On March 17th, 2010 a bunch of folks got together at an event at EYEBEAM called “Opening Hardware” … It was the start of many many things…

Title:
Opening Hardware: a workshop on legal tools for open source hardware

Date: Wednesday March 17th, 2010

Location:
Eyebeam center for Art and Technology,
540 west 21st street, between 10th and 11th avenue (closer to 11th)
closest subway: C or E at 23rd street
closest bus: M23 West bound
The door should be open, but if you have any problems getting in, please contact us at the numbers below

Time:
1:30pm to 7pm
There will be coffee and light snacks

Agenda:
1:30- 2:00 : Welcome and Intros by Ayah Bdeir and John Wilbanks
2:00-3:30: Teaching session on IP and open source by Thinh Nguyen and John Wilbanks, dialogue on possible standards for open source hardware licensing
3:30-4:00: Break
4:00-6:00: Lightly moderated interactive discussion and whiteboard exercise with the group
6:00-7:00: Cheese and wine wrap-up sponsored by Creative Commons

Organizers:
ayah, john, thinh and ted

After the meeting, STUFF happened. Within a few months there was a draft of the Open-source hardware definition (June 2010), and lots of folks started getting involved in the electronic’s industry. Hardware files and code started to get released more since it was define better as to what “open-source hardware” was and was not. CADSoft EAGLE (now owned by AutoDesk, agreed to do an XML export after many of us contacted them and outlined why it would be helpful for open-source hardware makers(October 2010).

I do not think open-source hardware would have taken off as much as it has over the last decade had it not been for this specific meeting and everyone who attended.

On the Eyebeam site the project/event is no longer listed and it’s not on the Wayback Machine either.

Update: 11/12/2019, the pages was found, it’s here: https://www.eyebeam.org/events/opening-hardware/

HOWEVER! I knew this was going to be a historic meeting so I scanned the paper handout, it’s above. Turns out a scan of a paper thing can last longer than a lot of website pages from 10 years ago.

There IS a Flickr photo group that has some of the photos, include the group photo above!

Open source hardware month @ Adafruit:

• The Open Source Gift Guide, the early years – Day 9, 10/9/2019 (posted it on 10/10/2019, whoops)
• Before the iPhone, before the Raspberry Pi, before Amazon Echo Show, there was Chumby – Day 8, 10/8/2019.
• Mitch Altman Open-source hardware pioneer – Day 7, 10/7/2019.
• The Open Source logo(s) – Day 6, 10/6/2019.
• Open Source Hardware events all month long, EVENTS! – Day 5, 10/5/2019.
• Open Source Hardware Certifications and more! – Day 4, 10/4/2019.
• Teuthis Open Source MP3 Player 2001 – Daisy by Raphael Abrams – Day 3, 10/3/2019.
• What is the Open-Source Hardware Definition? – Day 2, 10/2/2019.
• Open hardware summit – Limor “Ladyada” Fried keynote 2010 – Day 1, 10/1/2019.

October is open-source hardware month! Every single day in October we’ll be posting up some open-source stories from the last decade (and more!) about open-source hardware, open-source software, and beyond!

Have an open-source hardware (or software) success story? A person, company, or project to celebrate? An open-source challenge? Post up here in the comments or email [email protected], we’ll be looking for, and using the tag #OHM2019 online as well! Check out all the events going on here!