[Discuss] discuss Digest, Vol 10, Issue 81

[Matt Maier]

Yeah, I don't see how strongly capitalized enterprises out-competing civic
organizations (IE: weakly capitalized enterprises) is suddenly a new thing
just because the word "open" is now popular.

It seems to me the whole point of open source is that everyone gets to do
whatever they want with things, provided they don't limit anyone else's
ability to do whatever they want. By definition some people using the same
thing will be using it for contradictory purposes. That's not a problem
with openness that's just business as usual.

The benefit that openness brings is that it lowers the barriers to
participation, which increases diversity. That means everybody gets more of
what they want. But, that means while you are getting yours, well, your
perceived enemies are also getting theirs. At least, from a technology
perspective. The socio-political issues are more zero-sum.

- Matt

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>
> Message: 2
> Date: Sun, 17 Mar 2013 12:31:46 -0400
> From: malcolm stanley <a.malcolm.stanley at gmail.com>
> To: The Open Source Hardware Association Discussion List
>         <discuss at lists.oshwa.org>
> Subject: Re: [Discuss] discuss Digest, Vol 10, Issue 77
> Message-ID:
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> 0owBkxoBA at mail.gmail.com>
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>
> there are two topics here.
>
> One topic is what happens if we ally with organizations that want to
> support Open Source Hardware as a means of creating and distributing
> technology that will meet some specific agenda, like open communications.
> Think about plans for shortwave radios makeable using items in the supply
> chain in N Korea.
>
> The other is what happens if we discover those same allies are doing
> everything they can to curb fundamental freedoms at home while at the same
> time encouraging us to help them meet such objectives abroad.
>
> The first sounds like an interesting outcome of choices we could make. the
> seciond sounds like someting we are already experiencing anyway.
>
> _________________________________________
> malcolm stanley
>
>
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