There's an expression that I picked up once from Make Magazine, "If you can't open it, you don't own it." or something along those lines. I'm sure there's a Make fan out there that will be more than willing to correct me on this issue, but for the rest of us, you get the idea.

There's a certain amount of truth in that statement. Once you know the inner workings of your stuff; once you know how it works; once you know what it's made of and how it truly works; then you can say that you own it. With truly "owning" your stuff comes a little bit of a risk. Warranties are out the window.

You as a maker, hacker, hobbyist, or whatever title you choose to go by need to not only hack safely, but with a sense of accountability. Once you cut/tear through that sticker that says "Warranty Void if Removed." you are on your own. In today's society though, I don't know how much that matters.

We live in a world designed around consumerism, so most people don't care about voiding warranties. In fact most people don't care about a warranty at all. They'll just buy a new one. Well, why buy a new one when you can build your own in a much better and more robust way.

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