Open Hardware Summit
I call my laser an open source design. What does that mean? Right now it means whatever I want it too. That is actually a bit of a pain because I am on my own own to define it. The route I chose was to adapt an existing license. Unfortunately there are hundreds, if you count all the variations. I chose the Creative Commons license even it does not directly address the special issues of open source hardware. but, it was configurable and had a nice logo.
Well things are about to take a big step forward in this area. There is an Open Hardware Summit coming September 23 in New York, right before the Maker Faire. They are working on creating a comprehensive definition of open source hardware. They have a draft definition here.
For the user of open source hardware, this could be helpful. Hardware by it’s nature is likely to require an initial investment. Unlike software, where you can usually easily evaluate it with little cost. Knowing a project conforms to a standardized definition might make you feel better about making that investment.
