The Trouble With Hardware

Wowwee, this blogger has had quite a week!  Between visits by old friends, trips to Brighton Beach (yes, i'm a Brooklyn boy), and attending the Mozilla Drumbeat NYC conference, I've been busier than I thought possible.

Through all the business, (perhaps because of it?) I've had some illuminating moments regarding open hardware. One of these came during a break-out session at the Drumbeat event, the wiki of which you can find HERE.  We were nothing the small turnout for our session versus the other software-based sessions and realized that most people don't recognize open hardware as a unified and cohesive concept.

Well, this hopes to change that this September, by clearly defining the term and the goals of the movement, while hopefully drumming up interest and raising awareness.


But why do we even need to define the term?  Isn't open hardware simply the application of the Open Source philosophy to hardware applications instead of software, as it is traditionally used?

Sure, to an extent, but there are some very real differences that raise very real issues:

Hardware is physical.  We respond to physical objects differently from online content.
Specifically, when it comes to copying hardware, we tend to take more precautions.  Patenting physical objects has long been the easiest way to keep people from copying them, at the expense of excluding innovators from improving upon them.  Many otherwise "open" designers are unwilling to provide documentation of their designs in the fears that someone will take them and commercialize the idea to their ruin.  Creative Commons licensing provides a solution to this, but even this is seen as being unsatisfactory.  Our mentality seems to be, and seems to always have been, that hardware is only safe when protected to the point of exclusion.
Solution:  First, change the mentality.  Leo Fender, in founding Fender Musical Instruments, refused to copyright any of his amplifier designs (in fact, the headstock and logo are the only two copyrights the company held prior to its purchase by CBS in the early seventies).  The thinking was, if you wanted to compete with him, you were welcome to do so.  He encouraged competition, as this is the spirit of capitalism, and his profit came from his ability to do his job better than anyone else (Fender is still the #1 selling musical instrument company in the world).  Second, define our terms, popularize open licensing, and confidence will grow.  Third, live by example:  if you have a great hardware idea, open it!  Others will follow.

Hardware, unlike software, is built using manual skills, and cannot be copied/pasted.
This is perhaps the biggest issue facing the open hardware market.  To build from a design, you must have knowledge of the construction skills (carpentry, soldering, metalworking, etc).  These skills are not taught in schools, necessarily, and it's hard to find anyone with a college degree in anything similar to construction other than an engineer.  With software, you can copy and paste code into a site and have it work.  Hardware does not have this advantage, and thus its adoption is limited to people who have the time, energy, money, and training to master the required skills themselves.
Solution:  First, improve education.  Free TED talks, instructional videos and manuals would go a long way to make sites like Instructables, Thingiverse, and Make:Zine usable by the budding DIY-er.  Second, find manufacturers who are able to work as middle-men without incentive to steal designs and commercialize ventures on their own terms.

There is no unified marketplace for open hardware designers and enthusiasts.
Sure, there are things like Instructables, Thingiverse, and Ponoko, but these are mostly specialized markets for specialized tasks.  And, although these services allow for collaborative innovation, there is no system available to request designs, modifications, or for manufacturers to get down with designers and come up with a plan to produce these gadgets (Ponoko does this quite well, actually, but again, they only do laser cutouts).
Solution:  Basically, we need a Ponoko for EVERYTHING.  Crowdsource each make/modify/build task.  Really put it out on the market, and BUILD a market.  Check the Drumbeat Wiki for my personal design for this site.

These are just a few of the problems as i see them.  I want to know what YOU think, though.