I happen to be a gadget guy who likes tinkering with electronics. I’ve built computers, 3D printers, a primative blindspot warning device, and a sous vide cooker that worked. I’ve done plenty of wiring and harness changes, too. So this Right to Repair legislation is close to my heart. If I can’t tinker with it, I don’t own it. I understand that I am voiding the warranty and assuming risk. Thank you.
Tractor company John Deere is adamantly opposed, saying such in a letter such legislation should be voted down “to protect consumers’ significant investment in equipment.” Writing in the Lincoln Journal-Star, Andy Goodman, the President and CEO of the Iowa-Nebraska Equipment Dealers Association, says that LB 67 would a legal nightmare surrounding inevitable injuries on dangerous equipment. It would “create a situation where third parties injured by an improper repair performed by an unqualified technician are unlikely to recover for the damages they sustained due to the negligence of an equipment owner or third party.”
Okay. Got it. If a shade-tree mechanic flashes the chip in my tractor, John Deere isn’t responsible and I might be out the cost of a tractor if ol’ Cleetus doesn’t have anything but ex-wives and debt. His modifications may even cause me to lose control of the tractor, plow through a school and be on the hook for wrongful deaths. I don’t recall the last time Jeep paid out when some idiot flipped his highly modified crawler and killed himself. This is not a good argument against sharing product specifications with consumers.
What is a slightly stronger justification in libertarian circles is the contention that complying with this law would put valuable intellectual property at risk. I, personally, have a conflicted view on whether and how much intellectual property deserves protection, and you’ll find libertarians all over the map from the position that there is no such thing as intellectual property to Disney should be able to keep Snow White copyrighted for as long as they can convince Congress to keep extending protections.
I have to say that I am not as happy about this part:
“Right to Repair” is legislation would require Apple and other electronics manufacturers to sell repair parts to consumers and independent repair shops. On top of that, the laws would require manufacturers to make diagnostic and service manuals available to the public.
Yeah, it would be nice if every company put out manuals and replacement parts for their products, but I draw the line on being forced. I don’t see how any government can justify having that power.
Except for compelling government interest, of course.
This would be something that large companies (Apple notwithstanding) would generally love. It’s one more barrier to entry for cottage-size manufacturers who would incur disproportionate expenses in inventory and manual creation. Not to mention the inevitable lawsuits and regulatory expansion to define exactly how many spare parts, which kinds, how the quantities would be determined, what the manual must cover, how it must be written… and of course, trade secret protection is eliminated. All easy to deal with for a Megacorp with a few hundred full-time lawyers and compliance specialists.
I’m thinking through this, and you make a good point. Let’s say I own a small business consisting of just me. I come up with an idea for a product, but I can’t afford to manufacture it myself. So, I design the product and then outsource manufacturing. I find one source for parts that already exist, hire another source to manufacture some custom components, and hire a third source to assemble the product. All completely possible in today’s world. But now I’d have to make all those parts available for sale to consumers. That does sound like a barrier to entry.
They have so many incentives to try to keep the simplest of manuals. hell, even finding this FSM page took me forever. I doubt I could find a new car one.
If I can’t tinker with it, I don’t own it.
x1000
I enjoyed building my gaming computer. I know what’s in there, and what to look for when something might go wrong. My truck is starting to become the same thing. once I tear apart the engine, I really will know every bolt on the thing. Part of my annoyance in newer cars is that they change so much, you have no option but to go to the dealer when a piece of plastic breaks. That and the software is never going to be open. which means in 30 years when it’s outdated, you’ll still need to go to bmw.
Advanced diagnostics has to bring lawsuits against car manufacturers to try to be able to make aftermarket keys. It takes years, and the car companies switch them every 2 years or so. They reverse engineer more, it’s just easier.
I have a S&G 6730 safe lock that I practice breaking into. My record is 35 minutes now. Not the fastest, but I feel confident. I got into locks because I enjoyed learning how they work, the best way to find out is to take them apart and put them back together.
*Adds DoomCo to the heist team.*
Turns out women don’t really like hearing I break into houses for a living.
You’re dating the wrong women.
https://youtu.be/b4hNaFkbZYU
🙁
Agreed. I’m in maintenance and that’s how I prefer to purchase stuff. I do all my own repairs on my vehicles and anything else. It’s amazing how much stuff you keep around. Hardest thing I ever fixed was a washer.
What are your thoughts on the Forever Lock, if you’ve heard of it.
they do seem very strong, my biggest fear is in that many moving parts.
The best thing for security is still probably Medeco.
Yales Y1 keyway, which might be 80 years old now, is still the hardest thing to get picks into.
a good keyway, and good choices for cut depths.
y2 keys have 6 cuts, and 9 depth choices. MACS-maximum adjacent cut (space?) is 7 usually, but you can get away with 8. so a y2 key with 1-7-2-8-1-7 will be near impossible to pick.
What do you use to break into that, if you don’t mind my asking? Torque/tension wrench and a hook or what?
For regular locks, a good rake pick and a tension wrench/tool.
for a safe dial, you map the travel of the direct cam at every 3rd number, once you go all the way around, the map gives you the number of the 3rd combo by showing a lot more travel. there are false gates and things that slow you down a bit.
basically spin left 4 times, then to your number. then move the dial very slowly until you feel the cam touch the next disc. It’s harder to put into words. I’ll look for a good video on the subject.
Interesting! I’ve been playing with lockpicking for a couple years, but the combination stuff is just not very interesting to me. Every video I’ve seen has this hugely convoluted process that involves dialing around several times, writing down a half dozen numbers or so, etc.
I just want to apply light tension and feel around with a rake or pick.
There’s a lot involved on the safe locks. taking one apart really helps understand the why behind it. we saw this video at work, or another just like it. I didn’t think it worked but we had several in the shop to try. 10 seconds later, I was in. most spin dials like this have this weakness.
There is always the drill/scope method for safe locks. You get an eye on the gate, and it becomes a lot easier to dial in. It is a lot messier, and if you’re doing it on a locked safe door, you may knock the the back of the lock off, triggering the relocker. then its a lot of drilling and prying.
I’ve been playing with lockpicking for a couple years
I figured it would have been about the time puberty started to manifest, maybe a little before, if you stood in front of a pool’s water jet…
I mean,….These Euphemisms(tm)!
As for a brand of picks, I go with HPC. lots are good, but I prefer the non padded ones. you can get a better feel for the pins or wafers.
Oh, you’re a lock pick fan, too?
That shit’s illegal in some states, “tools of crime” and all. Another one of my implement prohibition pet peeves (guns and knives of course, electronics, f’ing throwing stars??, etc.).
Philosophy aside, this part is by far the silliest on a practical level. It would seem to imply that every electronics manufacturer must de facto become a components wholesaler (or sub it out).
And if it does make it in to law, prepare for cries of “price gouging” when they dare to charge more than gray market Chinese sellers.
One of the reasons I muck around with old stereo equipment is they are user serviceable. Tube gear is even easier to work on, especially the hardwired ones. My success rate with solid-state gear varies; as the years went on they got more complex.
And the fairly recent addition of SMD and small pinned chips really puts a strain on my patience to the point where I don’t mess with them.
In the past, it got to the point where I could swap out a Chevy small block in less than 2-3 hours.
This. I do effects pedals, pickups, etc. and am starting to mess with tube amps. I’ll mod an SMD pedal once in awhile like a Blues Driver 2, but I hate the SMD stuff.
Funk IP. Just wanted to stake out my position clearly.
Fuck.
Stupid phone autocorrect.
*Intergalactic Parliament
Don’t want my Funk stepped on…
“Right to Repair” is legislation would require Apple and other electronics manufacturers to sell repair parts to consumers and independent repair shops.
So much for freedom of contract and association.
On top of that, the laws would require manufacturers to make diagnostic and service manuals available to the public.
So much for freedom of speech.
Seriously, no libertarian should give this proposal the time of day. If there is enough consumer demand for consumer-repairable stuff, the market will provide. If there isn’t, well, the slavers can just fuck right off.
“Right.” You keep using that word….(not you Brett, the queefmonkeys who believe that Just and Good is reached by heaping burdens and obligaitons, one after another, on top of humanity.)
Great. My second post and I’ve already crapped the bed by not reading the underlying article well enough. Look for a better researched article, not written off the cuff, on non-governmental alternatives to this sort of legislation.
Cleanup on aisle Brett!
I’m very interested in your forthcoming IP article.