On Friday 24 November 2006 13:03, Hamie wrote: > > Moving on from that... I know what I think OpenHardware means. But > wheather that means the same to other people is a big question... And > I do find myself with second & third thoughts regarding the matter. > > If no-one objects to the slightly OT question, I'd like to solicit > opinions from people as to what THEY consider open hardware means... > Some points I'd like to think about include... > > 1. Does an open (e.g. fully documented) register interface and > instructions (mnemomnics and assembly) constitute as at least > partially open hardware? This would include most microprocessors... > And possibly be a contenscious issue with many people...
I'd call that open standards compliant. Just like StarOffice is proprietary software, but it communicates with the outside world in ODF, which is an open standard. Similarly, for example the x86 instruction set could be considered an open standard, and there are various processors that support it. > 2. Or does open hardware to people mean you have to include the > rights to copy at the HDL level? I'd say so. > 3. Somewhere between... Where does closed firmware come into it? If > the HDL is available, and the driver is available, what if most of > the value add are in closed source firmware? Should a vendor be able > to take open source hardware, add closed source firmware & use open > source software for the driver? Good question. > 4. Should the OHF define multiple levels of open? Or just one? I think that OHF could support open standards compliant hardware, but I think the focus should lie on hardware for which the design is available under an open licence. Lourens
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