The Rise of Open Hardware
Is the Future of Hardware Open?
Despite all the challenges, more open hardware products probably exist today than ever before. Keyboardio, for instance, has established itself as an innovative keyboard manufacturer (Figure 1) and is currently in the early stages of developing other products. Similarly, Purism has established itself with a line of high-end laptops (Figure 2) and has attracted attention for some months with its development of a free phone. Other open hardware manufacturers may not have launched the next IBM or Apple, but their small businesses do appear to be enjoying modest successes. For the most part, the longstanding challenges of open hardware production appear to have been alleviated in the last few years, even if they have not been overcome.
The next challenge for open hardware production is to scale and become a known presence in manufacturing. This next stage may already be happening in prosthetics, where open hardware can produce alternatives for a fraction of the cost of proprietary methodologies (Figure 3). However, to date, most open hardware makers seem to have a boutique niche, producing high-quality products at high prices for a relatively small number of discerning clients.
Perhaps the Internet of Things (IOT) will alter this situation. To be fully realized in the short time that is predicted, the IOT requires millions of gadgets as soon as possible, and conventional manufacturing is unlikely to keep up with the demand for product development. Now, all that can be said is that, one way or the other, open hardware is on its way to becoming a reality at last.
Infos
- "On 'Free Hardware'": https://www.linuxtoday.com/infrastructure/1999062200505NWLF
- Open access: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Open_access
- Crowdfunding success rate: https://www.datamation.com/applications/crowdfunding-and-open-source.html
- Predicting crowfunding success: http://crowdfunding.io/
- Crowd Supply: http://www.crowdsupply.com
- Ubuntu Edge: https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/ubuntu-edge#/
- The Maker Movement: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maker_culture
- Adafruit: https://www.adafruit.com/
- Arduino: https://www.arduino.cc/
- Raspberry Pi: https://www.raspberrypi.org/
- Vivaldi tablet: https://lwn.net/Articles/606100/
- Recyclable bamboo computers: https://www.crowdsupply.com/eoma68/micro-desktop/updates
- Keyboardio blog: http://blog.keyboard.io/
« Previous 1 2
Buy this article as PDF
(incl. VAT)
Buy Linux Magazine
Subscribe to our Linux Newsletters
Find Linux and Open Source Jobs
Subscribe to our ADMIN Newsletters
Support Our Work
Linux Magazine content is made possible with support from readers like you. Please consider contributing when you’ve found an article to be beneficial.
News
-
TUXEDO Computers Unveils Linux Laptop Featuring AMD Ryzen CPU
This latest release is the first laptop to include the new CPU from Ryzen and Linux preinstalled.
-
XZ Gets the All-Clear
The back door xz vulnerability has been officially reverted for Fedora 40 and versions 38 and 39 were never affected.
-
Canonical Collaborates with Qualcomm on New Venture
This new joint effort is geared toward bringing Ubuntu and Ubuntu Core to Qualcomm-powered devices.
-
Kodi 21.0 Open-Source Entertainment Hub Released
After a year of development, the award-winning Kodi cross-platform, media center software is now available with many new additions and improvements.
-
Linux Usage Increases in Two Key Areas
If market share is your thing, you'll be happy to know that Linux is on the rise in two areas that, if they keep climbing, could have serious meaning for Linux's future.
-
Vulnerability Discovered in xz Libraries
An urgent alert for Fedora 40 has been posted and users should pay attention.
-
Canonical Bumps LTS Support to 12 years
If you're worried that your Ubuntu LTS release won't be supported long enough to last, Canonical has a surprise for you in the form of 12 years of security coverage.
-
Fedora 40 Beta Released Soon
With the official release of Fedora 40 coming in April, it's almost time to download the beta and see what's new.
-
New Pentesting Distribution to Compete with Kali Linux
SnoopGod is now available for your testing needs
-
Juno Computers Launches Another Linux Laptop
If you're looking for a powerhouse laptop that runs Ubuntu, the Juno Computers Neptune 17 v6 should be on your radar.