Open Source Hardware Approaching Critical Mass

Posted by Soulskill on Tuesday March 10, 2015 @09:16PM from the nuclear-metaphors dept.

angry tapir writes: The Open Compute Project, which wants to open up hardware the same way Linux opened up software, is starting to tackle its forklift problem. You can't download boxes or racks, so open-source hardware needs a supply chain, said OCP President and Chairman Frank Frankovsky, kicking off the Open Compute Project Summit in San Jose. The companies looking to adopt this kind of gear include some blue-chip names: Bank of America, Goldman Sachs and Capital One are members. The idea is that if a lot of vendors build hardware to OCP specifications, IT departments will have more suppliers to choose from offering gear they can easily bring into their data centers. Standard hardware can also provide more platforms for innovative software, Frankovsky said. Now HP and other vendors are starting to deliver OCP systems in a way the average IT department understands. At the same time, the organization is taking steps to make sure new projects are commercially viable rather than just exercises in technology.

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Open source hardware? by sberge · 2015-03-10 22:07 · Score: 3, Insightful

Can you download their schematics and PCB layouts? Not that it would be terribly useful, but it would bring the use of the term "open source hardware" in line with how others use it.