Ancestors

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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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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Toot

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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Descendants

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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