Ancestors

Toot

Written by Eric McCorkle on 2024-12-28 at 21:55

Realization: the idiotic tendency to cram IoT/"AI" into every-fucking-thing may well end up creating the economic incentive to bootstrap an open-source/maker economy for household devices.

It doesn't take a while lot anymore to image a world where the most reliable way to get things that don't spy on you/lock you out is to pay someone at your local maker space to fab you something, or do it yourself.

[#]maker #OSS #OpenSource #DIY

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Descendants

Written by Eric McCorkle on 2024-12-28 at 21:56

Similar effects have benefitted the OSS movement considerably over the years.

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Written by Eric McCorkle on 2024-12-29 at 01:31

Alright, picking this thread back up again...

So I have a whole concept of an essay about this, but I'll summarize here.

The basic idea is there's a whole potential craftworker economy that can grow out of the maker movement. I don't see this being mainstream, certainly not outrunning the consumer economy, but that's not the point.

OSS never played by the rules of the mainsteram. It was never about being a monopoly. It was about being an option.

[#]maker #OSS #OpenSource

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Written by Eric McCorkle on 2024-12-29 at 01:35

So there's a whole concept I might call an "anti-brand", or maybe a 'cobrand" (mathematical lingo). Rather than iron conformity, it's more the theme, but infinitely remixed.

Analogue: take something from OSS like, say, FreeBSD, or KDE, or whatever. OSS projects have evolved over time to support wide variations. Eric's KDE installation isn't exactly yours, isn't exactly Joe's, etc. But there's commonalities.

Now apply this to real, physical goods, and imagine the possibilities there.

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Written by Eric McCorkle on 2024-12-29 at 01:40

So now imagine what this looks like, in an alternate economy where you have an entire set of open-source designs that can be remixed and adapted however much you like. You have a whole system of craftworkers who can help with this, and who can fab all this for you if you like.

My guess is this could produce plenty of demand to support a whole workforce.

(Like seriously, I would source all my clothes this way if I could; I'm too damn busy to make them myself)

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Written by Eric McCorkle on 2024-12-29 at 01:54

Anyway, there's a whole essay that's been brewing in my head about this for some time now. I'll write it up at some point.

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Written by Out with the Chad, in with the on 2024-12-28 at 21:58

@emc2 Oh holy shit that sounds so good. I want to be a friendly local techsmith who always has a side quest available for adventuring parties

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Written by Alfredo on 2024-12-29 at 01:40

@emc2 Like this? https://write.as/leastaction/smart-tvs

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Written by Justin Derrick on 2024-12-29 at 15:28

@emc2 I would love nothing more than to have open source firmware for my smart TV. Like how OpenWRT is available for hundreds of models of WiFi routers, etc.

The snag is that it doesn’t really scale - who do you cal when your TV gets bricked? It needs QA & testing & support…. People have no patience for experiencing bugs in a “solved problem” like a reliable television displays… but the moment you introduce a support payment, popularity fades fast.

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