Make Magazine has a special Make-branded "warranty-voider" Leatherman tool, along with a copy of the Maker's Bill of Rights:
* Meaningful and specific parts lists shall be included.
* Cases shall be easy to open.
* Batteries should be replaceable.
* Special tools are allowed only for darn good reasons.
* Profiting by selling expensive special tools is wrong and not making special tools available is even worse.
* Torx is OK; tamperproof is rarely OK.
* Components, not entire sub-assemblies, shall be replaceable.
* Consumables, like fuses and filters, shall be easy to access.
* Circuit boards shall be commented.
* Power from USB is good; power from proprietary power adapters is bad.
* Standard connecters shall have pinouts defined.
* If it snaps shut, it shall snap open.
* Screws better than glues.
* Docs and drivers shall have permalinks and shall reside for all perpetuity at archive.org.
* Ease of repair shall be a design ideal, not an afterthought.
* Metric or standard, not both.
* Schematics shall be included.
Update: Fred sez, "there's a couple of things that struck me about the device after I read the manifesto and looked at the Flickr set:"
Warranty Voider violations of The Maker's Bill Of Rights
1. No parts list.
2. Case is sealed by rivets — cannot be opened for repair.
3. Need a drill to remove rivets and a riveter to replace them (i.e. 'special tools required').
4. Can't get at components to replace them, thus entire assembly must be replaced, and proprietary parts are not available individually to the end user.
5. Ease of repair not a consideration.
6. No schematics included.
"Now, while I carry a Leatherman to perform occasional light repairs on my unreliable 1976 Triumph Bonneville, the Leatherman has missing tips and chipped tools from misuse over the years. I've always been annoyed that I can't perform maintenance on my maintenance tool."
Update 2: Phil sez, "the Make Warranty Voider has a 25 year warranty from Leatherman – they'll pretty much repair them no matter what."
