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Open Source Hardware, For Fun and For Profit
ptorrone writes "Lots of open source hardware articles making the rounds this week, first up — Wired has an excellent piece on the Arduino project, an open source electronics prototyping platform, its founders and business model (they have sold over 50,000 units). And next up MIT's Tech Review has a profile on a few open source hardware businesses including NYC based Adafruit Industries best known for projects like the open source synth (x0x0b0x) and 'fun' projects like the Wave Bubble, the open source cell phone/wifi/GPS/RF jammer."
I felt these links should be in this thread:
OPENCORES.ORG
Open Hardware
OpenSPARC
The Wikipedia article on Open-Source Hardware, with many more links
Please correct me if I got my facts wrong.
Don't forget the Arduino official homepage.
It's simple, very hackable, Mac- and Linux-compatible and it's a true free/open source design, so they don't have a monopoly on it and you can buy compatible boards from other sources or DIY!
There's a hidden treasure in Python 3.x: __prepare__()
If you want to actually do some good and contribute something constructive, I'd suggest The Open Prosthesis Project. There's an excellent write up on the project in both the treeware and on-line editions of Scientific American.
Cheers,
Dave
They that can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety deserve neither safety nor liberty.
Ben
and it's a true free/open source design, so they don't have a monopoly on it and you can buy compatible boards from other sources or DIY!
Actually, it's not an open-source design; Arduino is an actively protected trademark and they do control who manufactures it, because they won't release the files necessary to manufacture the circuit board. Without them, you cannot (easily) make a compatible board; you have to reverse-engineer it. Which is precisely what some people, fed up with not being able to make their own Arduino boards, went and did.
Freeduino, *is* actually free and open-source (and compatible) and they have specifically said that people are welcome to use the Freeduino name.
All Arduino proves is that people will slap "free" and "open source" on just about anything, and there's no shortage of people who will parrot it.
Also, I'm getting really fucking tired of LadyAda's antisocial, illegal devices. Her "TV-b-gone" redefines arrogance, and the jammers are *completely* illegal (funny how you all will get ripshit about data-over-powerlines interfering with your precious HAM hobby, but this device is completely ok?) Wouldn't be the first time she's gotten in trouble with 'the law'- when she was at MIT, she put a device in a parking garage which MIT campus police (used to dealing with all sorts of weird projects and devices) treated as a bomb, and she was punished by the dean for it.
Please help metamoderate.
hey superbanana - i'm phil from MAKE i submitted the story and what you're saying is not accurate. i'll do my best to address your comments.
1. Arduinio is open source, anyone can make them and they released all the files. just check the site you'll see all the downloads, if you can't find them email me.
2. the *name* is trademarked, this is likely the confusion. you can make Arduino clones all you want in china, you just can't call them Arduino. just like you can make other versions of Firefox but you can't call yours Firefox.
3. as far as ladyada goes, the art project you're referring to at MIT never got her punished or "in trouble with the law".
4. lastly, the tv-b-gone is also used to turn TVs on, that's how it works.