[Discuss] CAD software: where does OSHWA stand?

Sat Mar 18 21:01:03 UTC 2017

And here are 2 rapid fire 5 minute instructionals on FreeCAD:)

http://opensourceecology.org/wiki/FreeCAD_101

On Sat, Mar 18, 2017 at 3:54 PM, alicia <amgibb at gmail.com> wrote:

> Yes, OSHWA stands by this clause.
>
> "Ideally, your open-source hardware project would be designed using a
> free and open-source software application, to maximize the ability of
> others to view and edit it. For better or worse however, hardware design
> files are often created in proprietary programs and stored in
> proprietary formats."
>
>
> On Fri, Mar 17, 2017 at 3:52 AM, Javier Serrano <Javier.Serrano at cern.ch>
> wrote:
>
>> Dear all,
>>
>> Phillip's message about the Adafruit interview to Altium has reminded me
>> of something I have been wanting to submit to the list for some time. My
>> question is whether OSHWA has a strong official position about CAD
>> (including EDA) software, and in particular about proprietary vs FOSS.
>> And my suggestion if it does, would be to communicate it more clearly.
>>
>> In the OSHWA "Best practices" page [1] one reads:
>>
>> "Ideally, your open-source hardware project would be designed using a
>> free and open-source software application, to maximize the ability of
>> others to view and edit it. For better or worse however, hardware design
>> files are often created in proprietary programs and stored in
>> proprietary formats."
>>
>> Maybe it's just me, but I like to think about OSHWA as "the FSF of
>> hardware", or OSI, or the Linux Foundation. Pick your favourite FOSS
>> organization. FSF identified the need of FOSS tools to create FOSS very
>> early on, and contributed decisively to tools like emacs and gcc. Before
>> the advent of such tools, and others, it was quite normal for e.g. C
>> code to be written in such a way that only a proprietary compiler would
>> be able to deal with it. Happily for software developers, those days are
>> long gone. Is such a state of affairs acknowledged as desirable by
>> OSHWA, and is OSHWA willing to be more than a spectator in this regard?
>>
>> Taking a strong stand may have economic consequences. I am not thinking
>> about economic contributions to the development of FOSS CAD tools. FSF
>> itself contributes very little to FOSS development. I am rather thinking
>> about things like potential loss of sponsorship opportunities for e.g.
>> the Open Hardware Summit.
>>
>> A similar argument applies to some of the bigger companies which are
>> championing the OSHW movement. I would be surprised if they don't have
>> big reductions, or even a complete waiver, of licensing fees for the
>> proprietary software they use for designing PCBs. That's what I would do
>> in any case if I were selling those tools. These companies have a big
>> indirect effect on what tools thrive in OSHW, because many people
>> download their designs to study them and modify them. Proprietary tools
>> can afford to lose some licence money with them and more than make up
>> for it thanks to their trend-setting role.
>>
>> This is all very legitimate, of course. I, as an individual, have
>> complete freedom to vote with my wallet, by deciding what to do with my
>> OSHWA membership or where to buy OSHW. For instance, I think Olimex is
>> really showing a nice example by designing all their hardware with KiCad
>> now, including their new laptop! [2] And I am sure I will get one in the
>> near future. When Olimex decided to migrate from Eagle to KiCad, they
>> wrote a short post explaining their intent [3]. This is very valuable to
>> me as an OSHW advocate and as a potential client, because it allows me
>> to clearly know what it is I am supporting when taking decisions,
>> financial or otherwise.
>>
>> I guess I don't need to revisit the old Free vs Free debate here. Recent
>> events in the proprietary EDA world illustrate the risks of proprietary
>> free-as-in-beer perfectly. In that respect, I would like to praise the
>> efforts of Phillip and others on trying to convince proprietary
>> companies to go open-source or at least have a publicly documented set
>> of file formats. I am sure those initiatives would have more chances of
>> success if there were a clear stand from OSHWA and the backing of its
>> members and friends, including OSHW companies.
>>
>> Again, I think all positions are legitimate and respectable, but I think
>> it would be very interesting to spell them out and discuss them
>> publicly. Thanks for reading this far!
>>
>> Cheers,
>>
>> Javier
>>
>> [1] https://www.oshwa.org/sharing-best-practices/
>> [2]
>> https://www.olimex.com/Products/DIY%20Laptop/KITS/TERES-A64-
>> BLACK/open-source-hardware
>> [3]
>> https://olimex.wordpress.com/2013/12/09/why-is-important-ope
>> n-source-hardware-community-to-use-open-source-cad-tools/
>> _______________________________________________
>> discuss mailing list
>> discuss at lists.oshwa.org
>> http://lists.oshwa.org/listinfo/discuss
>>
>
>
>
> --
> Cheers,
> Alicia Gibb
> CEO, Lunchbox Electronics <http://www.lunchboxelectronics.com/>
> Executive Director, Open Source Hardware Association
> <http://www.oshwa.org/>
> Director, Blow Things Up Lab <http://www.btulab.com/>
> Author, Building Open Source Hardware
> <https://www.sparkfun.com/products/13220>
>
> Please note: I tend to check my email once a day during the hours of 9-5
> and refrain from checking it outside of work hours and weekends. Thank you
> for your patience.
>
>
> _______________________________________________
> discuss mailing list
> discuss at lists.oshwa.org
> http://lists.oshwa.org/listinfo/discuss
>
>

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