Linux users, do you really understand the open source hardware?

Linux users do not know a bit about the manufacturing of open source hardware, they often fall into the mood of disappointment.

Business software and freeware software have been entangled for many years, but these two often misunderstand each other. It's not surprising-it's business for one side, and the other is just a way of life. But this misunderstanding can be painful, and that is why it is worth the effort to expose the inside.

An increasingly common phenomenon: an ongoing attempt to open source hardware, whether canonical,jolla,makeplaylive, or any other company. Whether a commentator or an end-user, a free software user will often be overly enthusiastic about the release of the new hardware platform, and then wake up to the delay until it finally abandons the entire product.

This is a vicious circle where no one benefits, and often breeds mistrust-because the average Linux user doesn't know what's going on behind the news.

I personally have limited experience in bringing products to market. But I haven't heard of anyone who can make a breakthrough. The introduction of an open source hardware or other product to the market is still not only a brutal business, but also a serious disadvantage to the new manufacturers.

Find a Partner

Whether the production of digital products or distribution are controlled by a relatively small number of companies, sometimes it takes months to book. Margins are also very low, so like the movie studios that buy old sitcoms, manufacturers generally want to replicate the success of current hot selling products. As Aaron Seigo told me when he spent his energy developing the Vivaldi tablet, the producers wanted to be able to take on the risk of developing new products by other people.

Not only that, they want to work with people who have a ready-made sales record that could lead to long-term customer business.

In addition, the general new manufacturers are concerned about the products only thousands of of the volume. Chip makers are more willing to work with companies like Apple or Samsung because their orders are likely to be dozens of of millions.

In this case, open source hardware manufacturers may find themselves submerged in the list of factories unless they can find a second or three-tier plant willing to try small batches to produce new products.

They may also become part of the procurement of finished components and assemble themselves, just as Seigo tried to Vivaldi. Or maybe they can do it like canonical, looking for partners who are willing to risk their business. And even if they succeed, they will generally be delayed for months than the original naïve expectations.

Bumps into the market

However, looking for a producer is just the first level. Based on the experience of the Raspberry Pi project, even if open source hardware makers want to run free software on their products, manufacturers are likely to stick to proprietary firmware or drivers in the name of protecting trade secrets.

This inevitably leads to criticism from potential users, but open source hardware makers have no choice but to compromise their vision. Finding other manufacturers does not solve the problem, one reason is that it means more delays, but more because there is no hardware that is completely free of licensing fees. Industry giants like Samsung don't have any interest in free hardware, and as newcomers, open source hardware makers have no leverage to ask for anything.

Furthermore, even with free hardware, manufacturers cannot guarantee that they will be used in the next batch of production. Manufacturers will easily find that they have to fight the exact same battle every time they need to produce.

None of this is enough, and it may have taken 6-12 months for open source hardware makers to haggle over the time. As the opportunity finally comes, industry standards have changed, so they may have to upgrade their product specifications and start over again.

The short and brutal shelf life

Despite all the difficulties, a certain degree of open hardware was finally launched. Do you remember the challenge of finding a manufacturer? There will be the same problem for distributors-not just once, but every region.

Typically, distributors and generators are as conservative as they are, and are cautious about dealing with newcomers or new ideas. Even if they agree to a product on the shelves, they can easily decide not to encourage their sales reps to promote it, which means the product will be efficient underground for a few months.

Of course, online sales are also possible. But at the same time, the hardware needs to be stored somewhere, which also adds to the cost. On-demand production is expensive, even if possible, and components that are not assembled need to be stored.

Measure the whole weird thing.

I'm just a cursory summary here, but anyone involved in manufacturing will agree with what I describe as an industry standard. What's worse, open source hardware makers usually have to be aware of themselves only after they have experienced it. Inevitably, they also make mistakes, which leads to more delays.

But the point is, once you know the whole process, your reaction to the news of another open source hardware experiment will change. This process means that unless a company is in a strict secrecy model, a statement that the product will be released within six months will soon prove to be overdue. It is likely to be 12-18 months, and in the face of the difficulties mentioned before, it is likely to mean that the product will never be really released.

For example, as I wrote, people wait for the first generation of steam machines to be available, which is a Linux-based game console. They believe that steam machines can revolutionize Linux and games.

As a market segment, Steam machines may be more advantageous than other new products, because the people involved in the development have at least experience developing software products. However, a whole year later, the development of steam machines was only a prototype, and it was not necessarily available until 2015. Faced with the actual situation of hardware production, even half can see the sun is very lucky. In fact, it may be more practical to release 2-4 units.

I made this prediction without considering the individual effort. However, the understanding of hardware production, compared to those of Linux and games, such as the golden age of predictions, I think this is more reliable. I would be happy if I was wrong, but the truth would not change: it is not surprising that so many Linux-related hardware products have failed, but those that have been short-lived but successful.

Via:http://www.datamation.com/open-source/what-linux-users-should-know-about-open-hardware-1.html

Bruce Byfield Translator: zpl1025 proofreading: Mr Small eyes

• This article is from: Linux Tutorial Network

Linux users, do you really understand the open source hardware?