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IFIXIT: Victory Is Sweet - We Can Now Fix McDonald’s Ice Cream Machines (www.ifixit.com)

submitted 2 months ago by [email protected] to c/[email protected]

49 comments fedilink hide all child comments

This is a nice win for self-repair hardware rights.

For context, see their old video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2uCpY3tFTIA

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[–] [email protected] 82 points 2 months ago* (last edited 2 months ago) (4 children)

Ah this bit is sad. The exception only covers bypassing DMCA protections to fix your own stuff not distributing the tooling for it.

It is still a crime for iFixit to sell a tool to fix ice cream machines, and that’s a real shame. The ruling doesn’t change the underlying statute making it illegal to share or sell tools that bypass software locks. This leaves most of the repair work inaccessible to the average person, since the technical barriers remain high. Without these tools, this exemption is largely theoretical for many small businesses that don’t have in-house repair experts.

[–] [email protected] 24 points 2 months ago

Long hard fight.

We take our Ws where we can get them.

[–] [email protected] 14 points 2 months ago

Illegal like sharing pirated media.
It can't be commercialised, but if you just "happen" to find the software somewhere, you are allowed to use it.

[–] [email protected] 12 points 2 months ago (1 children)

They should do like the folks selling weed in DC, where they sell you a $200 cookie or sticker and give you a free ounce of weed with your purchase.

[–] [email protected] 5 points 2 months ago* (last edited 2 months ago) (1 children)

I wonder if someone could invent a new open source machine of some sort along with a tool to fix that, and that tool just happens to also be able to fix the McDonald's ice cream machines?

[–] [email protected] 5 points 1 month ago

I mean, you could. The problem becomes "do you have more money and lawyers than McDonald's" to keep pretending it has nothing to do with it in court.