I have a broken mouse. The scroll-wheel doesn't scroll, though it does at least middle-click. It's not broken enough to be inoperable, but it's too broken to use without being annoying, and I expected to throw it away as soon as I could replace it. — Read the rest
Join me, EFF attorney Kit Walsh and iFixit's Kyle Wiens — along with special guests! — in a Reddit Ask Me Anything session tomorrow (Thursday) from 11AM-3PM Pacific; we'll be talking about the upcoming Copyright Office hearings on creating exceptions to the DMCA to make room for independent repair and security research. — Read the rest
Apple's education-centric new Ipad is meant to be used in rambunctious classrooms where drops and other abuse will be commonplace; it is also meant to compete with relatively easy-to-service Pixelbooks that school district IT departments can fix themselves or get repaired by a wide variety of independent, local service depots whose community-based technicians do repairs onsite and also keep local tax dollars circulating in the community.
Ifixit's Pro Tech Toolkit comes with 64 specialized screw bits that help my wife and I get into many restricted areas of technology.
The carrying case rolls out like a sleeping bag, with the goodies neatly tucked into tiny canvas holders, and the clever container that holds the bits is held to the carrying case by a magnet – easily detached when needed. — Read the rest
"Use the right tool for the right job." Someone in your life has undoubtedly dropped this line on you at one point, and while it's tempting to blow off – it's also correct. Using the wrong tool can often cause more problems than you started with. — Read the rest
Motherboard's Jason Koebler follows Kyle Wiens around the Electronics Reuse Conference — Burning Man for the service-people who fix your phones, laptops, and other devices — in New Orleans. Wiens is founder and CEO of Ifixit, whose mission is to tear down every single thing you own, write a repair manual for it, and source or manufacture the parts you need to fix it yourself.
Content-based App Store takedowns aren't just for drone killing anymore: Apple's also removed the Ifixit App, which offers you third-party manuals for fixing things you own, including your Apple products.
Electronic repairs are not always your average toolbox fix. The Pro Tech Screwdriver Set ($59.95)includes all the parts necessary to tackle any tricky repair or cleaning required to get your gadgets running smoothly. Even get into those complex Apple devices with the included pentalobe drivers! — Read the rest
The Apple Watch is difficult to take apart, and any repairs — other than replacing the battery, band, and display — are pretty much impossible. That's what our friends at iFixIt concluded after they flew to Australia to be among the first people in the world to buy an Apple Watch, which they promptly destroyed in the name of knowledge. — Read the rest
Ifixit is celebrating MacGyver's birthday with an Action Hero Toolkit in a Altos-tin-sized-tin. It includes a bobby pin, a match, a rubber band, bubble gum, a birthday candle, a paper clip (natch), a shoelace, a 1 cent stamp and duct-tape. $6. — Read the rest
Ifixit and Wired got together to do a teardown of an FBI tracking gadget: "The device was loaned to us by a person who found the device on their car, and is similar to the one Yasir Afifi recently found underneath his own vehicle. — Read the rest
It's hot. The windows are all down, the AC barely works, it's 110˚F in the shade and 94% humidity. Everything is terrible and you still have another 6 hours of driving ahead of you. This stretch of highway, there's nothing but mini malls and gas station exits. — Read the rest
Belgium is in the headlines in today's exciting recycling news.
France was the first European country to introduce a reparability index. Essentially, this is a score that indicates how viable it is to repair an object, like, say, a washing machine. — Read the rest
Tech giant Google has come out in favor of the right to repair as Oregon legislators consider a bill similar to the one passed recently in California. What's more, they're actively lobbying for it. It's not so often that we hear good news coming out of the tech world, especially when the word is in favor of consumer rights. — Read the rest
On November 14th, iFixit and the Public Interest Research Group submitted a petition demanding that American consumer's rights to repair be cemented as law. As iFixit puts, it, everyone should have the right to fix what they own. "If you can't fix it, you don't own it". — Read the rest
California Gov. Gavin Newsom today signed into law California's Right-to-Repair bill, which guarantees access to parts and manuals and aims to extend the longevity of our gadgets. All such devices costing $50 or more, sold in California after July 1, 2021, are covered by the law, which was ultimately backed by Apple and some other major manufacturers. — Read the rest