#if you don't think someone represents you locally then i urge you to get involved with someone who is close

[vintageseawitch]

"voting doesn't do anything"

"if voting actually did something, they would make it illegal"

"none of the politicians are on my side"

look... maybe some of this seems true. the issue is, why all the gerrymandering? why all the election interference? why make it so hard for people to vote? those who make it to office have the most votes because people went out & voted.

the recent primary in my state is completed & the results came in showing the majority of people who voted were over the age of 50 meanwhile millennial & gen z barely made 30% of their age demographic each. idk if this is anecdotal; maybe younger folks vote more in other areas... HOWEVER. if so many young people are choosing to not vote & allowing old people to make choices for all of us, THEN NO WONDER WE'RE STUCK WITH SHIT POLITICIANS. "voting doesn't do anything" BULLSHIT. if you think your voices aren't being heard but you're not even using it, THEN YOU CAN'T CLAIM VOTING DOESN'T WORK. it feels like such a copout. voting at our local level is extremely important & i wish people wouldn't take it for granted.

please vote as often as you can.

[system76]

In our everyday lives, we have the means to fix many of the tools we use on a daily basis. Even though many still choose to hire professionals, taking apart your blender, bike, or even your car takes only some simple tools and curiosity to find out how things work. When it comes to consumer electronics, however, the landscape is very different. Here at System76, we believe the right to repair your computer should be the same as the right to repair anything else—sadly, many of our representatives in government don’t feel the same way.

Yesterday, the state of Colorado held a hearing on Right to Repair legislation, known as the Consumer Digital Repair Bill of Rights (HB21-1199). According to the Colorado General Assembly, the bill would require electronics manufacturers to provide people with the resources needed to repair their equipment. This includes, “parts, embedded software, firmware, tools, or documentation, such as diagnostic, maintenance, or repair manuals, diagrams, or similar information.” As part of this effort, System76 Founder/CEO Carl Richell and Principal Engineer Jeremy Soller traveled to the Capitol to speak in support of this legislation.

System76’s stance as a pro-Right-to-Repair company goes all the way to the top. Open source technology has been the company mission since its inception, and the right to repair is no different. “To produce open source hardware means that we have developed and shared the recipe to create a high-end commercial product that can be learned from, adapted, and used by anyone else,” Carl said in a previous interview on our blog. “Everything about that product is owned by the user just as much as it’s owned by us.”

You can listen to Carl’s testimony here:

Transcript:

Thank you for holding this meeting and considering the Consumer Digital Repair Bill of Rights legislation. I'm Carl Richell, CEO and Founder of System76. We're a 15 year old computer manufacture in your backyard. A few years ago we built a factory at 70 and Peoria. Our computer factory is one of only two in the United States. We ship most of our products to over 60 countries.

When we ship a computer to a customer, they own it. They can open it and examine the components. They can observe the way the computer is designed. They can buy replacement parts. They can fix it themselves. They can break it. It's their property.

Not allowing someone to fix their property, means it's not their property.

Imagine if we were talking about cars. You get a flat tire and Ford tells you to stop. You're not allowed to change that tire. I know you can't get anywhere but you have to send that in to us to get going again. Electronics are no different. They don't move when they break. Those that oppose right to repair would like you to think computers are incredibly complex things. They're not. And the more people that are allowed to repair their own devices, the more people will understand that. That's good for all of us because there is no more powerful tool than the computer.

I was 25 when I founded System76. We're now a successful company, but we started with nothing. I didn't have much to put in except hard work. On a road trip at the time, the head-gaskets in my car blew and I didn't have the money for a mechanic. I bought parts and fixed my engine with my father in law. I learned a lot about how engines work in the process.

When I was younger than that, I took apart and built computers. Frankly, I took apart everything. Sometimes, I got it back together. Regardless of whether it worked afterward or not, I learned a lot in the process. That education through curious tinkering gave me the passion for computers and technology that I have today.

I fear for a future locked behind security screws. What next small business like System76 won't happen because we don't allow people to learn about the products they own? Maybe that's why massive corporations oppose this bill. They don't want another System76.

Thank you for taking the time to listen. I urge you to support and pass the Consumer Digital Repair Bill of Rights.

The right to repair has been advocated for as a means of consumer freedom, but Jeremy is bringing a new argument to the table. “American companies can not only still profit in a Right to Repair environment, they can even profit more. We are looking forward to this legislation so that we can leverage our upstream providers to provide even more details about the products that we sell.”

After acquiring hardware schematics for components such as motherboards and embedded controllers, Jeremy was able to write coreboot-based open source firmware and EC firmware for System76 laptops. As a result, we were free to innovate and engineer a better product for our customers.

You can listen to Jeremy’s testimony here:

Transcript:

Hello committee members,

My name is Jeremy Soller. I am the Principal Engineer at System76—a Denver, Colorado based computer company. We are FOR the Consumer Digital Repair Bill Of Rights.

I want to provide a unique perspective, as someone working in the computer industry in Colorado. Our company is based in Denver, Colorado, and has been in business for 15 years. We employ over 50 people in Colorado. We operate a manufacturing facility in Denver, Colorado, manufacturing desktop computers.

For the lifespan of our company, we have always been on the side of our customers. We have negotiated with component vendors to ensure customer access to parts and information. We have developed many of our products with independent repairs in mind. And I am here to tell you that the Right to Repair will help our Colorado based company grow, in both revenue and employees.

This bill ensures that we can continue to negotiate with our component vendors on behalf of our customers, and gives us leverage to provide the customer with better products.

This bill ensures that our customers continue to have access to the tools they need to repair our valuable products instead of throwing them away.

Finally, this bill ensures that our competitors are operating on a level playing field — that consumers are treated fairly and that competition is encouraged in our marketplace.

Please feel free to ask me any questions you have.

For Colorado!

Though Right to Repair legislation has so far been an uphill battle, Jeremy is certain that all it takes is one. “The first state that passes a Right to Repair act will completely change this industry,” he said in a recent interview. “Any American state would be too big for these overseas suppliers to ignore.”

Right now, if somebody wanted to open a Right to Repair-oriented company they may not even be able to, because they can’t get ahold of schematics for essential components. Passing this bill would create these opportunities, and create jobs for Coloradans.

Colorado has an opportunity to become an ethics-forward Silicon Valley that attracts the country’s brightest minds to work here. If you’re a Colorado resident and want to get involved, we highly encourage you to contact your local representatives and ask them to approve this legislation to help empower the Open Source revolution.

[symbianosgames]

Without the Affordable Care Act, developer Alex Preston would never have made Hyper Light Drifter. Not because he would have been financially crippled from the cost of paying for health care out-of-pocket while making the game—though that certainly would have been the case. But because, in his words, he “would probably be dead.”

For some developers, getting coverage under the ACA gave them the confidence and security to leave their corporate jobs (and, with it, traditional benefits packages) behind to start or join small independently-owned studios. For others, it supported life-saving care that they otherwise could not have afforded.

Now that the Trump administration prepares to deliver on promises to “repeal and replace” the current system, the many indie devs among the 20 million individuals who gained healthcare coverage under the ACA are scrambling to figure out their options. Complicating this is the uncertainty of what such a replacement might look like—if there is one at all.

Last week, the International Game Developers Association issued a release urging those who rely on the ACA to call their local representatives and voice their concerns. Their involvement in the national conversation makes sense: A 2015 IGDA survey of nearly 3,000 freelance developers found that 32% relied on government plans.

"Do I go bankrupt and go into the hospital or do I sit here and hope I stay alive?"

“We believe that affordable healthcare is not only about ensuring the personal well-being of individual developers, but also that is a matter of the creative health of our industry," says Kate Edwards, executive director of IGDA.

“If affordable healthcare options are unavailable," she adds. "we may likely see a significant drop in developers pursuing independent game development, which equates to a net loss of innovation and creative content for our industry.”

Before implementation of the ACA, Preston couldn’t get coverage of any kind. His health began seriously declining in his 20s. Though he briefly worked for a company that offered benefits, he couldn’t hold down full-time employment because of his health issues.. He was covered under COBRA for 18 months but, because of his congenital heart disorder and other pre-existing conditions, insurance companies turned him down when he tried to buy his own policy. As a result, he paid out of pocket for years. 

“It often becomes a question of: Do I go bankrupt and go into the hospital or do I sit here and hope I stay alive?” he said. “Hope isn’t going to do it for millions of people with critical conditions that can’t live without their medication and can’t live without an emergency room to go to.”

Without coverage, Preston’s medical bills were massive. At one point, Preston had to organize a GoFundMe fundraiser for a $25,000 hospital stay.

"Did you smoke in your twenties? Doctor spotted a cancerous mole? Pregnant? Companies had myriad reasons for denying coverage."

His experience was common. Bekah Saltsman, who runs Finji (Night in the Woods, Overland, Feist) with her husband, Adam Saltsman, said that friends “would straight up send money” to fellow devs in need. Like Preston, most of the devs they knew when they were living in Austin, Texas couldn’t get covered.

“They didn’t have health insurance,” Bekah Saltsman says. “None. Not because they didn’t want it, but because they couldn’t buy a plan on the individual market because a doctor had coded something wrong or because of pre-existing conditions.” Did you smoke in your twenties? Doctor spotted a cancerous mole? Pregnant? Companies had myriad reasons for denying coverage and, thus, mitigating their potential losses.

“This was pre-Kickstarter and pre-Twitter, and we’d send a message around that someone is really sick and can everyone please send a check,” Bekah Saltsman says. “If you were well connected enough, you might know people who could send $500 or $1,000 to make sure you don’t die from whatever you had and that, if you don’t die, you could make it through possible bankruptcy.”

She opted to stick with a formal job for the health benefits until 2008. After that, when both of the Saltsmans had gone independent, they had to be strategic: Insurance companies tried to deny coverage because Adam has a lethal peanut allergy and carries an inhaler due to childhood asthma. Even so, they were able to get coverage as a group of two, leapfrogging to different plans once they had children.

Still, within a five-year span, Bekah Saltsman’s rates tripled from $560 a month to $1,500. “When I saw the ACA plans I was like, hallelujah.” Even though the Saltsmans didn’t qualify for subsidies, they were back to paying $585 to $600 per month during that first year.

When Steve Gaynor left 2K Marin to co-found Fullbright (Gone Home and, upcoming, Tacoma), he didn’t have any health insurance. He was pinching pennies and, as he says, “It was on that list of things that we felt we could live without.” It wasn’t until Gone Home was released in August 2013—just before the first open enrollment period under the ACA—that he got coverage. 

"The ACA gave us the confidence to quit our jobs. The reason I stayed in a job I didn’t love for so long was because we needed health insurance."

Today, Fullbright provides stipends for team members to cover their insurance through the ACA Marketplace. “And we have confidence that insurance for the people we employ will be accessible,” Gaynor added. “When you’re running a studio like ours where everyone’s productivity and level of engagement is crucial, we want don’t want employees worrying about where their healthcare is coming from or how they’re going to pay for bills and appointments.”

Since then, Fullbright's coverage has come in handy: Gaynor and his wife were involved in a serious car accident and his co-founder Karla Zimonja had unexpected surgery. 

Gaynor says Fullbright plans to continue to offer their employees stipends, no matter what happens with the ACA. But, as those expenses become unreliable, it will be harder for them to budget the cost—a big unknown for a small business. “That security was really valuable,” he says. “We know ACA has reliable options, and that makes us more able to employ people and make our studio run smoothly.”

Since getting covered under the ACA, Alex Preston has had several life-saving procedures, including having a valve replaced in his heart in 2015. In 2013, he started Heart Machine, a studio named, in part, to honor of the open-heart surgery he underwent as a child and the later installation of his pacemaker. Now, due in part to the success of Hyper Light Drifter, Preston can afford insurance outside of the ACA Marketplace for his employees. 

“I count myself lucky,” he says. But he worries about what might happen if he and his business are in a position where they can’t take on that cost anymore—and what might happen to his own health coverage if his business were to fail. “I worry about that future now, and I didn’t just a year before.” 

If the ACA is repealed and not replaced with something tenable, Preston says some devs he knows plan to go back to work for larger studios and AAA companies. One dev even half-joked about moving to a different country to secure coverage..

"After all the talk about small business and creating jobs, anything that makes it scarier to strike out on your own and start a new business that didn’t exist before is a loss to our entire economy."

“The ACA gave us the confidence to quit our jobs,” Bekah Saltsman says. “The reason I stayed in a job I didn’t love for so long was because we needed health insurance.” Bekah and Adam Saltsman aren’t sure precisely what they’re going to do—so much is uncertain. But they have multiple plans and back-up plans, from going through Michigan to buy their insurance to hiring another person so they can get a company plan (which would mean changing the entire structure of Finji) to Bekah returning to a corporate day job and working on Finji projects at night.

Bekah Saltsman says some indie devs are thinking about getting a non-game related day job with benefits, even if it means working the minimum number of hours required at a place like Starbucks—provided that it even still offers insurance under the new healthcare systems.

Another option is going through IGDA, which currently partners with HUB International insurance to provide some health, plus business and liability, insurance for its members. Right now, IGDA offerings are limited by the ACA, meaning that their options are no different from what is nationally available. “However, should the ACA be repealed and no alternative is readily available, we will quickly pursue the generation of a coverage option for our membership,” Edwards wrote. “In consultation with our insurance partner, it’s clear that it’s too early to tell how this will play out.” She recommends that people considering their options tune into HUB International’s webinar on February 7 called “Repeal, Replace or Remodel? What Lies Ahead for ACA and Your Health Plan.” 

Though the president has suggested he will keep guaranteed coverage for pre-existing conditions and allow children to stay on parental plans until they’re 26, it’s unclear what will actually happen. Devs looking to protect themselves should consider finding a mentor in the industry with advice about how to navigate the healthcare system, come up with back-up plans, learn as much as possible about how freelancers got coverage before and after the implementation of the ACA, and stay apprised of how the Administration moves forward with a repeal.

But, no matter where things land with the reformation, it’s likely that the indie game scene will see a big shake-up in the coming months.

“Anything that gives people more reasons to not try to do something in an independent setting is a real loss for our industry and the economy,” Gaynor says. “After all the talk about small business and creating jobs, anything that makes it scarier and less accessible to strike out on your own and start a new business that didn’t exist before is a loss to our entire economy.”

[symbianosgames]

Without the Affordable Care Act, developer Alex Preston would never have made Hyper Light Drifter. Not because he would have been financially crippled from the cost of paying for health care out-of-pocket while making the game—though that certainly would have been the case. But because, in his words, he “would probably be dead.”

For some developers, getting coverage under the ACA gave them the confidence and security to leave their corporate jobs (and, with it, traditional benefits packages) behind to start or join small independently-owned studios. For others, it supported life-saving care that they otherwise could not have afforded.

Now that the Trump administration prepares to deliver on promises to “repeal and replace” the current system, the many indie devs among the 20 million individuals who gained healthcare coverage under the ACA are scrambling to figure out their options. Complicating this is the uncertainty of what such a replacement might look like—if there is one at all.

Last week, the International Game Developers Association issued a release urging those who rely on the ACA to call their local representatives and voice their concerns. Their involvement in the national conversation makes sense: A 2015 IGDA survey of nearly 3,000 freelance developers found that 32% relied on government plans.

"Do I go bankrupt and go into the hospital or do I sit here and hope I stay alive?"

“We believe that affordable healthcare is not only about ensuring the personal well-being of individual developers, but also that is a matter of the creative health of our industry," says Kate Edwards, executive director of IGDA.

“If affordable healthcare options are unavailable," she adds. "we may likely see a significant drop in developers pursuing independent game development, which equates to a net loss of innovation and creative content for our industry.”

Before implementation of the ACA, Preston couldn’t get coverage of any kind. His health began seriously declining in his 20s. Though he briefly worked for a company that offered benefits, he couldn’t hold down full-time employment because of his health issues.. He was covered under COBRA for 18 months but, because of his congenital heart disorder and other pre-existing conditions, insurance companies turned him down when he tried to buy his own policy. As a result, he paid out of pocket for years. 

“It often becomes a question of: Do I go bankrupt and go into the hospital or do I sit here and hope I stay alive?” he said. “Hope isn’t going to do it for millions of people with critical conditions that can’t live without their medication and can’t live without an emergency room to go to.”

Without coverage, Preston’s medical bills were massive. At one point, Preston had to organize a GoFundMe fundraiser for a $25,000 hospital stay.

"Did you smoke in your twenties? Doctor spotted a cancerous mole? Pregnant? Companies had myriad reasons for denying coverage."

His experience was common. Bekah Saltsman, who runs Finji (Night in the Woods, Overland, Feist) with her husband, Adam Saltsman, said that friends “would straight up send money” to fellow devs in need. Like Preston, most of the devs they knew when they were living in Austin, Texas couldn’t get covered.

“They didn’t have health insurance,” Bekah Saltsman says. “None. Not because they didn’t want it, but because they couldn’t buy a plan on the individual market because a doctor had coded something wrong or because of pre-existing conditions.” Did you smoke in your twenties? Doctor spotted a cancerous mole? Pregnant? Companies had myriad reasons for denying coverage and, thus, mitigating their potential losses.

“This was pre-Kickstarter and pre-Twitter, and we’d send a message around that someone is really sick and can everyone please send a check,” Bekah Saltsman says. “If you were well connected enough, you might know people who could send $500 or $1,000 to make sure you don’t die from whatever you had and that, if you don’t die, you could make it through possible bankruptcy.”

She opted to stick with a formal job for the health benefits until 2008. After that, when both of the Saltsmans had gone independent, they had to be strategic: Insurance companies tried to deny coverage because Adam has a lethal peanut allergy and carries an inhaler due to childhood asthma. Even so, they were able to get coverage as a group of two, leapfrogging to different plans once they had children.

Still, within a five-year span, Bekah Saltsman’s rates tripled from $560 a month to $1,500. “When I saw the ACA plans I was like, hallelujah.” Even though the Saltsmans didn’t qualify for subsidies, they were back to paying $585 to $600 per month during that first year.

When Steve Gaynor left 2K Marin to co-found Fullbright (Gone Home and, upcoming, Tacoma), he didn’t have any health insurance. He was pinching pennies and, as he says, “It was on that list of things that we felt we could live without.” It wasn’t until Gone Home was released in August 2013—just before the first open enrollment period under the ACA—that he got coverage. 

"The ACA gave us the confidence to quit our jobs. The reason I stayed in a job I didn’t love for so long was because we needed health insurance."

Today, Fullbright provides stipends for team members to cover their insurance through the ACA Marketplace. “And we have confidence that insurance for the people we employ will be accessible,” Gaynor added. “When you’re running a studio like ours where everyone’s productivity and level of engagement is crucial, we want don’t want employees worrying about where their healthcare is coming from or how they’re going to pay for bills and appointments.”

Since then, Fullbright's coverage has come in handy: Gaynor and his wife were involved in a serious car accident and his co-founder Karla Zimonja had unexpected surgery. 

Gaynor says Fullbright plans to continue to offer their employees stipends, no matter what happens with the ACA. But, as those expenses become unreliable, it will be harder for them to budget the cost—a big unknown for a small business. “That security was really valuable,” he says. “We know ACA has reliable options, and that makes us more able to employ people and make our studio run smoothly.”

Since getting covered under the ACA, Alex Preston has had several life-saving procedures, including having a valve replaced in his heart in 2015. In 2013, he started Heart Machine, a studio named, in part, to honor of the open-heart surgery he underwent as a child and the later installation of his pacemaker. Now, due in part to the success of Hyper Light Drifter, Preston can afford insurance outside of the ACA Marketplace for his employees. 

“I count myself lucky,” he says. But he worries about what might happen if he and his business are in a position where they can’t take on that cost anymore—and what might happen to his own health coverage if his business were to fail. “I worry about that future now, and I didn’t just a year before.” 

If the ACA is repealed and not replaced with something tenable, Preston says some devs he knows plan to go back to work for larger studios and AAA companies. One dev even half-joked about moving to a different country to secure coverage..

"After all the talk about small business and creating jobs, anything that makes it scarier to strike out on your own and start a new business that didn’t exist before is a loss to our entire economy."

“The ACA gave us the confidence to quit our jobs,” Bekah Saltsman says. “The reason I stayed in a job I didn’t love for so long was because we needed health insurance.” Bekah and Adam Saltsman aren’t sure precisely what they’re going to do—so much is uncertain. But they have multiple plans and back-up plans, from going through Michigan to buy their insurance to hiring another person so they can get a company plan (which would mean changing the entire structure of Finji) to Bekah returning to a corporate day job and working on Finji projects at night.

Bekah Saltsman says some indie devs are thinking about getting a non-game related day job with benefits, even if it means working the minimum number of hours required at a place like Starbucks—provided that it even still offers insurance under the new healthcare systems.

Another option is going through IGDA, which currently partners with HUB International insurance to provide some health, plus business and liability, insurance for its members. Right now, IGDA offerings are limited by the ACA, meaning that their options are no different from what is nationally available. “However, should the ACA be repealed and no alternative is readily available, we will quickly pursue the generation of a coverage option for our membership,” Edwards wrote. “In consultation with our insurance partner, it’s clear that it’s too early to tell how this will play out.” She recommends that people considering their options tune into HUB International’s webinar on February 7 called “Repeal, Replace or Remodel? What Lies Ahead for ACA and Your Health Plan.” 

Though the president has suggested he will keep guaranteed coverage for pre-existing conditions and allow children to stay on parental plans until they’re 26, it’s unclear what will actually happen. Devs looking to protect themselves should consider finding a mentor in the industry with advice about how to navigate the healthcare system, come up with back-up plans, learn as much as possible about how freelancers got coverage before and after the implementation of the ACA, and stay apprised of how the Administration moves forward with a repeal.

But, no matter where things land with the reformation, it’s likely that the indie game scene will see a big shake-up in the coming months.

“Anything that gives people more reasons to not try to do something in an independent setting is a real loss for our industry and the economy,” Gaynor says. “After all the talk about small business and creating jobs, anything that makes it scarier and less accessible to strike out on your own and start a new business that didn’t exist before is a loss to our entire economy.”