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Tapping Into Tinkering: Some Makers of Electronics Benefit From Users' Modifications

Date: July 12, 2005
Author: Mike Musgrove
QUOTE: Roomba's creator, iRobot Corp., is such a believer in letting programmers play with the appliance that it has said it might release tools to facilitate reprogramming. But....At worst, hackers can undermine a company's business.

ABSTRACT: While many electronic companies, and eventually consumers, have benefited from the unofficial homemade upgrades by hackers to gadets, some companies are now imposing stricter warranty rules. Physically opening or adding unauthroized programming devices to change the intended function of the product not only void warranties but some companies have threatened to sue. But will this backfire on the previously free research and development that hackers provided for the companies?

--- Rachel Sandoval

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