By Hank Green
From ecogeek.org
Posted - August 22, 2007
FixYa.com: Helps Keep Your Gadgets Alive
FixYa.com is an interesting new site with a decidedly EcoGeeky mission: to help people extend the life of their gadgets. FixYa is full of clever gadget hounds and tinkerers who just want to help and show off their skills. Just post a description of a problem you're having with your Xbox 360 / washing machine / MP3 Player, and FixYa's community goes after it.
Of course, there's no guarantee that you'll get the help you need, nor that the solution will be exactly what you want to hear. However, if you're willing to pay a little extra, you can get at least the first thing guaranteed. FixYa has built a database of experts who actually get paid to provide live support, and guaranteed question answering for users who are particularly stuck.
It's like an open source repair shop, where anyone can walk in with a problem, or certain knowledge, and alternatively be in front of or behind the counter.
In a world where consumer electronics support is notoriously horrible, and it's often far easier to throw away a poorly functioning device than track down someone who knows anything about fixing it, FixYa is a powerfully useful resource. There's already a good community growing there, I hope to see it flourish.
