- Laptop break or become obsolete every few years, as new software requires more processing power or memory
- Batteries lose their capacity over time or stop charging at all
- We sometimes drop them, and replacement parts can often be expensive and difficult to find
- Sometimes I spill things on the keyboard, or some keys just wear out over time with normal use
- Power jacks wear out and proper charging becomes unreliable or impossible
Some parts on your vehicle are difficult to repair/replace, not because they necessarily have to be, but because manufacturers would prefer that you have the vehicle repaired at a dealership.
Unfortunately, many computer vendors work the same way!
Laptops are often **designed** to be difficult to fix so that you will simply purchase a new laptop.
Most complex hardware projects are closed-source (i.e. a black box) and you may only indirectly infer how components are connected or how things generally operate.
Open-source products provide transparency and the freedom to know as much as possible about the products you and others enjoy.
You will have the freedom to learn about every aspect of this computer system and will have the resources available to fix it if something doesn't suit your needs or gets damaged.
You don't have to solely rely on availability of technical support.
If you don't like the way something works, have an idea for an improvement, or think the documentation sucks, you have the freedom to improve it yourself or ask others for help!
If a particular component (i.e. an integrated circuit or capacitor, etc) becomes obsolete or unavailable, the general public has the freedom to replace it within the design files with a more modern or common component.
# Sanity check
How open it will be?
Everyone has his own definition for openness.
- One may want open source GPU drivers
- One may need electrolyte capacitors fluid formula
- One may want to know how transistors are photo-imaged onto the silicon wafer
We can't please everyone!
The more things are open the better, but if a particular component, transistor, resistor, or capacitor may be purchased in relatively low quantities, it will work.
If you can learn, study, and reproduce the design using commonly-sourced components, it is considered "open source" to us.
If the schematics, CAD files, Linux build scripts, etc, are available, this will be sufficient for someone to construct their own laptop.
