Open Source Laser Business Opens In New York

ptorrone writes "If you can't stand the idea of a cookie-cutter laptop and you live in New York City, you have a new option: laser-etching. Phil Torrone, an editor at Make magazine, and Limor Fried, a former fellow at the tech-focused art studio Eyebeam R&D, are working together on Adafruit Laser Services, a new, by-appointment-only business in Manhattan that etches custom artwork onto customers' laptops, iPods, cell phones, and other gadgets." The entire business will be open source. From the Adafruit Laser Services site: "We are publishing how to use the high powered laser system, set up, techniques, business practices and templates. You could start your own laser business, we'll even help you."

Comments

Are the lasers frickin'?

[Drooling Iguana]

And are they attached to the heads of sharks?

That should be.

Re:Are the lasers frickin'?

[UbuntuDupe]

On Slashdot, if you want to find the articles about lasers, remember that the tag you should use is "sharks", not "laser" or "lasers".

Re:Are the lasers frickin'?

[neuro.slug]

shark = new Shark();
laser = new Laser();
laser.setType( TypeFactory.createType( "Fricken" ) );
shark.mount( laser );


I think that will do...

Re:Are the lasers frickin'?

[sottitron]

correction: shark.getHead().mount( laser );

Re:Are the lasers frickin'?

[hotdiggitydawg]

correction:shark.getHead().mount( laser ); This is Slashdot. Any function called getHead() has no place here.

Re:Are the lasers frickin'?

[sottitron]

You are right. I mean this is a member function! Sheesh, what was I thinking?

How open source is the business?

[EmbeddedJanitor]

Bank account numbers and passwords please !

wait for it.

[binarybum]

mod points to the first person to get a goatse etched powerbook and post it.

you know it's going to happen.

Oh! Oh! Can I Be First?

[ahem]

"Do not look at laser with remaining eye."

Open Source?

[flghtmstr1]

I thought open source referred to simply making the source code available for public viewing. How can a business "open source" something which is not code? I have noticed an increase in the improper usage of the term "open source" as of late; I've even heard people say that pirating software is "open sourcing" that piece of software.

Re:Open Source?

[Drooling Iguana]

From TFS:

"We are publishing how to use the high powered laser system, set up, techniques, business practices and templates. You could start your own laser business, we'll even help you."

Re:Open Source?

[MyNymWasTaken]

Can you not even spend the slight moment to RTFS?

We are publishing how to use the high powered laser system, set up, techniques, business practices and templates. You could start your own laser business, we'll even help you

Re:Open Source?

[ptorrone]

well - all the templates, files, schematics, software we make, jigs, tools - anything that we can open source will be. we didn't construct the laser cutter (maybe we will make a new one) but we'll do our best to put everything out there.

Re:Open Source?

[ampathee]

I've even heard people say that pirating software is "open sourcing" that piece of software.

Wow, we need to stamp THAT out quick. Look what happened to "hacker".

Re:Open Source?

[seanadams.com]

How can a business "open source" something which is not code?

It's a pretty intriguing question actually. Maybe not open source, but businesses can certainly be a lot more open. At Slim Devices we pushed that envelope quite a bit by inviting customers to participate meaningfully in developing the products. <plug>There is an interesting article just posted at Fast Company which asks Is this the company of the future?.</plug>

I believe it _is_ a model that will work well for many other companies, and in fact I've spent plenty of time wondering just how far you could take it. As an extreme, imagine if a new business were to begin with open discussions of strategy, fund raising, hiring, executive comp decisions, etc. Discuss it all on forums and let an open community create the whole thing, not just the products.

Re:Open Source?

[RealGrouchy]

It's like an Open Source business model.

Compare Microsoft's software with Wal-Mart's business model: we see the output of it, but we don't quite know what techniques they used to get there (like upper-level management techniques, how they decide where to locate their stores, etc.) Try to track down the manufacturers for Wal-Mart products. Try to get a tour of the factory to see the working conditions. Hell, try to take a look at Enron's accounting practises (oops. Too late for that one).

There are many companies in many sectors who go to great lengths to protect their "source": what it is they're doing that will eventually be their output. An "open" company (okay, I admit that the "source" part is unnecessary, but it does add context to what is meant by "open") will let you see the practises of the company, so that company can show it has nothing to hide.

With business as with software, openness builds trust.

- RG>

Is this new?

[east coast]

Just remember, most pyramid scheme businesses are open source too.... they depend on it.

Re:Language does that

[trentblase]

You're not really thinking like a computer scientist. Schematics, templates, jigs (presumably the instructions on building them), etc. can all be source code if you define the language and target system correctly. For example, the template is presumably a set of instructions that tell the engraver where to engrave, what power level, how long, etc. These instructions get compiled or interpreted by the engraver and executed just like any other source code would. amirite?