The Restart Project Podcast

We had the pleasure of interviewing Faraz Sayed, long time Restarter, maker and now music maker with a group called Opto Noise. Through the London Hackspace Sonic Hackers, Faraz connected with Stan Lewry and a handful of people who wanted to make music with lasers, spinning discs and photovoltaic cells. Spurred on by an invite to perform at Music Tech Fest in Sweden, they built a working instrument in late 2014, and have performed at Tate Modern and Café Oto since. The project uses power supplies scavenged from long-dead PC towers, and new brushless motors like those used in quadcopters. To perform, musicians shine laser pointers through the spinning discs, and the light hits the PV cells and is then translated into sound. We talked about play, creativity and where (re)making meets music. To close out the episode we talked about the much-heralded end of “Moore’s Law”, which predicted that processor performance in computers would improve at a fast rate. We discussed the implications of a plateauing of performance in computers and gadgets. Links we mentioned Opto Noise on Google+ Opto Noise on Soundcloud Economist Tech Quarterly: After Moore’s Law Our blog post: Worn Thin: The Limits of a Logic of Innovation Bunnie Studios: Why the Best Days of Open Hardware Have Yet to Come Novena laptop The post Restart Radio: Opto Noise, making music with lasers and e-waste appeared first on The Restart Project.

Our work has been affected by Europe from day one. We are very concerned about the potential effects of a Brexit. If you disagree with us, great. Please comment below. If you need more information, great. Go get it! As we’re not experts, we thought we would look for some help to frame things. And instead of some boring white paper, we thought we would start with great material from our favourite green podcast Sustainababble. We borrow clips from their Europe episode, featuring an interview with Friends of the Earth campaigner Samuel Lowe. What do nature and peat bogs have to do with your toaster? We explain how, in relation to both, working together makes sense. In real terms, we discuss the role of a common market: the universal mobile charger, the prospects of “eco-design” and the importance of the WEEE Directive in regulating e-waste recycling in Europe. Now, most proponents of a Brexit would say we should remain part of the common market, like a Norway. And this would imply that everything we’ve mentioned about consumer information, regulation and recycling would have to remain in place here. But are there any guarantees? How long will all of this take, and can tricks be played? What if we do not join a common market? And if we do become part of a common market, after a Brexit, we’ll have much less influence over the rules and regulations as British activists and consumers. Links we mentioned Sustainababble #42: Europe Guardian: EU’s ban on inefficient toasters delayed to avoid pro-Brexit press attack EC: One mobile charger for all campaign EC: Circular Economy Package Q&A (on Eco-design) Our blog post: Why Europe fails to recycle e-waste and some solutions Norway’s implementation of the WEEE Directive Recycling rates of EU member states (from CWIT-UNU report) Extras! FT: What are the economic consequences of a Brexit? Green Alliance letter on Brexit Make Resources Count campaign The post Restart Radio: Europe, your toaster and your mobile appeared first on The Restart Project.

We interviewed photographer Greg Jones about his charming photography project called “Still Works” to document the abandoned electronics and electricals in his south London neighbourhood. Over the course of a couple of years, Greg showed how his neighbours appeared to have carefully placed VCRs, microwaves, monitors, white goods outside their homes. He wonders whether most people wanted others to take them away for reuse. And he photographed notes left by some neighbours indicating just this. Greg believes that people still believe in the “real value” of e-stuff, in spite of the fact that we are pushed to perceive everything in terms of “relative value”. He shot this collection using an analog SLR dating from 1978. Then we discussed a couple of very popular articles in the Guardian about long-lasting appliances and consumption, and Janet’s visit to New York where she met with the Fixers Collective. Greg Jones’ Still Works Guardian What do you mean we need a new cooker? We only got it in 1963 Guardian My fridge is 60 years old – appliances that just go on and on Guardian UK consumes far less than a decade ago – ‘peak stuff’ or something else? The Verge Meet the Fixers Collective: the geeks who are fixing iPhones for free [Feature image by Greg Jones] The post Restart Radio: Documentary photography of abandoned e-stuff appeared first on The Restart Project.

In this episode, we talk tools – how do we actually get into electrical appliances or miniaturised electronic gadgets, many of which are designed to keep us out? Podcaster Dave Pickering accompanies a couple of repairs at the Abbey Community Centre in Kilburn, including a mobile repair and vacuum repair. To get insight into the bigger picture, Dave interviews repair guru Kyle Wiens, founder of iFixit, a company that is fast becoming a living “repair manual for everything”. iFixit supplies specialist repair tools, a task which takes them frequently to China and always into the innards of the latest electronics. We learn that while tools can be very specialist and ever-changing like screwdriver bits, but they can also be quite simple, like an old, cut-up credit card. The post Restart Podcast Ep 8: Tools, new and old appeared first on The Restart Project.

We interviewed our friend Fidi, who helped spark a repair revolution in Hackney in her free time, and during the work day is helping change the way we engage with companies and corporations with her job at ShareAction. Fidi is one of the founders of the Hackney Fixers, a collective of activists from Sustainable Hackney and her group Friends of the Earth Hackney and Tower Hamlets. They started running Restart Parties a couple of years ago, and have taken them to the next level, by incorporating other kinds of repair. We interviewed Fidi about what shareholder activism actually is, how to speak the language of investors, and how we are all increasingly investors through our pensions. While few of London’s FTSE 100 companies manufacture electronics, many feed into electronics supply chains (mining and retail). After defending workers and promoting renewables in the UK among companies registered here, the real challenge will be promoting global change, benefitting people across the world affected by the massive footprint of large companies. Links Hackney Fixers Write up of our Sewing Machine Skillshare ShareAction ShareAction’s Justpay campaign on the living wage ShareAction’s RE100 campaign on renewables [Feature image “FTSE 100 list” by Flickr user eepaul is licensed under CC BY 2.0] The post Restart Radio: Beyond petitions and boycotts – influencing companies appeared first on The Restart Project.

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] The post Restart Radio: Makers and fixers, “Error 53” iPhone scandal appeared first on The Restart Project.

We invited our friend Max, from Demand Energy Equality, to talk about their inspiring solar workshops. In these day-long events, beginners with very little technical background learn about how photovoltaic cells work. They get a refresher in circuits and electricity, then they make a functional personal solar charger out of PV off-cuts. It’s a way of bringing renewable energy closer to people, raising important questions and promoting energy literacy. How can we be more involved in meeting energy needs locally? How do we use electricity, can we use it more wisely? Before we chatted with Max, Ugo shared a tip about giving away unused electronics leads and cables. Then Janet talked about an Android mobile we saw at a Restart Party, meant to “include” older customers. We questioned how inclusive Android can be. And to close, we discussed reports of a material in development called “Mesoglue” that could replace hot soldering, both in repair and manufacture. For reference, in order of our discussion: Donate cables and leads to Emmaus Demand Energy Equality Will This Metallic Glue Kill Soldering? (Motherboard) Article by Northeastern University about Mesoglue research [Feature images courtesy of Demand Energy Equality] The post Restart Radio: Getting hands-on with solar appeared first on The Restart Project.

We started with some common tech challenges: Janet discussed her anxiety with – and issues with – an Apple OS X upgrade. Ugo talked about how hard it can be to source good spare parts in the “wild” Android ecosystem. Then we discussed our incipient collaboration with Amnesty, Global Witness and Wikirate, which are working to rate companies on their sourcing of minerals. We also talked about an Amnesty report that came out this week on abuses in the supply chain for electronics, specifically, in artisanal cobalt mines in Katanga province, DRC. You can read more about both. And we couldn’t help but talk about the IKEA executive who caught headlines when he said that in the West, we may have reached “peak stuff” in households. For reference, in order of our discussion: Our post on tracing minerals and ethical gadgets Wikirate Good Electronics Amnesty Report on cobalt and human rights in DRC Global cobalt reserves and production How cobalt is used in electronics (PDF) Guardian coverage of the “peak stuff” comment Audio of IKEA chief of sustainability from Guardian Sustainable Business (starts around 1:11:00) [Feature image “Capacitors!” by Flickr user MightyOhm is licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0] The post Restart Radio: tracing minerals, and “peak stuff” appeared first on The Restart Project.

We talked with long-time Restarter Dave Lukes about a couple of appliance repairs attempted in Brixton, at our first Restart Party of 2016. The success of both hinged on the ability to find affordable spare parts. In the case of a vacuum, this was not possible. In the case of a dehumidifier, we were actually able to find a replacement circuit board. Then we did a sort-of debrief from the Consumer Electronics Show, a yearly monster of an event in Vegas, where manufacturers demo and introduce their shiny shiny products. There really was not too much to talk about, but we managed to have a laugh about the self-driving drone-car, smart belts, and a new turntable. To close things out, we talked about a rumour that the iPhone 7 will have a new headphone jack, ditching the long-standing 3.5mm jack we all know and love. We talked about the technical, environmental and social implications, and then discussed the significance of a spontaneous online petition protesting this rumour to Apple, already signed by nearly 250,000 people. For reference, in order of our discussion: Two Brixton repair businesses: The Spin Doctor and AGT Social Wired: Panasonic’s Reborn Turntable…  and Gizmodo: The Holiday’s Most Popular Home Audio Gadget was a Cheap Turntable Lifehacker The CES Trends that Will Matter in 2016 Sum Of Us Petition “Apple is ditching the standard headphone jack to screw consumers and the planet“ [Feature image “134/365+1 Jacks” by Flickr user Wikidave is licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0] The post Restart Radio: Spare parts, consumer hype and a pre-emptive petition appeared first on The Restart Project.

We’ve heard a lot recently about how young people are not as interested in owning things. Polls show they are less interested in cars, driving, and less interest in owning stuff. In this episode, Dave Pickering, our documentary podcaster, talked with Restart Party participants about different models for ownership and finance of gadgets, such as rental and leasing. There is a not-too-remote history of radio and TV rental here in the UK. Would people really be interested in a return to product-as-service? Can we finance and use gadgets differently in future? From a user perspective, the answers are not entirely straight-forward. And the economics and business models are not either. So we interviewed some industry insiders: UK policy advisers WRAP (Waste and Resources Action Programme), Dutch indie manufacturer Fairphone, and London repair business Lovefone. We can conclude that models for use and ownership will probably vary quite dramatically for different kinds of consumer electronics and appliances. [Featured image “Radio Rentals (1955)” by Flickr user Bradford Timeline is licensed under CC BY-NC 2.0] The post Restart Podcast Ep 7: The past, present and future of gadget ownership appeared first on The Restart Project.