On Mon, 13 Dec 2010 09:02:15 +0000 andrew whyte <[email protected]> wrote:
> Hi Everyone, > > I realise that I am joining a very established thread, but I'd like > to put forward 2 cents worth. Please don't be offended if what I'm > saying isn't the same as your opinion. I have used gEDA as the main > (but not only) tool for EDA in my company for two and a half years, I > don't fully understand it - but I can use it for everything that I > need to do (principally draw schematics & layout PCBs). > > I know companies that would like to use gEDA, but must support a > back catalogue of designs that were created using other tools. That > is to say that they have no choice but to pay for their EDA tools. > > These people do pay alot for thier tools, but they have no chioce! > As a gEDA user, I am not tied to it, and can use whatever software > suits me. > > In an open software model, the companies choose to use a given tool > because it is the most cost effective in an open marketplace. Whilst > anyone who uses the tool is grateful to those who have created it, > they don't owe anything to the developers who have published their > source. Guilt complexes won't work on any shrewd business person; > and I doubt those tactics are what we want to be doing if we are to > encourage the adoption of gEDA as a standard tool in the industry > anyway. This sounds very negative, so I'll try to describe how I > think funding might be found. > > Because of the GERBER standard, FOSS stands a chance of creating > competitive tools for EDA, this is much more difficult in areas where > open standards don't exist. > > I don't know if this has come up before in this thread, but my > opinion is that we may be able to shake down the relevant industry > groups & government bodies. gEDA is special because it opens the > marketplace to SMEs. It seems to me that empowering individuals and > companies is the purpose of groups like the IEEE (& the IET in the > UK). Maybe they could spare some money for the development of a tool > that could bring a new standard to the development of electronic > products? Right now there is a big push to help small business hit by > the recession - perhaps governments might have the right buttons > pushed too? FOSS is about community and openness and opportunities > for all... right? Negotiating with IEEE is a good idea. I wouldn't ask for money (first time), but I'd ask them to put links to our website, or give them lectures about the project. I wouldn't go with a commercial company. We should stay open, and neutral. Levente -- Kovacs Levente <[email protected]> Voice: +36705071002 _______________________________________________ geda-user mailing list [email protected] http://www.seul.org/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/geda-user
