In 2005 David started working on open hardware techniques for telephony. The idea of open hardware (people collaborating to build free hardware designs just like open software) was a big experiment, especially when it came to commercial products.
Much has happened since then. New projects, and even businesses have spun out of the project. Coolest of all - open hardware products are now in volume production. People are buying and using these products - often in preference to products developed using traditional closed development models. Open hardware works!
The talk will discuss:
- open hardware business models
- differences with open software
- why open hardware is better than closed for business
- how open is open hardware
- extreme open hardware
David Rowe has 20 years experience in the development of DSP-based telephony and sat-com hardware/software. David has a wide mix of skills including software, hardware, and project management including a PhD in DSP theory. He has held executive level positions in the sat-com industry (www.dspace.com.au) and has built and successfully exited a small business (www.voicetronix.com). However he has decided he is better at debugging machines than people so currently chooses to hack telephony hardware and software full time.