Sunday, January 25, 2009

Owner's Manifesto

Above via: http://flailings.blogspot.com/

If you can't open it, you don't own it: a Maker's Bill of Rights to accessible, extensive, and repairable hardware.
By Mister Jalopy (he rocks!)

  • Meaningful and specific parts lists shall be included.Cases shall be easy to open.

  • Batteries should be replaceable.

  • Special tools are allowed only for darn good reasons.

  • Profiting by selling expensive special tools is wrong and not making special tools available is even worse.

  • Torx is OK; tamperproof is rarely OK.

  • Components, not entire sub-assemblies, shall be replaceable.

  • Consumables, like fuses and filters, shall be easy to access.

  • Circuit boards shall be commented.

  • Power from USB is good; power from proprietary power adapters is bad.

  • Standard connecters shall have pinouts defined.

  • If it snaps shut, it shall snap open.

  • Screws better than glues.

  • Docs and drivers shall have permalinks and shall reside for all perpetuity at archive.org.

  • Ease of repair shall be a design ideal, not an afterthought.

  • Metric or standard, not both.

  • Schematics shall be included.
Mr. Jalopy used to post more often, go to the beginning of his archives and work forward to the present, it's so worth it! http://hooptyrides.blogspot.com/2004_08_01_archive.html

See his garage at http://eecue.com/log_archive/eecue-log-781-Mister_Jalopy___Dorkbot_Socal_Shop_Tour.html

Via: http://www.makezine.com/04/ownyourown/

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