A Conversation With Jude Pullen Trying to repair almost anything can be a frustrating exercise. Repair is made more difficult by the way devices are designed and the ability to repair a device could be improved greatly if different design decisions were made. This moment in time demands a new generation of designers, engineers, and makers […]
Fixing broken things was just a normal part of my family life. I was born in New York City and was raised in New Jersey in a home with lots of tools, a garage, a basement workshop, and a backyard. My father was a Depression-era baby who grew up with a sense of frugality. He […]
For years, my organization, U.S. PIRG (Public Interest Research Group), has been campaigning with iFixit,Repair.org, and a plucky team of repair shops, makers, and hackers to pass laws that guarantee access to what people need to fix modern gizmos, specifically the parts, tools, and service information. We’ve had “right to repair” bills in 40 of 50 […]
I often describe Fixit Clinic as “a hobby that’s gotten way out of control.” We held the first Fixit Clinic in 2009 as a modest experiment to make basic tools and specialty tools available so attendees could disassemble, troubleshoot and — hopefully — repair common consumer items: to take apart appliances and electronics, mend fabric and […]
Apple has, for a long time, been one of the examples commonly brought out to show consumer unfriendly practices when it comes to repair. However, the company has recently announced the availability of tools for do-it-yourself repairs, that are officially approved. That’s a huge step in the battle for the right to repair, a topic […]
People have always repaired things. What’s new is that there is such an abundance of information and expertise available online to help anyone do repair.
A lifelong fixer himself, Wayne Seltzer started the U-Fix-It Clinic in Boulder, Colorado to help others learn to fix things. Wayne helped put the “you” in Fixit Clinics, making sure they empowered people to learn to do the repairs themselves rather than having an expert do it for them.
