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The Story of Samsung's failed deal with iFixit, as told by iFixit's CEO

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Re: The Story of Samsung's failed deal with iFixit, as told by iFixit's CEO

#41
post #15

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Agreed that for-profit relationships are inappropriate, and I also think iFixit’s business selling repair tools and parts is inappropriate. The whole thing comes across as self-promotion for their tools/parts business. Add in their dabbling in lobbying for regulations to force manufacturers to make devices that you can buy ifixit (and other) kits for… and it starts to feel as disingenuous as Epic’s “pro-consumer” int…

Unfortunately finding high quality repair tools for these class of devices is very hard, and iFixit provides pretty high quality sets with great reusability. While working on small screws like torque or pentalobe, you either have crappy drivers or Wera. iFixit is the provider of "good but not Wera" class tools which most DIYers and even professionals can use without any problems. Wera is "The Purveyor of Top Notch To…

This 100%. Common tools you can at least find in a couple different grades. Klein, for example, makes Philips screwdrivers that are hugely better than commodity ones and are available anywhere that sells to electricians (hint: go to the electrical aisle at Home Depot for the Kleins).

Allen wrenches are easier to screw up than you might think, but you can usually find some with a cut end rather than a sheared end if you look. Get into Torx, and you still have choices in the sizes used for construction screws. Get beyond that and you've got very little.

iFixit fills that void. You're ordering anyway, and it's nice to have some options that are quality without being super expensive professional grade. Like, I'll use a pentalobe screwdriver a couple times in my life. I need it to work, but it doesn't have to be Wera levels of good or ergonomic. Interchangeable bits are totally ok for my use case; I don't need dedicated drivers in every size.

Re: The Story of Samsung's failed deal with iFixit, as told by iFixit's CEO

#42
post #15

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Agreed that for-profit relationships are inappropriate, and I also think iFixit’s business selling repair tools and parts is inappropriate. The whole thing comes across as self-promotion for their tools/parts business. Add in their dabbling in lobbying for regulations to force manufacturers to make devices that you can buy ifixit (and other) kits for… and it starts to feel as disingenuous as Epic’s “pro-consumer” int…

What is disingenuous about being a repair parts company that lobbies for devices that are easier to repair? From where I'm standing they are being completely genuine: They profit when people are able to buy repair parts, and they advocate for more repairability in electronics. To me that seems like just good alignment of values.

I agree with you, iFixit is a tool & parts company for personal electronics that targets DIYers and independent shops. They have a strong interest in ensuring they're target market is as large as possible.

That means cooperating with and occasionally coercing OEMs into playing ball.

Re: The Story of Samsung's failed deal with iFixit, as told by iFixit's CEO

#43
post #11

There are many companies that just do whatever they can get away with and because of their market position, this is a lot. Maybe someday there will be a movement to boycott these abusive companies or something. Check out https://futo.org

futo, the company that keeps trying to hijack open source with their proprietary licence?

These?

https://gitlab.futo.org/keyboard/latinime/-/blob/master/LICE...

https://gitlab.futo.org/videostreaming/grayjay/-/blob/master...

Yeah, that's.. Unfortunate. I hope they don't attempt to relicense immich (AGPL), at least..

Re: The Story of Samsung's failed deal with iFixit, as told by iFixit's CEO

#44

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Click the View Legacy Scores link. They have several older Samsungs (probably 20-25), dating back to the Samsung S 4G in 2011. https://www.ifixit.com/repairability/legacy-smartphone-score...

Well, this phone was released late 2022 so I'd be surprised to find it in a legacy list already. And indeed there was nothing in the legacy list more recent than 2020. I bought it the instant it was released so I've gotten 2 years out of it so far with just a few scratches from constantly forgetting and putting it with my keys in my pocket. I have a 2nd battery for quick swapping, but that also helps with battery lon…

In the case of that specific phone, it seems to be a bit more niche (not that I obsess over the phone industry, but this is the first time I've heard of it, and as a frequent phone shopper, I'm not sure that I've seen it offered by any of the US carriers, but again, my perspective is limited). It does seem that given the amount of effort they put into a teardown, they limit their teardowns (which is way more comprehensive than a typical "review") to some sort of mass market threshhold.

Re: The Story of Samsung's failed deal with iFixit, as told by iFixit's CEO

#45
post #4

> Wiens sips a Diet Coke and settles in as I start explaining the framework of our conversation. He interrupts me politely to get a big caveat out of the way related to confidentiality terms iFixit still has with Samsung. I really struggle to read these types of interviews. If I wanted to read the novel I would buy the book… but if I’m reading an article I don’t want the fluff…

It's invading everything, too. Ninja warrior used to be a show about amazing athletes conquering the courses, with a quirky backstory thrown in sometimes. Now, almost everyone has a lengthy backstory that is told at least once per season, and it's a significant amount of the runtime of the show. It's gotten to the point that even athletes that have basically no backstory still end up with a lengthy segment on themsel…

Which is why World Ninja League (an actual sport) is better than American Ninja Warrior (a TV show with a sporting element). See also World Chase Tag vs Ultimate Tag, which has basically the same distinction.

Re: The Story of Samsung's failed deal with iFixit, as told by iFixit's CEO

#47
post #8

I really liked the plans Samsung employees had to give old phones a new life. I have a box of mostly working phones from different companies and I often wish there was an easy way to use them for different automation tasks around the house. Anyway, I'm not surprised it didn't work. Engineers see possibilities while lawyers only think about how something goes very wrong and the company ends up in court.

One frivolous lawsuit destroys the revenue from multiple happy customers. Unfortunately.

Re: The Story of Samsung's failed deal with iFixit, as told by iFixit's CEO

#48
post #11

There are many companies that just do whatever they can get away with and because of their market position, this is a lot. Maybe someday there will be a movement to boycott these abusive companies or something. Check out https://futo.org

futo, the company that keeps trying to hijack open source with their proprietary licence?

Didn't they start saying "source first" instead of "open source"? What's wrong with that?

Nothing about their current licenses stand out as unreasonable to me. Even though their licenses aren't technically "open source" - i.e. not an OSI approved license - their license is clearly in the same spirit and I would absolutely refer to it as "open source" in casual discussion.

They did the wrong thing at first, but their intent was obviously not malicious and they corrected it. Why let that undermine the rest of the good things they're doing?

Re: The Story of Samsung's failed deal with iFixit, as told by iFixit's CEO

#49
post #8

I really liked the plans Samsung employees had to give old phones a new life. I have a box of mostly working phones from different companies and I often wish there was an easy way to use them for different automation tasks around the house. Anyway, I'm not surprised it didn't work. Engineers see possibilities while lawyers only think about how something goes very wrong and the company ends up in court.

It was a fantastic idea! We had the prototype software and it worked great.

Take your old phone, put Docker on it, and do anything!

Phones, even very old phones, are incredibly capable devices: cameras, antennas, accelerometers, large touchscreen. They just need a new purpose.

Re: The Story of Samsung's failed deal with iFixit, as told by iFixit's CEO

#50
post #8

I really liked the plans Samsung employees had to give old phones a new life. I have a box of mostly working phones from different companies and I often wish there was an easy way to use them for different automation tasks around the house. Anyway, I'm not surprised it didn't work. Engineers see possibilities while lawyers only think about how something goes very wrong and the company ends up in court.

I've heard if the company really wants stuff to get done efficiently then they need to put a lawyer on the product team - i.e. change the incentive from "prevent engineering creating risks, even at the cost of them failing" to "help engineering manage risk whilst succeeding".
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