We talk with iFixit CEO Kyle Wiens about documenting and sharing technical procedures, especially those related to the repair of consumer devices.
We start this episode by catching up on some past episodes…
In Episode 111, “Environmental Engineering,” we talked with Bronwyn Bell, an environmental engineer from Western Australia, who is now featured in an episode of the Discovery Channel show “What on Earth?” (Bronwyn’s segment starts around the 29 minute mark, and lasts about 6 minutes.)
Listener Matthew wrote to say lubrication could have a large effect on how long a bearing might spin, and the video in Episode 115 showing different spin times might not be representative of quality. He pointed out that an ABEC standard exists for bearing tolerances.
Our guest for this episode is Kyle Wiens, the CEO of iFixit, an organization that publishes free teardown and repair guides, primarily for consumer electronic devices.
Kyle graduated with a Computer Science degree from California Polytechnic State University-San Luis Obispo (also known as Cal Poly).
iFixit was the first company to supply Pentalobe screw bits in their repair kits.
The 1998 Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) criminalizes acts that bypass measures put in place to protect copyrighted materials.
Our guest has also been involved in establishing The Repair Association, an advocacy group dedicated to representing and promoting the repair industry.
A free tech-writing handbook, co-authored by Kyle, can be found on the Dozuki website.
iFixit still needs a repair guide for a Slinky. Brian notes that Egon Spengler (a character in the movie Ghostbusters 2) would have some insight on this topic.
Diesel engines operate at a rotational speed that is nearly half of that for a comparable gasoline engine.
Due to their relatively heavy weight, it is rare to find a diesel engine used for aircraft propulsion.
While nearly half the automobiles sold in Europe have diesel engines, that number is closer to 3% in the United States.
Anemic performance and poor reliability, associated with Oldsmobile diesel engines sold during the late 1970’s and early 1980’s, has been blamed for retarding North American diesel car sales over the past thirty years .
In mining applications, a diesel engine can operate 25,000 to 30,000 hours between rebuilds.
Many heavy-duty trucks use the SAE J1939 standard for sharing information between vehicle components.
Our guest speaks highly of the cask ales he tried on a recent trip to Scotland.
Thanks to Ilya Plekhanov for use of the photo titled “BelAZ 75600 on Bachatskom Coal Mine, Kemerovo Region.” Opening music by John Trimble, and concluding theme by Paul Stevenson.
We discuss how the workplace environment influences our productivity in this episode of The Engineering Commons.
Jeff is currently sharing an office, so although he doesn’t have much extra space, he does have a door he can close when necessary.
Brian uses his office as a storage locker, collecting old printed circuit boards and spare parts.
Although open-plan offices seem to be quite popular with employers, the concept has recently received a good amount of negative press, as suggested by a recent article in Slate, “Open-Plan Offices Are the Worst.”
A 2013 article in Forbes, “New Research: Workers Hate Their Cubicles,” argued that claims of open-plan offices leading to greater collaboration are not backed by scientific evidence.
According to a 2014 article in the Washington Post, changes to the IRS tax code during the 1960s caused the office cubicle to become popular with employers.
Similar changes to the tax code, in 1943 and 1954, led to the United States’ system of employer-provided medical insurance, according to a 2009 NPR report.
From Table 8-1 of the Peopleware book, we learn that only 38% of those ranked in the top performance quartile felt they were needlessly interrupted by others, while 76% of those in the bottom quartile felt they were frequently interrupted without cause.
Phillip Crosby’s 1979 book, Quality is Free, is frequently misinterpreted by managers, according to the authors of Peopleware.
Jeff cites Parkinson’s Law, which states that work expands to fill the available time.
In response to an inquiry from Anderew B., here are some podcasts recommended by Adam, Brian, Carmen, and Jeff:
We talk with iFixit CEO Kyle Wiens about documenting and sharing technical procedures, especially those related to the repair of consumer devices.
