Does open sourcing hurt mid-sized hardware makers?
In a recent video, Seon talked about his struggle with open sourcing his products. He’s in favor of open sourcing, obviously, and makes most of his software and...
Category: Strategy
Makers in the Mittelstand and the business of making
Long before I started tinkering in electronics, I have had a fascination with the Mittelstand. The Mittelstand refers to small- and medium-sized, usually privat...
Project hiccups already
Today is the 16th of the month. I had challenged myself to a project a month (from 15th to 15th – don’t ask). My first project was a multi-mode game...
Mundane ‘aha!’ moments, mistakes, and mental models
A while back, I bought some LED pendants that I put on my dogs when I send them our into the yard at night to do their business. The pendants help me see where ...
The Twelve Projects of Charlie
Based on my notes, on 15jul20 I will have completed one year since I started researching and designing a project for work that set me off on my crazy maker ride...
Working up to a proto step by step
I just posted a description of a tangible concept demo I recently built. There were a few new things in this, such as learning how to use the serial connection,...
Hacking hardware
This past month or so I’ve delved into hacking hardware (not building, but taking apart). I’m leading the efforts at Owl, the company I work with, t...
The value of the open source community
One of the most valuable components of open source hardware and software making is availability of code and guides built by a community around a solution, hardw...
Fun with cardboard circuits
The usual progression for making printed circuits is (very roughly) you design the circuit, prototype it on a breadboard, design your PCB, and iterate on your P...
Acquiring new skillz, one achievement and a time
I am reminded of D&D, where everyone starts at Level 1 and you need to go adventuring to gain experience. Overlaid on that, each character has their class a...