4 ms·

Can we please not call open sourcing a build plan of off the shelf components, open-source "hardware design". I don't think backblaze called their case designs

by daveguy 11y ago

Can we please not call open sourcing a build plan of off the shelf components, open-source "hardware design". I don't think backblaze called their case designs open source hardware. It just doesn't fit when we have open source circuit board designs. How about open-source build specification instead?

nickpsecurity 11y ago
I agree we should differentiate between the types of open-sourcing. Open-source hardware should either be the umbrella term or the specific one for open-source circuits. Open-source build is one phrase for this sort of thing. Maybe configuration would be another. Seems tricky given we usually call a collection of components on PCB's and such a computer, hardware design, server, or so on. Putting open-source in front of them doesn't make it clear how much is open-source. That might be what we need to resolve. Anybody have ideas?
atYevP 11y ago
Yev from Backblaze here -> Call it whatever you want to call it, as long as it's not "late for dinner". Wakka wakka wakka!
- Throwaway10323 11y ago
  Do you just watch ycombiner, reddit, and other sites all the time or do you use something to crawl the sites to see whenever someone says "Backblaze"?
  - atYevP 11y ago
    Hi! No, I use a program for that, it's actually kinda cool, though I don't get "alerts" I just monitor it. It's mention.net. Highly recommend it if you have a lot of internet chatter you want to stay ahead of. Funny story, Ycombinator is one of the reasons I got it. Since there's no great way to keep track of threads, it was a way for me to catalog and follow up with threads in these posts.
    - Throwaway10323 11y ago
      Interesting. Thanks.
nl 11y ago
I think you are completely underestimating (or misunderstanding) what this is. The Open Compute designs (which is where this will end up) aren't just a list of parts. They include things like blueprints for custom chassis, circuit boards for power supplies and even designs for solid state storage devices[1][2][3]. The also include the source code for custom management software[4]. While it is true that they don't generally design their own logic boards, it is quite a long way from a list of parts. I don't think backblaze called their case designs open source hardware. You'd be wrong about that: This new Storage Pod performs four times faster, is simpler to assemble, and delivers our lowest cost per gigabyte of data storage yet. And, once again, it’s open source.[5] I think "open source" is completely appropriate here, and to be honest I don't quite understand your objection. [1] http://www.opencompute.org/wiki/Server/SpecsAndDesigns http://www.opencompute.org/wiki/Server/SpecsAndDesigns [2] http://www.opencompute.org/projects/chassis/ http://www.opencompute.org/projects/chassis/ [3] http://www.opencompute.org/projects/power-supply/ http://www.opencompute.org/projects/power-supply/ [4] http://www.opencompute.org/projects/hardware-management/ http://www.opencompute.org/projects/hardware-management/ [5] https://www.backblaze.com/blog/backblaze-storage-pod-4/ https://www.backblaze.com/blog/backblaze-storage-pod-4/
- daveguy 11y ago
  I wasn't saying it shouldn't be called "open source". I was saying it shouldn't be called open source "hardware design".
  - wyldfire 11y ago
    Hardware design isn't limited to gates, PCB traces and ASICs. This seems remarkably like hardware design to me. As much as you might not agree, plans for building a birdhouse constitute hardware design too.
    - avar 11y ago
      Plans for building a birdhouse are completely incomparable to what the parent is talking about. This would be like me having an "open source" birdhouse design where the birdhouse is made of glued-together Intel™ processors. Sure I've opened the schematics, but unlike a birdhouse made from wood you have zero chance of being able to build one from scratch on your own, or sourcing the Intel™ processors from another vendor. This is the same reason for why if I release the binary of a program produced with a secret compiler as "open source" I'll be laughed at, it completely goes against the spirit of the thing, which is that anyone should be able to change any part of the thing I've released. It's good that they're doing this. But it's completely incomparable to actual fully open source hardware.
samstave 11y ago
Open spec? Open planning? Open what??? Open sharing??
- daveguy 11y ago
  Open source open source open source. Design, build, specification -- anything but hardware. The hardware is the part of this that is not open source.
mikeash 11y ago
From Backblaze's latest storage pod blog post: "As always, the Storage Pod design is open source...."

by daveguy 11y ago

nickpsecurity 11y ago

I agree we should differentiate between the types of open-sourcing. Open-source hardware should either be the umbrella term or the specific one for open-source circuits. Open-source build is one phrase for this sort of thing. Maybe configuration would be another. Seems tricky given we usually call a collection of components on PCB's and such a computer, hardware design, server, or so on. Putting open-source in front of them doesn't make it clear how much is open-source. That might be what we need to resolve. Anybody have ideas?

atYevP 11y ago

Yev from Backblaze here -> Call it whatever you want to call it, as long as it's not "late for dinner". Wakka wakka wakka!

Throwaway10323 11y ago
Do you just watch ycombiner, reddit, and other sites all the time or do you use something to crawl the sites to see whenever someone says "Backblaze"?
- atYevP 11y ago
  Hi! No, I use a program for that, it's actually kinda cool, though I don't get "alerts" I just monitor it. It's mention.net. Highly recommend it if you have a lot of internet chatter you want to stay ahead of. Funny story, Ycombinator is one of the reasons I got it. Since there's no great way to keep track of threads, it was a way for me to catalog and follow up with threads in these posts.
  - Throwaway10323 11y ago
    Interesting. Thanks.

nl 11y ago

I think you are completely underestimating (or misunderstanding) what this is. The Open Compute designs (which is where this will end up) aren't just a list of parts. They include things like blueprints for custom chassis, circuit boards for power supplies and even designs for solid state storage devices[1][2][3]. The also include the source code for custom management software[4]. While it is true that they don't generally design their own logic boards, it is quite a long way from a list of parts. I don't think backblaze called their case designs open source hardware. You'd be wrong about that: This new Storage Pod performs four times faster, is simpler to assemble, and delivers our lowest cost per gigabyte of data storage yet. And, once again, it’s open source.[5] I think "open source" is completely appropriate here, and to be honest I don't quite understand your objection. [1] http://www.opencompute.org/wiki/Server/SpecsAndDesigns http://www.opencompute.org/wiki/Server/SpecsAndDesigns [2] http://www.opencompute.org/projects/chassis/ http://www.opencompute.org/projects/chassis/ [3] http://www.opencompute.org/projects/power-supply/ http://www.opencompute.org/projects/power-supply/ [4] http://www.opencompute.org/projects/hardware-management/ http://www.opencompute.org/projects/hardware-management/ [5] https://www.backblaze.com/blog/backblaze-storage-pod-4/ https://www.backblaze.com/blog/backblaze-storage-pod-4/

daveguy 11y ago
I wasn't saying it shouldn't be called "open source". I was saying it shouldn't be called open source "hardware design".
- wyldfire 11y ago
  Hardware design isn't limited to gates, PCB traces and ASICs. This seems remarkably like hardware design to me. As much as you might not agree, plans for building a birdhouse constitute hardware design too.
  - avar 11y ago
    Plans for building a birdhouse are completely incomparable to what the parent is talking about. This would be like me having an "open source" birdhouse design where the birdhouse is made of glued-together Intel™ processors. Sure I've opened the schematics, but unlike a birdhouse made from wood you have zero chance of being able to build one from scratch on your own, or sourcing the Intel™ processors from another vendor. This is the same reason for why if I release the binary of a program produced with a secret compiler as "open source" I'll be laughed at, it completely goes against the spirit of the thing, which is that anyone should be able to change any part of the thing I've released. It's good that they're doing this. But it's completely incomparable to actual fully open source hardware.

samstave 11y ago

Open spec? Open planning? Open what??? Open sharing??

daveguy 11y ago
Open source open source open source. Design, build, specification -- anything but hardware. The hardware is the part of this that is not open source.

mikeash 11y ago

From Backblaze's latest storage pod blog post: "As always, the Storage Pod design is open source...."