Am I not understanding FOSH (free and open source hardware)? I have always dreamed of open source hardware but it has always seemed unshakeably and fundamentally reliant on for instance massive open pit mines mining all over the world in finite dwindling supply wrecking local ecosystems every element necessary for computer components, factories able to produce at scale fueled by an enormous amount of energy from god knows where, massive pollution and waste every step of the way, and every other ill of extraction and production which seems like it can only be handled by large scale industry almost entirely capitalist for the foreseeable future. Am I missing something? Is it a pipe dream? Even if we find a way to get to a point where we can sustainably and ethically develop any new hardware we need, won’t that require persisting in the mean time in the present capitalist paradigm physically? Is this just kind of a microcosm and reification of the problem of democratizing the economy anyway?
You are missing the point. Open source hardware is about the design and drivers for the hardware being open. This means that when you buy a component you get full specs and the source code to make it run. That way you are not ruining windows 3.1 in 2024 because the company that created your train software does not update it and you can’t legally replace it (this is true right now).
Or the trains in Poland that throw up phantom fault when started within certain geofences that happen to be located on the competition’s repair centers.
Yeah as I go read more it seems like what I’m more concerned with is OSAT (open source appropriate technology) where there is heavy consideration of sustainability. Also some of the things people are mentioning here which seems to kind of overlap - open source ecology, right to repair, etc. I think though I’m kind of wanting like a deliberate synthesis of all of this, the whole range of issues, almost like the intersection of ‘green politics’ and open source everything. I feel like that intersection doesn’t get nearly enough attention. I don’t know if it’s because the ‘science wars’ make it a little awkward or what.
fundamentally reliant on for instance massive open pit mines mining all over the world
Grab your spade.
Go to your garden.
Dig.Open source hardware movement != Free open source hardware movement.
I’m not sure that many are advocating the free part mainly the open part.
Ok, so should we start making CPUs at home for example?
You might be interested in the Open Source Ecology project:
Open source is knowledge, if you open source documentation about proprietary architectures in depth and other knowledge like proprietary medicine and chemicals and mining tech and those chip manufacturing machines and etc, then everything will be open source, open source is basically open knowledge for everyone, maintaining and building (compiling) and developing (forking) is still up to community and that freedom is blessing of open source, since if some influential guy decides to shut down some platform/manufacture/business it can be forked by ANYONE and enshittification would be impossible in the long run
Also, most of the people in this movement aren’t even vegan. Isn’t that completely disqualifying?!?
If we follow op logic, of the less impact possible, it should. Same about their wardrobe, does every clothes are made from free romaning savage sheeps, or gathered materials in public lands ?
