Fight to Repair

First the good news: Big Tech’s efforts in Colorado to paint the right to repair as an existential risk to critical infrastructure security failed, in part because cyber security experts called out the utter bulls**t of that argument.

As I write this, residents of Colorado consumers and businesses enjoy the broadest right to repair of anyone in the United States. But those rights may be crumbling, as Silicon Valley and Big Tech throw money and lobbyists behind legislation to claw back a major part of the state’s right to repair legislation: so-called “business to business” (or B2B) technology.

Agricultural equipment giant John Deere has agreed to pay $99 million to settle a class action lawsuit brought by U.S. farmers, Reuters reported on Monday. The settlement of the class action suit, filed in 2022, marks a significant moment in the long-running fight over the “right to repair” agricultural equipment. John Deere agreed to pay farmers $99 million to settle a class action suit alleging inflated prices for Deere repair services.

“Hell, yeah!” Or, as they say in Norway “Jadaa!” That was my reaction reading the newly released report by Norway’s Consumer Council that explores the phenomenon of “enshittification” - the worsening quality of digital products and services in which companies gradually degrade products while locking in users to maximize their profits. Buy us a coffee…every month! ;-) But really: consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.

In August 2025, immersive artist Heather Dunaway Smith received word that Adobe would be shutting down it’s software Aero. A free, no-code augmented reality (AR) application, Aero was a popular choice for designers like Dunaway Smith to create, share, and view interactive 3D content.

Contents: + BMW’s “logo screw” patent puts brand protection over public repair.

As malls and retail stores fill with Christmas shoppers and packages pile up on doorsteps, a new report is shining a light on one consequence of the U.S.’s consumerism and throw away culture: the river of waste that is fueling environmental pollution and higher costs for consumers.

It happened quietly, late in the legislative shuffle: Congress just stripped right-to-repair provisions from the 2026 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) — despite bipartisan backing and public support. The proposal would have required the Pentagon to let service members and military contractors repair their own equipment, cutting down on costly, time-wasting manufacturer lock-ins.

When Google pulled support for first- and second-gen Nest thermostats, millions of “smart” devices went dark overnight. But Cody Kociemba saw a challenge, not e-waste. Kociemba, the co-founder and CEO of Hack/House Studio, cracked the code—literally—liberating the celebrated Nest Learning Thermostats from Google’s self-imposed “end of life” purgatory and restoring the Nest’s smart functionality.

We wrote last month about Google’s decision to cut support for its first- and second-generation Nest Learning Thermostats, taking away the ability of customers who owned 1st and 2nd generation Nests (including me) to remotely control or monitor their heat and cooling. Google’s “end of life” declaration also ended software support and security updates for the older Nests.