xmas is coming up. If a laptop is something you're considering, please give the vendors in this thread a look. Even if you ultimately go with something else, it's good to consider your options. Besides, it's not a matter of just being altruistic; many of us would argue these are also the better value in the long term!
- https://mntre.com/ Open source, modular, ARM-based laptops
- • 100%www.theverge.com Right-to-repair is now the law in California
Though there’s a carve-out for game consoles.
You'd think it'd be simple-- you should be able to repair things you've bought and paid for!-- but big corporations want to squeeze even more blood out of that stone wallet of yours. Want to fight back? Check out #RightToRepair: https://jimhightower.substack.com/p/friday-signpost-can-you-repair-what @righttorepair @uspirg
- hackaday.com When Tail Lights Lose Touch With Reality
To study the history of the automobile is to also be a student of technological progress — as with each decade’s models come new innovations to make them better handling, more corrosion…
Water gets into 2018 Ford truck tail light assembly, corrodes connectors, disables vehicle, $5600 repair.
- www.iowapublicradio.org Midwest farmers aren't allowed to fix their own tractors. And many right-to-repair bills are stalled
Farmers and ranchers across the Midwest say regulation is the only path forward to fixing their own equipment. But there’s been strong opposition to right to repair legislation, as manufacturers argue they’ve provided pathways for quick repairs.
- arstechnica.com iFixit tears down a McDonald’s ice cream machine, demands DMCA exemption for it
Public Knowledge and iFixit want the right to repair commercial kitchen gear.
And now to meteorologist Louis Rossmann with expected impacts of the forecasted snowstorm in Hell.
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NHTSA, Massachusetts Attorney General Reach Agreement on Voter-Approved 'Right to Repair' Law
See also PIRG's statement NHTSA Walks Back Anti-Repair Letter, but Questions Remain, including link to the NHTSA's letter.
> Holly Borgmann, vice president of government affairs for ADT, Boca Raton, Fla., said that while these types of laws may make sense for some industries, tools and manuals that could enable someone to disarm an alarm or reroute an emergency signal should remain proprietary. Borgmann is an SIA board member and vice chair of the SIA government affairs committee.
A security system that can be repaired without notifying the monitoring service, nor sending any suspicious signals, is a security system that can be defeated independent of right to repair legislation. Likewise, if the monitoring service can't verify repairs to be authorized by the customer, they can't handle response to an ordinary alarm.
The site specific data of an alarm panel is generally uploaded remotely by the monitoring service using the communication system through which the panel is monitored. That data is retained by the monitoring service in the event it needs restored, or for use as a template should it need modified. This is a trivial operation if there are any doubts regarding the integrity of the programming.
- www.theverge.com Canon is getting away with printers that won’t scan sans ink — but HP might pay
Remember when Canon got sued? The plaintiffs settled, I’m afraid.
- grist.org Why e-bike companies are embracing recycling while fighting repair
E-bikes are a climate-friendly way to get around, but the industry opposes laws that would make them easier to fix.
"In a letter sent to New York Governor Kathy Hochul in December, People for Bikes asked that e-bikes be excluded from the state’s forthcoming digital right-to-repair law... The letter cited 'an unfortunate increase in fires, injuries and deaths attributable to personal e-mobility devices' including e-bikes. Many of these fires, People for Bikes claimed in the letter, 'appear to be caused by consumers and others attempting to service these devices themselves,' including tinkering with the batteries at home. Before Hochul signed the right-to-repair bill, it was revised to exempt e-bikes.
"Asked for data to back up the claim that e-bike fires were being caused by unauthorized repairs, Lovell said that it was 'anecdotal, from folks that are on the ground in New York.'"
- • 100%www.nytimes.com Fixing Your Laptop at Home Should Be Easy. Here’s Why It’s Not.
Framework’s laptop proves that it can be easy to repair your devices at home. But most companies won’t let you.
ScannerDanner my dude, to know him is to love him.
- https:// www.fastcompany.com /90923565/
Entered into the record of today's hearing by Congressman Fry (R-SC).
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Massachusetts Right to Repair Committee Responds to NHTSA Obstruction of Automotive Data Access Law.
www.repairerdrivennews.com Mass. Right to Repair Committee: NHTSA’s take on Data Access Law ‘incorrect’In the ongoing “right to repair” lawsuit in Massachusetts, in which the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) recently agreed with the plaintiff Alliance for Automotive…
- https:// toolboom.com /en/articles-and-video/led-light-bulb-diy-repair-at-home
I don't propose any and every repair guide on the Internet relevant to post; we could easily drown in them.
What sets this one apart? Not sure why, but it never occurred to me that LED lightbulbs could be repaired.
Almost want to set up a drop box for burned out LED bulbs to give it a try. I don't imagine them equally repairable. Provided it caught on as a niche hobby, I expect something on the order of Open Repair Data could be collected on this topic alone.
- pirg.org How printers keep us hooked on expensive ink
Manufacturers lock us into buying ink cartridges at exorbitant prices. There are simple steps to end the ink trap.
- openrepair.org Major milestone: over 100,000 records of repair
Our latest set of Open Repair Data contains over 100,000 repair attempts logged at community repair events around the world.
These records display the wide variety of products brought to repair clinics, offer data for a few statistics as well as other insights.
The most reported obstacle to repair was absence of spare parts at 32%, rising to 48% if the category is expanded to include cost-prohibitive spare parts. "No way to open product" was an irritating 17%. Lack of service documentation was 12%.
- arstechnica.com EU wants “readily removable” batteries in devices soon—but what does that mean?
Should you have to melt glue? Which tools do you need? What about pricing?
- brownfieldagnews.com Michigan legislature introduces Right to Repair bills - Brownfield Ag News
A total of seven different Right to Repair bills have recently been introduced into Michigan’s state legislature to give farmers the ability to repair and diagnose farm equipment. Michigan House Ag Committee Chair Reggie Miller says her bill was written after local Farm Bureau constituents brought t...
Video of Michigan House Agriculture Committee hearing is archived here, if player link in the article proves uncooperative.
- pirg.org 'Chromebook Churn' report highlights problems of short-lived laptops in schools
The pandemic pushed schools to provide every student with their own device, often turning to Chromebooks. A laptop for every student is likely here to stay, but now this new tech is failing. That’s because while we know milk goes bad, it turns out Chromebooks have expiration dates too.
See also: US-PIRG letter to Google's John Solomon urging service life extension of 13 Chromebook models, signed by thirty-six organizations.
