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The coevolution of open source software and hardware

Open source software has conquered the world in the last decade, and its influence has recently started to spread to how hardware is being developed. Of course hardware IS software, when you take into account that CAD has had a larger and larger role in designing circuits.

The Economist has published an excellent article “Open sesame“in its most recent Technology Quarterly about open source hardware, and how different businesses take advantage of it:

“…an emerging class of electronic devices, for which the specifications have been made public, so that enthusiasts can suggest refinements, write and share software improvements, and even build their own devices from scratch. This is not as daft as it sounds. Even if all the details needed to build something are available, few people will have the tools or the inclination to do so….”

Tags: hardware, Open Source, software