[jws]

The regular torx was never intended as a security screw head. It was just designed for powered assembly in an environment where screw driver bits are consumables.

Matching the 3 screwdrivers in the kitchen's "everything drawer" was not part of the design specification.

[rubidium]

Thank you jws for the sanity here. It's not "anti-geek", it's engineering and manufacturing (and, I may add, keeping 5-year old Timmy from opening his dad's new MacBook Air and frying the innards with the screwdriver they keep in the kitchen drawer).

Not to be too negative, but if you can't find a way to quickly get inside, maybe you shouldn't be there in the first place. A real tinkerer/geek knows how to make their own tools in no time.

[aristus]

I think you are confusing two kinds of exclusivity: that from real technical challenge which teaches you something (eg how to correctly disassemble a machine) and that from random speedbumps (eg an exotic screwhead).

Have you tried to make a Torx head? I suppose you could get the shape with some kind of mouldable plastic or epoxy, but that's probably not strong enough in practice. They are designed to be set with much higher torque than Philips, hence the name.

[aristus]

It was designed for manufacturing, but it was often used as a weak security feature precisely because no one had the bits.