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These Canadians want the ‘right to repair’ their stuff: ‘We can’t continue on the same way of consuming’
(www.theglobeandmail.com)
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i would love a right to repair, and to me that doesn't mean "every moron with a screwdriver" can repair it, but replacement parts should be availible, for minimum amount of time after the product launches, at a reasonable markup.
I'm happy to have a pro replace the battery in my phone, but he should be able to buy JUST the battery, the existing one should have pull tabs, and there shouldnt be any insane warnings.
Similar, if the motherboard of my stove goes, it shuoldnt cost $700 for what basically an arduino.
You just gave me an idea. The mobo on a stove is just a PWM temperature controller, it probably doesn't even use a PID loop. Drop in replacement boards would sell like crazy on eBay.
open source appliances when
The 3DO game company had a similar premise back in the mid 90s. They designed their console's chip set and allowed any manufacturer to license and build them. Because the licensees didn't get any royalties for game purchases like 3DO would, they'd sell them at high prices and levels of quality control to make sure they'd still make a profit.
It might be easier for a single company to make an open source appliance to better control initial build quality and allow the aftermarket vendors to handle replacement parts depending on the consumer's preferences.