Kevin O'Reilly
@kevin_oreilly7
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Fighting for our right to own our tech as Executive Director @FULUFoundation. Former Right to Repair campaign director.
Chicago, IL
Joined October 2015
Don't forget: 3) Roomba's new leadership slaps a subscription fee on the use of your vacuum.
roomba is dead the outcomes here feel quite bad. either: 1) millions of robot vacuums are about to be paperweights 2) new owner keeps 'em working but turns them into tiny camera-enabled spies i'd be taking them offline until we know, personally https://t.co/zCpXMnP6iL
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Great piece by @BooneAshworth today on our bounty program at @FuluFoundation. It’s crazy that when a company shuts down your app access for using a third-party part, the illegal thing is modifying that app to make it work again.
wired.com
Fulu sets repair bounties on consumer products that employ sneaky features that limit user control. Just this week, it awarded more than $10,000 to the person who hacked the Molekule air purifier.
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"The ratio of cool features to egregious BS is low. I don't want to talk to my PC. I’m sure as hell not going to use Recall. I'm tired of Windows trying to get me to use Edge, Edge trying to get me to use Bing & everything trying to get me to use Copilot." https://t.co/14Hl7pw2g6
theverge.com
It’s the year of Linux on my desktop.
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Does this qualify as enshittification, @doctorow? Google shut down older Nest thermostats' smart features, but kept sucking up that sweet, sweet data.
theverge.com
The thermostats may no longer connect to Google’s app, but they still transmit your data.
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Dumb-ifiying older Nest thermostats is a prime example of encroachment on our right to own our stuff. That Google is still collecting data from them is the cherry on top of the s— sundae. Important finding from one of our two Nest bounty winners. https://t.co/QAsupL37YD
theverge.com
The thermostats may no longer connect to Google’s app, but they still transmit your data.
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I'm tired of device makers telling me how I can or can use and repair my stuff. Prime example: Early versions of Nest thermostats will go "dumb" on Sat, even though open source software could keep them smart. Our bounty program is pushing back.
bounties.fulu.org
Fund transparent, verifiable work that restores digital ownership. Explore live bounties, see real-time progress, and donate with confidence.
Product owners — not manufacturers — should have control over how their devices are used and repaired. Our bounty program is designed to draw attention to examples of anti-ownership practices, get the community working on solutions, and push for change.
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A firmware update from Echelon last month made it so that bike owners could no longer ride offline or use third-party apps. We just paid out a $20,000 bounty to a developer who fixed that "bug." The worst part: it's illegal to make the fix public. https://t.co/LkstSa188M
404media.co
A firmware update broke a series of popular third-party exercise apps. A developer fixed it, winning a $20,000 bounty from Louis Rossmann.
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Enshittification starts in the home! @kevin_oreilly7 has the crowd booing an ebike firmware update that disabled offline riding.
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It's time to bring ownership back.
Y'all, I still use Quickbooks 2009 because it would cost me over $500 per month to do my bookkeeping if I got Quickbooks Online. I hate that you don't buy a product and have own/have access to it...everything is a subscription and in turn you have to pay it forever!
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Big news from the FTC on Right to Repair -- the agency has announced it will file suit against John Deere for allegedly monopolizing certain repairs. I think their analysis is spot on -- here are some reasons why I think this case is strong:
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We share this analysis. @kevin_oreilly7 examined both tools carefully and published the differences in this report -- one clearly won't do all the repairs you might need:
pirg.org
By promising repair software that removes or obfuscates necessary repair functions, John Deere fails to give farmers a true Right to Repair.
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I'm coming to Netflix!
How much is too much? 💸 iFixit co-founder @kwiens is featured in @grainmedia's epic #BuyNowFilm which uncovers how big brands manipulate consumers while our planet pays the price. Coming to @netflix November 20th. 🌍🛍️ — #iFixit
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Two and a half years ago, PIRG joined 11 farm, pro-repair groups in FTC complaint against John Deere for the way that company restricts repair. Today, @Bloomberg is reporting that court documents reveal the FTC is actively investigating those issues.
bnnbloomberg.ca
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“If these are really critical materials, why are they ending up in stuff that we're told is instantly trash?” Great story by @BooneAshworth on the new report from @KelseyLamp @FrontierTony and me on deep sea mining for @WIRED
wired.com
A new report contends that deep sea mining is not only an environmental risk, it’s also not going to help meet the world’s renewable energy needs.
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VICTORY! I was excited to join @GovofCO & @BriannaForCO @JeffBridges for the signing of Colorado's electronics #RightToRepair bill. Coloradans will enjoy the broadest repair rights of any Americans. A deeper dive on this bill - https://t.co/1ieNeWvmbg
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Photo by Ted Gotwals. Repair hero Wayne Seltzer of Boulder's U-Fix-Clinic (part of @FixitClinic network) showing @jaredpolis the joy of repair as the governor signs an excellent #RightToRepair law
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It's not me, it's you. #RightToRepair
theverge.com
“Samsung does not seem interested in enabling repair at scale.”
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"This absurd contract is exactly why we need to pass Right to Repair laws" is what I told @jason_koebler -- also great insights from Kit Walsh @EFF scholar Aaron Perzanowski and @publicknowledge
https://t.co/QI9yooyTpX
404media.co
The contract requires repair shops to "immediately disassemble" devices that have parts "not purchased from Samsung."
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Scoop: I obtained the contract Samsung requires independent shops to sign to buy phone repair parts from them. It requires: - "Daily" dumps of customer data - The "immediate destruction" of any phones a shop comes across that has third-party parts https://t.co/fvQBVUFCsS
404media.co
The contract requires repair shops to "immediately disassemble" devices that have parts "not purchased from Samsung."
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On EFF’s “How to Fix the Internet,” @RepairCoalition leader Gay Gordon-Byrne joins Cindy Cohn and @JGKelley to discuss the past, present and future of the #RightToRepair movement.
eff.org
If you buy something—a refrigerator, a car, a tractor, a wheelchair, or a phone—but you can't have the information or parts to fix or modify it, is it really yours? The right to repair movement is
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