Restart Radio: Makers and fixers, “Error 53” iPhone scandal

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We invited our friend Andrew, researcher, founder of Mini-maker Faire Brighton and co-organiser of Maker Assembly, among other things, to talk about the links between makers and fixers. Restarter Dave Lukes joined.

Andrew talked about making and making do, how for centuries before, we’ve perceived our material and physical environment as malleable and changeable.

With a new wave of digital making, new spaces and new forms of diffusing and sharing of making practice are emerging. These new makerspaces allow for people to socialise and learn as amateurs, unlike workshops of the past which may have been more restricted domains.

We talked about the potential for reuse and upcycling within the maker community and makerspaces.

And to close, we discussed the Guardian article that sent shockwaves this weekend, documenting the failure of numerous iPhone 6 devices with an “Error 53”. When a home button breaks or an iPhone 6 is serviced by an independent repairer, then undergoes an iOS update, this error literally disables the whole device.

For reference, in order of our discussion:

• Nesta research on UK Makerspaces
• Upcycle a microwave into a spot welder
• Guardian: ‘Error 53’ fury mounts as Apple software update threatens to kill your iPhone 6
• iFixit: What’s Up With Error 53?

[Feature image borrowed from Nesta]