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We've just recently finished a proof-of-concept site called 'isitopen'. It is designed to allow users submit and review consumer devices regarding how 'open' th

We've just recently finished a proof-of-concept site called 'isitopen'. It is designed to allow users submit and review consumer devices regarding how 'open' they are (i.e. available source-code, documentation, standardized plugs, etc.) We've hit a point where we don't know where to go from here, whether the idea is even a good one, or how to market it. Comments?

timmaah 17y ago
It is designed to allow users... Put that on the front page, not hidden in a FAQ on the about page.
jrnkntl 17y ago
It is designed... Ho, stop, by who? The lay-out isn't very appealing and looks like it's still under construction. I get the idea of the site, but, what do you want to say with it? People who care about open-ness of their 'to-buy'-device are more likely to do their own research, this site helps with that, but does it really fill a gap?
- gdp 17y ago
  Ditto on the last point. It doesn't seem to be about hardware compatibility as such, rather some intangible "openness" quality. If I were interested in the openness as an inherently valuable trait, then I would probably care about other things like the ethical and environmental credentials of the manufacturer (because I probably care about non-functional traits). If I'm looking for information on the ability of my hardware to interact with particular software, then surely the "hardware compatibility" section of that software's web site would be my first place to look? I guess I just don't see the gap that this is filling. I like the idea of power plug proprietary-ness being written down somewhere, but if it were a real problem, I could probably find that information in user reviews on Amazon or similar. So I'm just not sure that I can think of any instances where I would want to use a site that only tells me about the ideological aspects of my purchase, without particular reference to what the real hardware/software compatibility situation is, and which similarly doesn't give you the whole story in terms of whether I should buy from this manufacturer or not. So in short, I wouldn't use it, sorry.
- jackflap 17y ago
  Sorry, I should have disclaimed. The site is very much alpha, so there are plans for a layout overhaul still. We've only just got something basic working and wanted to get some feedback before continuing. As someone who's done a lot of research into how open a device is before they buy, I've found that I spend a lot of time searching for products which meet my needs. The site should help cut down the time needed in order to find open products. Whether it fills a specific gap is debatable. Perhaps we should look at building the user-driven 'review' aspect of the site more, and let people discuss functionality more.
jkent 17y ago
The links at the bottom seem to refer to SourceForge's privacy/terms and digitalfortress.co.uk. I don't get how the front page comparing different device categories' openness is useful. I find an index more useful with like-for-like items.
wensing 17y ago
How about some sort of browser plugin that works with Amazon or other sites and automatically shows your openness numbers for whatever device I'm looking at?

timmaah 17y ago

It is designed to allow users... Put that on the front page, not hidden in a FAQ on the about page.

jrnkntl 17y ago

It is designed... Ho, stop, by who? The lay-out isn't very appealing and looks like it's still under construction. I get the idea of the site, but, what do you want to say with it? People who care about open-ness of their 'to-buy'-device are more likely to do their own research, this site helps with that, but does it really fill a gap?

gdp 17y ago
Ditto on the last point. It doesn't seem to be about hardware compatibility as such, rather some intangible "openness" quality. If I were interested in the openness as an inherently valuable trait, then I would probably care about other things like the ethical and environmental credentials of the manufacturer (because I probably care about non-functional traits). If I'm looking for information on the ability of my hardware to interact with particular software, then surely the "hardware compatibility" section of that software's web site would be my first place to look? I guess I just don't see the gap that this is filling. I like the idea of power plug proprietary-ness being written down somewhere, but if it were a real problem, I could probably find that information in user reviews on Amazon or similar. So I'm just not sure that I can think of any instances where I would want to use a site that only tells me about the ideological aspects of my purchase, without particular reference to what the real hardware/software compatibility situation is, and which similarly doesn't give you the whole story in terms of whether I should buy from this manufacturer or not. So in short, I wouldn't use it, sorry.
jackflap 17y ago
Sorry, I should have disclaimed. The site is very much alpha, so there are plans for a layout overhaul still. We've only just got something basic working and wanted to get some feedback before continuing. As someone who's done a lot of research into how open a device is before they buy, I've found that I spend a lot of time searching for products which meet my needs. The site should help cut down the time needed in order to find open products. Whether it fills a specific gap is debatable. Perhaps we should look at building the user-driven 'review' aspect of the site more, and let people discuss functionality more.

jkent 17y ago

The links at the bottom seem to refer to SourceForge's privacy/terms and digitalfortress.co.uk. I don't get how the front page comparing different device categories' openness is useful. I find an index more useful with like-for-like items.

wensing 17y ago

How about some sort of browser plugin that works with Amazon or other sites and automatically shows your openness numbers for whatever device I'm looking at?