[Discuss] Publish OSHW with CC0?

[Javier Serrano]

On 11/05/2014 06:32 PM, Matt Maier wrote:

> Additionally, if someone wants to "enforce" virality, they can go a long
> way towards doing that simply by designing their hardware to comply with
> the OSHW definition. If they use only open source tools to design it,
> and use only commodity components, and make it modular, etc then the
> hardware will be perfectly suited to sharing and will require extensive
> redesign before it's worth mass producing. Just look at the difference
> between the 3D printer Dremel
> choose https://3dprinter.dremel.com/3d-printer-benefits and the Lulzbot
> Taz 4 https://www.lulzbot.com/products/lulzbot-taz-4-3d-printer

I think you raise something important in a weird kind of way. You know
fully well that the stuff you list is not needed to comply with the OSHW
definition, and that there is no correlation between "viral" and
"something you will need to redesign if you want to mass produce." I
think the issue here is basically about demand. If Dremel's customers
asked for a product complying with all the things you say, Dremel would
do it, and their printer would look just as neat. This demand is
probably not happening because their customers don't see a need for
openness in this particular product. Needs for openness develop as the
ability and wish of people to do something with that openness develops.
Linux is of course the paradigmatic example. Maybe we're just not there
yet with some kinds of hardware.

Cheers,

Javier