Mr. Jalopy has some interesting thoughts on what it means to own something. Inspired by the outrageous cost of a replacement part for a Chevrolet pickup truck, he writes:
With the rise of DIY, hardware hacking and the rise of basement tinkerers, perhaps this is the time to demand our rights to truly 0wn our equipment. It’s like DRM. When I pay for things, I want to own them. I won’t buy Itunes tracks, because I find it offensive that I need to learn and play by a set of arbitrary rules foisted upon me. Just as I am able to play 8 tracks and 78 RPM records, I know that I will always be able to play a CD, but I don’t have that feeling when buying an Itunes track.
Similarly, I hate not being able to get inside my MacMini or Ipod. To not be able to get inside, to not have schematics and to not have the required special tools, is to give up a critical piece of ownership. To be Maker friendly or hacker friendly, also means that you have a servicable platform for repairs.
January 6, 2006 at 12:18 pm
I’ve managed to save up roughly $70517 in my bank account, but I’m not sure if I should buy a house or not. Do you think the market is stable or do you think that home prices will decrease by a lot?