Why is it so complicated to repair things in the United States these days? According to @TheConversationUS, the problem started in the 1980s, when Hollywood wanted to stop people video-taping movies.

https://flip.it/ru.JqI

#Technology #Entertainment #RightToRepair

@EUCommission I connected a charger directly to battery terminals of a smartphone whose battery failed, over Schottky diodes to reduce the voltage properly.

Now I have a phone which always shows 90%-100% battery.

I ran Tesseract OCR on its 4x64-bit ARM CPU over Termux and ssh and it adds another 50% computational power to my PC when I needed to OCR many pages of documents.

The power Schottkies were upcycled from dead power supplies, the cable from a broken power cord, the USB-A connector from a failed charging cable, I don't remember what the resistor and PCB comes from.

#upcycling #recycling #reuse #frugal #frugalcomputing #frugality #righttorepair #repair #DIY #homemade #powersupply #charger #charging #smartphone #arm64 #tesseract #64bit

Alt...

Smartphone with permanent charger connection instead of the battery

I have an all-hands-on-deck call to action today.

At what point do we stop owning the things we buy, and just rent everything?

That's the #enshittification problem that the #RightToRepair movement is trying to address.

In Colorado, where we finally (just 3 months ago!) saw the nascent first awakening of a new right to repair law come in to effect, that infant could end up smothered in its crib this week, as the Colorado senate considers a bill that would roll back the right to repair for any device considered "critical infrastructure" - and yes, it is that vague in its wording.

https://www.404media.co/data-center-tech-lobbyists-fearmonger-in-attempt-to-retroactively-roll-back-right-to-repair-law/

If you care about whether we get to control and use (to whatever purpose we see fit) the things we buy -- including commercial servers, firewalls, routers, or other electronic gear -- then please consider signing on to this petition urging the Colorado legislature to reject the fearmongering and bad-faith arguments of the tech industry, who are making a desperate attempt to protect the long term revenue stream of support contracts.

Don't get angry; Get active. We can win this one with reasoned arguments. Please ask the Colorado legislature to not give in to FUD, and embrace Coloradans' resiliency and willingness to fight the good fight.

Sign the petition here:

https://pirg.org/colorado/take-action/tell-your-senator-protect-colorados-right-to-repair-law/

#COpolitics #Boulder #cybersecurity #cybercrime

Do you hate #broligarchs?
#Billionaires? #AiSlop but still think there is merit in #AI?

Here is my proposal for a stand alone.
OFFGRID COMMUNITY AI SYSTEM.

That's right.Your very own co-op AI

The calculations are very much back of the envelope, first cut, but quite feasible.
A 32billion parameters, frontier level performance compatable open source #llm model. The power requirements is that of 3AC units including cooling. Serves 15-20 concurrent users. 40 households of 4 people each (taking into account actual AI model distributed use metrics and contention ratios)

40 households, subscribing at $30/month over 2 years + power (solar). Train with your own datasets.
Entire set up takes half a rack.

LETS GO!!!

#OpenSource #FOSS #CommunityTech #OpenHardware #EthicalAI #ResponsibleAI #AIForGood #TechForGood #Solarpunk #RegenerativeCulture #Degrowth #AppropriateTechnology #OffGrid #SelfSufficient #Homesteading #Permaculture #RightToRepair #MakerSpace #DIYTech #decentralizedtech

Alt...

Sketch of a community, stand alone, co-op #AI #llm system

https://youtu.be/Nhz6vao13bs

[copypasta]

California AB 2047: The End of Open Source 3D Printing

California just introduced a bill that doesn't just regulate "ghost guns", it mandates a digital kill switch for every 3D printer sold. California AB 2047 requires "blocking technology" that connects your printer to a government-approved database before every single print. If the system goes down, or your file is flagged, your hardware becomes a paperweight.

This isn't just about firearms. This is the death of Open Source. If this bill passes, it effectively bans Marlin, Klipper, and Orca Slicer, forcing every manufacturer to lock down their firmware. It turns general-purpose computing into a walled garden where you only rent permission to use the hardware you own.

[/copypasta]

#OpenSource #RightToRepair #Privacy #Clippy #California #Monopolies #3dPrinters #3dPrinting #Technology #Government #Firearms #Guns #SoftwareFreedom #Surveillance #Panopticon #Lobbyists

All the donor-funded foundations ought to be fighting against and speaking out against this Orwellian garbage.

@eff@mastodon.social
@fsf@hostux.social
@linuxfoundation@social.lfx.dev
@privacyint@mastodon.xyz
@openssf@social.lfx.dev
@rms@mastodon.xyz
@CCIAnet@techpolicy.social
@WriterOfMinds@sigmoid.social
@SeaGL@mastodon.social
@hopeconf@mastodon.online
@w3c@w3c.social
@ACM@mastodon.acm.org
@irtf@discuss.systems
@osi@opensource.org

I hate how modern EVs (edit: really all cars, even gas cars now) are so heavily tied to the surveillance state.

Sure, you get a battery powered car, but so much telemetry (and control!!!) go back to the corporation and government.

I've started looking into EV conversions (both DIY and small local boutique shops that do them).

They're advertised and geared towards folks that want to take a classic car or some other novelty car and convert it into an EV, but I like the idea of converting an old extreme high mileage (but with good bones and frame) beater into a new EV!

Even paying someone to convert an old ICE car into a new converted EV is often cheaper than buying a new manufactured EV. (At least from a total amount of money spent, I dont know if you can get a car loan to pay for a conversion)

And! (I don't think...) Those conversions don't beacon telemetry back to a centralized source!

Anyhow... this is just a quick observation and something that's out of my price range right now. Buying used EVs is more approachable but still expensive. Buying older hybrids is better it seems. Me, I'm looking into an old ICE car that has high"ish" fuel efficiency.

I wish transit, rail, and local bike infrastructure was more developed in the US, but here I am.

You know the makerspace in Dallas, TX has a community car mechanic shop. I wonder if they do classes on EV conversions...

#ev #electricvehicles #transit #cars #makerspace #diy #righttorepair

PSA

To whomever this may concern and to get you a break from the international news:

Your daily driver Windows computer is not obsolete after October 13th 2026. And above all it is NOT E-waste.

Your Apple computer is not E-waste if Tim Cook says so.

Chances are that even the beige DELL tower from 2003, which is currently holding the barn door open, is not obsolete.

And if you have an old/broken computer: please sell or donate it. If nothing else, someone can learn to solder working on it.

Contact your local IT nerd for further questions. The one with an Atari or Amiga T-shirt. Someone you know will know one.

You can also contact IT nerds here in the fediverse. Almost all of us are here.

#RightToRepair #AlternativeOperatingSystems #OperatingSystems #OS #OpenBSD #FreeBSD #NetBSD #Linux #HaikuOS #Windows #Apple #PowerPC #BeOS #Ubuntu #LinuxMint #Vic20 #Commodore64 #Amiga #ComputerClubs #Learning #OldComputersAreNotE_Waste #PCB #VintageComputing #RetroComputing #Refurbishers

#Toronto - Mid-Scarborough Repair Hub

Saturday, March 7, 2026 11:30 am – 2:30 pm
Mid-Scarborough Repair Hub
2660 Eglinton Ave E, Toronto

Repair Café — Fixing
- Small Appliances and Home Electronics
- Housewares
- Clothing & Textiles
- Computers
- Bikes

Event details
The Mid Scarborough Hub Repair Cafe is a monthly repair cafe run by Scarborough Environmental Asc that typically occurs on the first or second Saturday of every month and typically has clothing, appliance, computer and bike repair available. Please direct any enquiries about the event to scarbenvasc@gmail.com. Bring parts for fixing and please consider bringing a mask to respect any repairers who may be wearing one and avoid fragrances as some of our fixers have alcohol sensitivities. For more information on our group please visit scarbenv.ca

Please note signups for repairs will close 1-hour before end of event at 1:30 PM so plan to arrive before then. Also if you would like more than one item fixed, you must rejoin the line to ensure others have a chance to have things fixed as well.

We also usually have a #ClothingSwap as well so check our social media and feel free to bring some clothes to swap for something new to you."

FMI:
https://repaircafetoronto.ca/rc-events/mid-scarborough-repair-hub-2025-2/?rc-date=20260307

#SolarPunkSunday #RepairCafes
#RepairCafesToronto #FixIt #ClothesSwap #Mending
#RightToRepair #ReuseRestoreRepair

"If they can be shut off with an over the air command we need to be able to trust the companies that make them."
-Ben Alexxander on the bricking of TESLA power walls.

Remote software updates, feature enabling/disabling, and the most extreme remote bricking raise several "consumer rights" issues that have not been adequately addressed. #tesla #solar #rightToRepair

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b5cSicjTODQ

I've had to type these same basic instructions for different people across several different forums in the past few days, so figured maybe it should be shared here too. This is what to do if you're having car battery/alternator issues:

Make sure the belt is properly tensioned and not slipping. Battery at rest should be 12.7V when charged. If not, charge it up separately. Make sure battery is clean*; terminals, connectors, and cables un-corroded and tight; and main grounds uncorroded and tight.

When you start the car, the battery voltage should jump to between 13.6-14.7v with a good alternator and no other loads. Then turn on headlights. Voltage shouldn't drop much - at least not below 13.6v. If all that tests good, with the engine running, pull the positive cable off the battery. If the car dies, that points to the alternator. See if any of your local parts stores have a roll-around test cart to confirm it's bad.

If you do order a new alternator, try to do so from a parts store that has a tester, and have them test it straight out of the box. A lot of alternators are poorly rebuilt ones these days. I once had 6 alternators in a row arrive bad out of the box.

*battery acid on the case of the battery will conduct electricity and be a parasitic draw. Take a voltmeter and place the leads on random locations on a dirty battery. If it reads a voltage, that's current flowing with resistance through the gunk.

#DIY #RightToRepair #Mechanic

https://theintercept.com/2025/12/09/congress-military-ndaa-right-to-repair/ #RightToRepair #defense #corruption #USPolitics

Mua-hahahaha!!!

Yes. Yes that's right.

Down with the consumer economy of built-in obsolescence, disposable tech, and subscriptions.

Up with Right to Repair, Permacomputing, Library and Share Economies!

(Also trollololol on "device hoarding" and "costing economy {sic})

https://www.cnbc.com/2025/11/23/how-device-hoarding-by-americans-is-costing-economy.html

#solarPunk #rightToRepair #permacomputing #libraryEconomy

Is anyone here aware of any interesting projects involving the use of #CollapseOS or #DuskOS? Personally, I see a lot of potential #RightToRepair use cases for embedded devices. #foss #askfedi

@aj @spacelizard - I'm going to second AJ. Go for refurb. Most anything will run Linux these days. I'm partial to used Dells, myself. But pick what you like.

Refurb doesnt put money into the pockets of techbros. Used machines are more sustainable than anything new, even newly built "repairable" machines - as no extra or new energy and parts are expended to make it.

For parts, you'd just buy another used model of the same type and frankenstein it. So go for something popular and common if you like.

Moore's Law basically no longer applies to laptops in any meaningful way. So laptops in the last five years (or longer) are still really great with modern linux os's.

Yay, #permacomputing!

#solarPunk #rightToRepair

This is the most punk thing I've ever heard of. This guy got his physics phd then proceeded to use it to create open source plans for everything you need to start a civilization.

Definitely going in my digital apocalypse kit (wait, you don't have one?!), and this guy is now one of my heroes.

https://www.opensourceecology.org/

#OpenSource #solarpunk #diy #punk #RightToRepair

This is the peak of bicycle technology.

It's a bike which a local customer brought around yesterday because it's been a few years and she thought it was about time that someone had a look at it.

I know it looks terribly old fashioned, but hear me out:

This is a reasonably light-weight, efficient bike, with effective gearing and brakes. Nothing on it is unmaintainable.

This bike came out of the factory in 1982 (May 1982 according to the stamp on the rear hub). It has admittedly had a fairly good life, always having been kept indoors, but it's been ridden a lot yet needed almost no work.

The front rack had a broken non-essential part which I removed. The rubber strap / snelbinder over the rear carrier rack was broken so I replaced it, and the skirtguards were perished and falling apart so I replaced those as well. Otherwise, I've just checked that things were working and added a bit of oil. One of the pedals was running roughly until I oiled it.

Bike shops don't sell bicycles like this any more. Modern bicycles are not designed to last a whole lifetime, like these were.

https://www.dutchbikebits.com
#bicycle #BikeTooter #cycling #repairability #righttorepair #netherlands #ProperBicycle #NotAnEBike #dutchbikebits

Alt...

A RIH Sport bicycle from 1982. It's just come in for repair. There is no rust. All that I had to replace was a broken snelbinder / rubber strap over the rear carrier and the skirtguards, which had perished due to age.

@mavo +9001%

Das #AntiRepairDesign welches #Apple pioniert und pushed (inklusive #DRM auf #Ersatzteile samt #Malware zum "Abschluss der Reparatur") muss knallhart gefrontet werden - und zwar gesetzlich.

• Inklusive #RightToRepair mit Pflicht zur Bereitstellung von #Ersatzteile|n, #Dokumentation und ggf. notwendiger #Werkzeuge zu 'vernünftigen, nicht-diskriminierenden Bedingungen'…

Alles andere wäre #eWaste-Förderung und den #Klimaziele|n zuwiderlaufend!

https://infosec.space/@kkarhan/115176131990070921

@JessTheUnstill @GreenRoc Personally I wish for #RightToRepair to be mandated including access to #schematics, #parts, #firmware and #tools needed so #manufacturers would be forced to actually give a shit and build #RepairableTech...

• Then again the #PerverseIncentives of #capitalism punish #HonestMerchants and #RepairableDesign because manufacturers don't give a shit about supporting their devices and work against their interests of the buyers!

Remember: Most folks are mere #consumers, not #owners and espechally not #tinkerers!

• THIS is why #RaspberryPi were able to basically monopolize the #ARM - #SBC market for tinkerers because they are the only one's that actually build devices that just work out of the box and have #documentation, whereas all the competitors just fart out some PCBs and some hacked-up images and then tell people to 'go fuck themselves' when they don't want to just buy but do something with it!

Shit like this needs to be outlawed so hard that no #Corporation dares to #enshittify #USBc.

• As long as @EUCommission doesn't enforce #Interoperability, #OpenStandards & #RightToRepair, #Enshittification will be rampant.

As for #Nintendo products: #RefuseToBuy is [AFAICT] the only legal recourse #consumers have.

#WhatYouAllowIsWhatWillContinue #USB #Nintendo #Switch2 #NSW2 #NotLegalAdvice

@thejessiekirk @tillybridges Pretty shure #3M sells similar products with #RD40 / DIN EN148-1 screw mount.

• I'm just not familiar with their product line, unlike #Ekastu which I can vouch for from experience.

#Dräger should also be available globally but they are an asshole company actively working against #RightToRepair and #DMCA'd #RepairManuals for #MedicalDevices like Ventilators, so I'm not gonna buy nor recommend them at all!

• As for #shipping and #customs, that's something out of control for said companies. I could try to "parcel-proxy" for you if you don't trust #BorderLinx but #Trump's #Trariffs basically result in shipments being halted.

Alles was es gibt was klein ist sind nur noch so unreparierbarer Elektroschritt wie das #Unihertz #JellyStar welches keine Post-Release Updates bekommt und alles verklebt hat...

#RightToRepair #Repairability #AntiRepariDesign #Elektroschrott

This one entertaining video about an image of Clippy -- the annoying Microsoft Office helper of years gone by -- can help you get actual ownership and right-to-repair of your hardware and software.
(Bonus: The video features a black cat named Blackberry.)
duck://player/SkL9vzW7nY0
PS: The link is to DuckDuckPlayer -- which works in DuckDuckGo -- because I don't share or click YouTube links.
#Clippy #RightToRepair #DuckDuckPlayer #LouisRossman #BlackCat

Alt...

Cartoon of Clippy, the annoying Microsoft Office helper with a word balloon stating: "Looks like you want to own your hardware and software rather than rent it. Is that right? * Yes * No"