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Open Source Hardware Gets Public Introduction
JoeBorn writes "The Sunday New York Times has an article on Neuros video recorder and describes the benefits of open source hardware to its mainstream readership. Can a mainstream audience appreciate that hackability can translate into new features or will it all just seem too geeky? In this case, the Neuros OSD got a YouTube browser. While the details might be lost on the average reader, are they getting the sense that some companies allow users to benefit from other users modifications while others are actively bricking products for applying 3rd party apps? In other words, is openness starting to add value to the brands that support it?"
Some versions of the LEON and any of the forty one processors on this page.
As I understand it "OpenMoko" is the software platform & base applications. The neo1973 is the name of the hardware (the phone), although I think the new incarnation has a new name "Freerunner".
The Neo whatever-its-called as hardware will be able to run OpenMoko-- but it can also run Trolltech's Qtopia software, which is further along, development-wise.
As far as Google's Android platform-- it's my understanding that it won't run on the Neo hardware due to some kind of lack of backwards compatibility with the ARM processor in the Neo.
Finally, I think there are some parts of neo1973/openmoko that are not fully open-- can't remember, but I think it's the GPS or GSM driver/daemon.
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This is my SIG. There are many like it, but this one is mine.
Aren't the benefits of open source, or, generally, hackable hardware very simple to explain?
If there is any bug, or desireable feature that is missing, or really any kind of improvement to be made, it can be made by anyone. This includes you, but you don't have to do it yourself - chances are there is somebody who wants the same improvement and will make it and share it with the world. Sure, companies will also enhance closed-source products, but now it's not just the company that does this, but a large group of volunteers, as well. This means that improvements can be expected to be made much more quickly and in many more directions at once. Plus, if the company ever stops supporting the product, the community will continue supporting it until the last person has lost interest.
There. Was that so difficult?
Please correct me if I got my facts wrong.
Don't forget that most open source software comes with big warnings that there are absolutely no warranties.
So does most closed source software... or did you expect Microsoft to compensate you every time Windows crashes?
Side note: I'm excited about openmoko, the open hardware (and open source software) cell phone. Waiting for the second revision, which will include 802.11.
Yes, I've been keeping an eye on the OpenMoko project for a while, since my experience of devices (phones, routers, PDAs, etc) of the past 5 years or so has been that the first versions always ship with serious bugs and then they are end-of-lifed after only a few months as they are replaced by a new version (with a similar number of serious bugs) - the product life cycle is too short and the firmware never gets stablised. So I've come to the conclusion that I have to be able to fix the bugs myself since the device vendors sure as hell show no sign of doing it.
Unfortunately the OpenMoko project seems to have had a lot of delays (their first "consumer grade" version was supposed to ship for Christmas, but they are going through another hardware revision cycle and from what I understand the firmware is no where near ready for normal users). Also, as tempting as it is to get the GTA02 revision of the FIC1973 phone, I'm still holding out for a version with HSDPA support since I have plenty of experience with GPRS, and frankly it sucks. Also, a smaller case and/or bigger screen would be nice - from photos there seems to be a lot of empty space in the case.
http://blog.nexusuk.org
If I recall correctly, most consumer software comes with the warranty disclaimer.
Finally, I think there are some parts of neo1973/openmoko that are not fully open-- can't remember, but I think it's the GPS or GSM driver/daemon.
The GSM radio and GPS receiver are covered by NDAs. The GSM radio provides a plain serial interface, so the software side is completely open. The GPS receiver requires some processing to be done on the host processor though, and this requires a binary blob. The binary blob provides an NMEA output though, so everything above it is open.
I understand that these are closed for regulatory reasons (fiddling with the GSM radio would be illegal in many jurisdictions, and ISTR the GPS licences require that there be some "safety" mechanisms built in, such as maximum speed and maximum altitude that the GPS can operate at, because the US government are idiots and are paranoid about people using GPS devices in missiles, etc.)
You can bet that someone will reverse engineer the GPS blob and write an open one before long though (I rather doubt this will make it into the official release though, due to the previously mentioned regulatory problems).
http://blog.nexusuk.org
The iPhone/Apple dig had nothing to do with the article and was normal slashdot FUD.
Why does everyone keep going after Apple for possible bricking of iPhones? You're applying 3rd party hacks which mess with the firmware, bricking is a possibility. No one has gone after Linksys for a bricked router after trying to apply 3rd party firmware.
Apple ships the iPhone with firmware:
#AAAAAAAAAAAA
Some 3rd party comes along and hacks that firmware to do nifty stuff, even if it is a hack. Firmware is now. #AAAAFFFFFFFF
Apple decides to update all the firmware in their iPhones to
#BBBBBBBBBBBA
However since you applied your hack, you now have firmware:
#BBBBBBBBBBBF
Which could very well possibly brick the iPhone. Apple doesn't have the resources to test with every single firmware hack out there. They test their firmware with what they shipped, if nothing bad happens it gets pushed as an update. If I secretly swap a Ford engine into my GM engine and take it back to the dealer, they're not going to fix it no problem.
If you don't want the iPhone and Apple's product model, get an open source phone. Get another brand. Apple makes stable platforms for people who sometimes don't want to tinker. Things may be tinker friendly, but if you fuck something up don't go suing or crying to Apple.
I got into an argument at work about living in one of the more socialist countries (Full healthcare, full welfare, full retirement, etc) and then I bring up income tax (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Income_Taxes_By_Country.svg) and they start bitching about how much the USA already takes, who in their right mind would let someone take MORE.
There are trade-offs to every single thing in the world. Make up your fucking mind and take the good with the bad. No, you're not entitled and no you can't have everything the way you like it.
Get over it.
Have you actually read Microsoft's EULA? Any of them?
Besides, one could argue that the source code is a warranty unto itself: a warranty that nothing is hidden, and if it doesn't work, you can check it yourself. And if the development stops, you can pick it up yourself.
Therefore, Open Source software in itself warrants you the ability to check for spyware, to make provisions for continued development (what can you do when MS decides to EOL one of their products?) and the ability to fix bugs if you have or can afford the know-how.
And it seems to me that's much more than closed source software guarantees.
Side note: I'm excited about openmoko, the open hardware (and open source software) cell phone. Waiting for the second revision, which will include 802.11.I'm buying it the moment it's ready for mass market as well.
--Our microcontroller kit, guide, and free videos. Your GCC compiler. Learn digital electronics today!
Why don't you use a real signature? I don't mind seeing them, but I do mind having to edit them out.
Ignore this signature. By order.
Learn the difference.
Following the old adage "Do it right the first time."
OSGGFG - Open Source Gamers Guide to Free Games
Recorded some shows to send to my young Son to watch in our second language. Trouble is: The new Sharp DVD Recorders save everything in copy-protected format that aren't playable on any other systems.
Thanks for the info. DRM will only survive in an open market if alternatives are outlawed. Defective products don't sell the momemt a working alternative appears. Remember the DAT? DAT by law required Serial Copy Management..
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Serial_Copy_Management_System
Computer hardware unencumbered by the broken format simply bypassed the DAT which rightfully died in the cradle. Computer CD drives gave way to CDR's which didn't include the restriction.
If a single vendor solution is broken, continue to look at alternatives. For me the alternative is a PVR-150 capture card in a Linux machine followed by my editor of choice and DVD author of choice to a DVD drive of my choice. DRM free and region free DVD creation is not that hard. Ask around. Some hardware is more friendly than others.
Since you dropped a brand name, I'll mention my technophobe wife. (I know.. Slashdot and wife..) She needed a simple solution. For her it is simply a Magnavox MWR20V6. She shoots the grandkids using a camcorder. Making a DVD is as simple as playing back the tape and pushing record on the DVD recorder (after selecting line in instead of a TV channel). Menu creation is very basic and she needs to remember to finalize the disk. To pass out copies, a simple right click in a linux box using copy to file and then on the ISO copy to disk is the fast way to make duplicates to pass to relatives. Making an iso and making lots of copies from the iso is a very simple process and much faster than any other way I have duplicated DVDs on a budget.
The truth shall set you free!
Free and open source software are great. I can get the source code, study it, modify it, and recompile and install it if I like. Cool.
On the box I'm typing this on, I have access to a lot of high-quality development software for the work of installing it, which isn't much. It's easy to set up a world-class development environment (particularly with the neat new big screen my wife gave me for Christmas). I paid less than a thousand dollars for the computer, and everything's cool.
So what am I supposed to do with open source hardware? I have few skills for working with hardware, not many tools, and everything costs money. Tools cost money. Sensors cost money. Parts cost money. Developing the skills costs money (either for formal instruction or to replace stuff I break). It's much more of a commitment.
Now, suppose I come up with a neat new software hack. I can distribute it freely, and people can use it easily. Suppose I come up with a neat new hardware hack. I can distribute the plans freely, but the only people who can use it have the skills, have the tools, are willing to spend money for the parts, and are willing to live with the risk of breaking something that can't just be rmed and replaced.
I like the idea of freedom of information, but there's a very large difference here between hardware and software.
"When you have eliminated the unacceptable, whatever is left, however improbable, must be the truthiness" - Holmes
The people hacking their iPhones are not the people Apple wants as customers anyway. The target demographic for the iPhone is not the Slashdot crowd. I was in an Apple store over the holidays and there was some guy in there with his 13 or so year old daughter. He was going to get her an iPhone. (Aside from wtf buys a 13 year old a phone like that, etc). She didn't care that it didn't run Wiki or what ever 3rd party apps were available. She wanted an iPhone. She wanted it to just work(tm). If Apple bricked her phone I know that her dad would have been up in arms.
Slashdotters and hackers saw a nifty piece of hardware and decided that they were entitled to doing stuff to it and got up in arms when Apple fixed security holes, etc.
Slashdot is *greatly* overestimating the mainstream audiences and general public.
The sad truth is, the general public really doesn't care about open source. They want something that works, and to them, the things that you buy from Sony, LG, Microsoft and others work. They don't care whether the hardware is open-source or proprietary. The fact that the iPhone lacks support for 3rd party applications surely didn't stop hundreds of thousands of people from getting one on opening day.
I think you all are greatly overestimating the capabilities of the mainstream public when it comes to "open source". I'm guessing that the millions and millions of readers of the New York Times will just skip over the article and move on to reading about Britney Spears.
tl;dr: Too much is going on in the news - this was a terrible time to release an article like this that is supposed to introduce the mainstream audience to *anything*.
Isn't that already the case? Most warranties cover only manufacturing defects, and only for a limited period of time. Damage that results from a user's actions - whether it be hacking it to add functionality, or simply spilling a coffee on it - are generally not covered. The trick is determining whether it was the user's actions that caused the hardware to fail, or a defect in the hardware itself.
This is where buyers need to protect themselves by researching the experience of others when dealing with a given company over warranty issues, and factor that in to their purchasing decision. If a company looks for any excuse to deny warranty coverage, it should be avoided. Too many people only consider the cost at the till, and ignore the TCO including the level of after sale support.
I don't care why you're posting AC