Had a great time last week at @iFixit’s event in SF at @lumafield’s HQ covering foldables ahead of the iPhone Duo launch. @kwiens and his team continue to do amazing work educating the world on device repairability and the importance of engineering and design decisions to ensure sustainability. With the rising popularity of foldables, it also shows how much more important insurance for expensive devices like these is. With replacement costs above $2,000, and common repairs like a cracked screen similarly costing over twice as much as for non-folding devices (~$500-1,000+). Interesting learnings: - The relative difficulty of making a device dust proof vs water proof; devices can be made to intentionally let water come in, then exit or simply dry. Whereas dust/debris often enters small areas then stays behind. - When phones get tested for things like the opening and closing of a hinge, part of the reason it must be done many thousands of times more than you’d ever think a normal user would possibly open and close their phone over the course of ownership is because a segment of users will use the phone to fidget, repeatedly opening/closing a device if it has a satisfying feel.

It's time to bring Congress bill drafting into the 21st century. My bill would standardize imagery and schematics for use in congressional bills. When I tried to add schematic blueprints to my VA loans bill, so that veterans can quickly build a home, I ran into this roadblock: I couldn't add images under the existing standard. I'm working to change that and modernize our Congress.

New ad by the Norwegian Consumer Council about the declining lifespan of products.

All the gadgets in our lives are about to get a lot more useful. I have a Wiim Mini music streamer on my kitech speakers, but I wanted Spotify to play through my computer's speakers at the same time. No such feature exists, although it's a longstanding Spotify request. No problem! Codex whipped it up in an hour. All my speakers sync now! @dhh is right, the future of computers is incredibly exciting. github.com/kwiens/wiim-pc-br…

There’s nothing illegal about coordinating for safety purposes. Go ahead and coordinate to spend on safety, it’s legal. Antivirus software firms do it. I’ll note that it can’t be pretextual. ‘We want to stop spending money on innovation because our burn rate is too high’ isn’t safety.

It's finally here! Our new Game Console Toolkit is designed to tackle all kinds of repair bosses, from retro consoles to modern-day hardware. Equipped with a 16-bit driver kit, a set of cleaning tools, and a slick case, you'll be more than ready for your next repair adventure. Press R for repair. Level-up your fixing skills today! — #iFixit #RightoRepair #FixTheWorld

GM is making it more expensive to repair your car: Buying car parts online or other aftermarket places, and doing the work yourself can save you some money over taking your car to the garage. But if your vehicle was manufactured by GM, this automaker is clamping down on what parts you're actually allowed to use for certain repairs. If your car needs collision repairs involving the Advanced Driver Assistance Systems (ADAS), you must now only use new GM Genuine Parts. For your next collision repair, you don't have the option of using a cheaper aftermarket or used part when an ADAS component needs to be replaced. This includes the cameras, radar units, sensors, control modules, wiring, brackets, and the mounting hardware. You also cannot use recycled, salvaged, reconditioned, or remanufactured parts, as previous exposure to damage could affect reliability, calibration, and safety according to GM. And, GM warns that accessories or modifications, like protective films and covers, stickers, window tint, magnets, hood protectors, light bars, cargo racks, and more, can interfere with ADAS operation. Even non-GM suspension, steering, wheels, tires, lift or lowering kits, and other modifications can also create problems. Any modification that alters ride height, alignment, or handling are also a problem with GM. Welcome to the new world of trying to force us into dealerships and to buy parts from them only! Not cool!

Auto mechanics have a tough job, if you found one you like, be nice. Its not easy being a mechanic especially today. Being an auto mechanic involves heavy physical strain, high personal tool costs, and income volatility from flat-rate pay systems. Technicians also face hazardous work environments, rapid technology changes requiring constant retraining, and stressful working conditions. Mechanics have to supply their own tools. Expensive tools,: costing anywhere from $10,000 to $80,000 and more. And with technology always changing, the tool buying never stops. Flat-rate pay stress: Many shops pay a set number of hours per job (called book hours) rather than hourly. If a repair takes longer than expected or business is slow, pay drops significantly. Slow seasons: Independent and local shops often see a major drop in work during winter months or holidays. Constant training: New high tech vehicles, computer systems, and complex sensors mean continuous learning, often on their own time. Physical toll: Heavy lifting, awkward angles in tight spaces, exposure to fluids and dust, and chronic issues like back or joint pain. Working in hot shops in summer, dealing with cold shops in winter. Auto mechanics face a lower effective pay scale and higher personal costs than many other skilled trades (like plumbing, HVAC, or electrical). Unpaid Labor: Mechanics are not paid for complex diagnostics, waiting for parts, or dealing with factory warranty time cuts. If a repair takes longer due to rust or diagnostics, they lose money, effectively reducing their take-home pay despite high shop labor rates. Burnout: Dealing with angry customers, tough bosses, tight corporate deadlines, and unsupportive shop management and fighting to get paid for what they do, leads many to leave the trade. And more are leaving the industry everyday.

THE ANNOUNCEMENT: We’re going to make the prophecy of The Year of Linux on the Desktop come true. All the pieces are now in place. Time to go all in! omarchy.org/news/2026/08/oma…

I have never tried Omarchy so far but there are a few reasons why I think what DHH is trying to do with Linux on the Desktop could be significant. There is the right mix of AI help with many boring and costly tasks (drivers for instance), MacOS dropping in quality, and the fact the only reason why Linux never succeeded in the Desktop is that UX requires an opinionated development path from some entity able to also fuel it, not the distributions setup Linux historically had. For all this reasons, a few starts aligned, so this could be the right time. Also ROCm / Vulkan / CUDA GPU hardware options are evolving, and could end creating a compelling alternative to Apple hardware for local inference: but this is also the major risk, if Apple wins the local inference hardware battle, MacOS could become a forced choice for many.

This is certainly true for developers.

There are too many hurdles to fixing cars. Mechanics spend as much time figuring it all out, paying manufacturer license fees for software, getting locksmith certified (seriously!), and dealing with HVAC licensing as they do fixing cars.

just Claude writing a MacOS driver for my obscure HP printer built only for Windows support

First, the manufacturers took away the transmission dipsticks on many cars. Now many are taking away the engine oil dipstick. Yes, many modern vehicles do not have a traditional physical oil dipstick because manufacturers have replaced them with electronic oil level sensors. Sorry car companies , I will not buy a car that I cannot check my oil with a simple dipstick in the engine. A simple dipstick is far more reliable than an electronic sensor. Its that simple!

You buy a modern refrigerator for $2,200. Four years in, a tiny plastic sensor fails on the control board. Instead of selling you a $15 replacement sensor, the manufacturer marks the part "proprietary," locks the software, and tells you the entire main logic board has to be replaced for $850 plus labor. We stopped manufacturing appliances designed to last 20 years and started building planned obsolescence machines designed to extract a mandatory maintenance subscription every 48 months.

Linux adoption among programmers is about to go parabolic. Any missing app can be recreated easily. The open-source advantage with agents is unstoppable. Nobody is going to be waiting for Apple to sign their shit. Just keep a Mac Mini as a remote builder for iOS work. Done.

Last year, we worked with Logitech to bring you more guides, parts, and solutions for all your broken tech. Fast-forward to today and Logitech repair content has been viewed more than five million times on our site. It's clear that people are looking for ways to repair instead of replace. From office essentials like mice and keyboards to headsets and speakers, our job is to make sure fixing your devices is an easy and accessible option. Read more at the link below. — #iFixit #RightoRepair #FixTheWorld

Huzzah!

Huge amount of interest in Right to Repair from the open source community at FOSSY. Canada in particular is making huge progress fixing flaws copyright law.