RE:rms article

[Ian Carr-de Avelon <ian@emit.pl>]

>Hi,
>
>I've been talking to Richard Stallman about the article
>on free hardware designs he wrote for LinuxToday
>(http://features.linuxtoday.com/stories/6993.html).
>
>He asked me why I had the reaction I did to it, and I
>wondered whether what I thought about it was typical, in
>that I found parts of it annoying. I'd feel happier writing
>to him about it if I was surer that anyone else had the
>same feelings. After that great wave of license related
>discussion I've ended up quite confused about what everyone
>thinks. So, does anyone have any comments about
>his article? Especially comments I could pass on [anonymously
>if wanted] ?
>
>Thanks
>Graham
>
Against his article is the point that this, exactly!, is about freedom and
not about low cost. Just because I can't get a free HI-FI does not mean
they have the right to keep it all secret from me. There is your point
about the design being as easily copied as software, but there is also
the case where it involves a device which I actually own and want to
modify, fix or interface. He makes the point himself that the interface
should be open, but only the design fully specifies what will happen
under all circumstances, with all the interfaces ie. anywhere I can 
solder not just the sockets.
The point that chips can be programed via the printer port and whole
PCs may be made of them, gives a vision of increasing similarity with
PCs and their software. Specialist chips on multilayer boards gives 
a view of a future where everything in every electronic device is
secret.
I think that the main things the discusion has raised are:
1) uncertainty as to what rights a hardware designer has when he shows 
a design. We under stand that a schematic is how to make a device, but
the court may consider the schematic as a wall paper design, and another
schematic of the same device as another wall paper design. If the
design files on a CD or FTP site mean that you have given it away,
no GPL style licence added to the directory will get you an inch futher.
You may as well save that disk space.
2) There is devision amongst possible contributers as to whether they 
want to make their designs free to look at, or free to implement and
whether there should be some infectious character. It looks like 
there is scope for a whole gamate of free and open licences in hardware,
just as in software. But problem 1 remains.

Yours
Ian