Concerned with the growing problem with eWaste? Want the ability to upgrade and repair your own electronics? Believe that the throw-away mentality needs to change for the sake of sustainability?
So does iFixIt, teardown-masters extraordinaire and longtime information and parts resource for Apple users. They have just published the Self Repair Manifesto, along with an ambitious call to action to create – via crowd-sourcing – a Wikipedia-style Free Repair Manual for devices of all kinds: electronics, appliances, even a few cars.
We’re working on creating much more repair information for devices of all kinds. Our philosophy is that if you can’t open it, you don’t own it. Once you disassemble, repair, and put back together your laptop or iPod, you have a much better understanding of what goes into it. It’s astounding how just 20 minutes of work and $10 can make an iPod good as new — but most people have no idea that there are instructions available to make the work easy.
Existing guides are currently online, and repair procedures, photos, and troubleshooting tips for additional devices are being solicited. The site is published under a Creative Commons license.
This is a worthy effort and we wish them success; even if we can’t fix everything, we can fix some things.
[via Low End Mac]
