Copyleft and Open Hardware

David Reyes Samblas Martinez david at tuxbrain.com
Fri Feb 12 04:56:17 EST 2010


Was
Al Johnson
in the Openmoko list  on 11th  Sept 2009
Topic Re: Web site promoting open hardware?

2010/2/12 rakshat hooja <rakshat at gmail.com>:
> I just saw the qi-hardware wiki home page after a long time and its really
> good now. It clearly explains what copyleft is. What it does not explain is
> why an end user/ developer would currently wist to buy copyleft hardware.
> Sometime ago someone(please stand up if you are reading this) on this list
> (I think) had posted his personal answer to this question and I had copied
> and kept it. I am reproducing it below. Maybe some of it could be added to
> the wiki/ sharism site.
>
> Rakshat
>
>
> "Short answer as an end user: because I want to be able to fix, modify or
> add to the stuff
> I buy, not rely on the whim of the manufacturer.
>
> Longer answer: Products are rarely exactly what I want, and I'm not afraid
> to
> modify them to get what I'm after. Access to mechanical and electrical
> design
> documentation makes this both easier and more effective. With software-based
> products the openness is more necessary. My TV contains some GPL software,
> but
> nobody has worked out how to build a complete firmware image, let alone load
> one, so I can't readily fix any of the niggles or add features.
>
> Also I hate arbitrary limitations and designed obsolescence. Phones are a
> good
> example; why should I need to buy a new handset to get a feature the
> existing
> hardware is capable of, and supposed to have, but doesn't because of botched
> firmware the manufacturer has decided not to fix? Why is this simple
> software
> feature only available on the 'pro' model at 3 times the price, or not
> available at all?
>
> Finally I find the faults somehow less irritating when I know I could fix
> them
> if I could be bothered.
>
> Small scale commercial answer: because custom software on an existing open
> platform can make small market niches commercially viable when they wouldn't
> be otherwise"
>
> --
> --------------
> Please use Firefox as your web browser. Its protects you from spyware and is
> also a very feature rich browser.
> www.firefox.com
>
>
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-- 
David Reyes Samblas Martinez
http://www.tuxbrain.com
Open ultraportable & embedded solutions
Ben NanoNote, Arduino, Openmoko
Hey, watch out!!! There's a linux in your pocket!!!




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