Open Source Ecology Forums

elifarley

David wrote:

Hi all,

I'm an engineering student and want to find others in Ireland who

1. are interested in non-commercial culture, and

2. are interested in open-source software/hardware.

I am hoping to help establish a hub for "semi-commercial" initiatives

in Dublin in the near future.

Specifically, there are two things I'd like to do:

1. help to set up a "sharespace" somewhere in the greater Dublin area

2. help to set up a partly-commercial engineering initiative.

I say "partly-" or "semi-" commercial because - although this would be

a genuine and concrete effort at bringing about non-commercial

alternatives - we obviously need a certain amount of money for various

reasons in the medium-term. So we need to figure out some sort of

compromise - and this probably means engaging in commerce to a certain

extent.

The first project I have in mind is Repraps - i.e. building, selling

and sharing them - but we could look into a lot of other projects as

time advances. E.g., in due course we could explore designs such as

Elphel cameras, USRP (Universal Software Radio Peripherals), DSO Nano

(open-source digital oscilloscope), SLS wax printers (followed by lost-

wax casting) etc..

Technically, we would probably be declaring ourselves legally as a

business of some sort - but a significant amount of the work done

would be done on a non-commercial basis. What portion of the work done

would be commercial and what portion non-commercial would probably

vary over time - and is something we could figure out as we go along.

The general maxim would be this: if we have the time and wherewithal

to help people outside a commercial context - and if we have some sort

of assurance as to the trustworthiness of their character - we do so.

Whenever we fear that these practices might compromise our commercial

viability, we stand back and reevaluate. So we try to focus first-and-

foremost on the intrinsic value of the work we are doing - but we also

make allowances for the "way of the world".

I raised this issue on the Reprap Ireland forums recently:

Finally, I am involved with an informal group called "Sharing

welcome to get involved in that also (as of yet it is solely an online

community).

If anyone is interested, don't hesitate to contact me. And forward

this to anyone you think might be interested.

David