The Right to Repair?
erco
Posts: 20,260
Do you have the right to repair equipment that you own? Seems like a silly argument to me. What's next, the great "right to hack" debate?
http://www.designnews.com/author.asp?section_id=1386&doc_id=248499
http://www.designnews.com/author.asp?section_id=1386&doc_id=248499
Comments
I believe no matter what it is, once bought and owned by you, you should have the right to alter, hack, repair it as it's your property
If I then tried to sell it as an improvement I may have to pay for a licence to sell the original parts of the item.
What about those independant motor companies that soup up vehicles and then sell on?
It would be impossible to police for one and the simplest way to stop the majority from dabbling would be the ceasing of the warranty which I accept.
In the case of hacking there are boundaries with copyright infringements but as long as you were the only user then what harm is there to the manufacturer considering people usually hack to get around paying exhorbitant prices for software for instance.
It's a bit like not using the original Manufacturers ink product in their printers but instead using cheaper alternatives
The only issue here is a moral one, do you have enough repect not to diddle the originator.
A lot of people disregard that as they think manufacturers take advantage by their pricing.
Could you send a link to that document?
That just not seem right, that you can't work on equipment you own outright.
I cannot, I was told this over the phone by a seemingly very irritated man. The documents specifically state commercial repairs to the public, nothing about your own stuff. In the long run I ended up having to register because they prank called me on the phone asking if I 'service' computer equipment to which I answered 'yes'. The guy that works there assumes that repairs are the issue, not who the gear belongs to, very misinformed.
That's not really the gist of it. That particular California state entity is about licensing the inspection and repair of certain types of appliances, like furnaces, that require certification for safe use (also applies to fire-related safety for products like insulation and bedding; it's to prevent unscrupulous resellers from selling you substandard products that pose a risk to you and your family).
You can always repair your own furnace, but it won't be compliant until it is inspected by someone who's licensed. Therefore, your fire insurance may not be technically valid until you get it recertified. The inspectors and repair shops pay annual dues for the repair and inspection license.
Just because a home owner makes his or her own repairs doesn't mean they're to code. Certain kinds of repairs may actually be illegal, just as using shoddy non-code electrical wiring in your home is illegal. Sure, it's your home and your wiring, and they do let you make repairs or improvements, but before the power goes back on you have to get it okayed by someone in a suit, who (hopefully) knows the code far more than the average home owner.
The posted link is about something very different. They're talking about things like an auto repair job requiring a part not related to the safety (air bags) or emission control (smog check) of the car, both of which require certification. Replacing a general part on a car should always be allowed to be made by anyone.
LIVE FREE NOW.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FfP4GQ9NUgo
Gordon,
I completely agree with you about repairs of furnaces and such that have a big safety factor. I would never do the repair myself, even though I know how to do them. That's why I pay a yearly maintenance fee
Computers, toasters, TV's, and non-safety automobile repairs are a different story.
Just finished replacing my Mom's stoplight, (brake) switch on her '93 Buick. Should I look out for the safety police?
None of this was indicated on the outside of the original package AND no attempt was made to explain this prior to purchase. SO I reformatted the whole hard disk and feel that they can come and get me whenever they want to claim a breech of contract.
I just wanted a USB harddisk that would back up my dual boot Linux and Windows systems. What I got was a greedy MS gotcha that cluttered the disk with support software that was useless to me.
On another front, Asus produced the EEEpc's with a Warrenty Void sticker on the opening for upgrading DRAM. They had to back down as the customers wanted to DIY the Dram upgrade because Asus did not have service centers that could provide this.
Somewhere and somehow, the legal department and the marketing department of many a large corporation have gotten the idea that they are the overlords of technology and that the buyer is NOT buying a useful tool, but paying for the privilege of using the company's knowledge. This is all hubris.
I really don't want a computer that forces me to use any particular OS and disallows being able to maintain the product myself.
IMHO, California is rather corrupt with all its regulatory commissions and is demonstrating some of the worst of 'big government' abuses in the USA. More rural states, like Oregon, seem to be a lot easier for someone to live as a DIYer. It is a predatory matrix.
And I have done my own automotive brakes without a California certification for several decades - thus saving huge amounts of cash over taking the auto to a certified brake mechanic. There was a time when the PGE would verify safety of gas devices for free and the DMV would pass judgement of vehicle road safety. But the truth is that I feel much safer if I personally know what the hazard is and how to make my environment and equipment safe. There is way too much exploitation of ignorant fears in this modern world.
Insurance companies have grown from something like 2% of GDP in the 1960s to something like 8% of the US GDP today - and yet they still rely on making a profit by not paying out a claim unless that see a way for it to enhance profitability. The industry is a safety net, but one full of legal loopholes that the little guy can't possibly close. If you have a perfect driving record and All-State insurance and someone else hits you -- All-State cancels you anyway. It is a one-shot claim service.
In the beginning, products may have been made more reliable as a justification for high-technology, but after all the repair persons are gone, there is no reason to not harvest additional profits by making items that fail prematurely.
Linux based Linksys routers and do cool mods on them and then re-sell.
I thought about doing that a few years ago....just as well I didn't I suppose.
To me...
The right to repair is just a natural extension of the right to own something and to dispose of as you desire. Voiding warranties is a right of passage into the real world from the nanny state (of 'don't touch or you will be punished'.)
It also seems to me that the "right to repair" is also closely related with the "right to learn" and the "right to create". There are just bullies in the schoolyard that think they can run the world their way and exploit others.
If I buy a router and am willing to accept the potential financial loss of overwriting the firmware, what is really to stop me/ I did so with my ASUS router and am very happy with the results. And it was far more about learning and creativity than repair. So far, the only repair I've had to do is to replace the power supplly as the wallwart dies in a lightning strike (seems they sacrafice themselves so that routers may live another day.)
I dont ask any company to support cracking cases . but to prevent it is a issue that make me very unhappy .
Mind Iam not including Software in this ..
But the marketplace is full of thieves.
In any business, one has to protect themselves from people that pretend to be customers and that prey on goodwill. At one time I built homes for people. And like all general contractors, the day finally came when one customer decided not to pay for the house in order to see if he could get the house more cheaply via litigation. In my case, I had studied real estate law and knew how to properly file the proper paperwork - so for about $12USD in filing fees, I ended that nonsense and got paid. But others contractors might have decided they couldn't afford an attorney and just gone belly up. In that case, the other party could file papers to take ownership of the house without the cost of my labor.
But in some contexts, the warranty is a deception that is being used to prevent people from actually seeking repair alternatives or diverting them to more expensive solutions.
For example, I had a student here in Taiwan that was a medical doctor, a very intelligent man. But in spite of his intelligence, he came to me with a request that I buy a particular brand of fax paper when I visited the USA as he was concerned that his fax machine would become damaged and out of warranty if he used any other.