Tuesday, February 3, 2009

Maker’s Bill Of Rights

By Evan Ackerman

We all spend a lot of money on gadgets, and it’s really damn frustrating when electronics companies seem to do their level best to make things difficult or impossible to repair… If I own it, shouldn’t I be able to fix it? This is what the Maker’s Bill Of Rights calls for.

makers-bor

Some of these things are not entirely practical for some consumer electronics, sure… But come on, why can’t everyone just use USB power adapters? Seriously? The reason, of course, is that every time you buy a new gadget you have to buy a new power adapter for $15 that costs the company a dime to make. Sigh. I don’t know what it’s going to take to enforce this stuff, but if any of our readers happen to be in positions of power in major industrialized governments, you should see what you can do.

VIA [ MAKE ]


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  • murrayw76
    I'm pretty sure that China already mandated that all new cell phones use USB power adapters and that adapters are no longer bundled with phones, the idea being that you would simply use any adapter you already own. I couldn't find a specific news story, but this Australian article references the mandate (and the movement in general):

    http://www.techworld.com.au/article/224770/supp...
  • There have been reports that the US/EU is supposed to make that happen as well, but from what I've heard it was a group of companies who were going to do it, as opposed to a government mandate. Since a lot of profit is in the accessories, my guess is that it's going to take some kind of government action to move anything forward.
  • amen to that
  • uberRegenbogen
    What it is going to take is for EVERYONE to not stand for the bullcrap!

    Don't buy products with non-user-replacable batteries. Don't buy lappies that cannot be charged with third party adapters. (FU, Dell!) Don't pay for TV channels that run advertisements.

    Make noise. Badmouth those who deserve badmouthing. Vote with your wallet! Just say HELL NO!
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