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Neuros has a logo / idea so you can tell which devices are DRM free. "Unlocked". Maybe they could also include URL on the device where you can download the open firmware, schematics, source etc... We'll do our best to do that and will continue to try and keep our little store stock with open hardware here at MAKE. Anyway, this is a good start, maybe we'll see some indicator of open products as more vendors move away for FairPlaysforSureVistaReadyEtc -
In response to the branded, proprietary DRM schemes like Microsoft's "plays for sure" and Apple's "FairPlay," Neuros has created an "Unlocked" Media trademark to promote the concept of open standard DRM-Free files that can be stored and played anywhere.Unlocked Media - open.neurostechnology.com - Link.We hope that other organizations (community and for profit) will adopt this mark for products that generate such files (or stores that sell such files), and create a grass roots movement in support of unlocked files and put consumers back in control of their media.
More:
If you can't open it, you don't own it: a Maker's Bill of Rights to accessible, extensive, and repairable hardware - Link (PDF).
I like it. To bad someone didn't tell Nasa when they built the Saturn and Apollo rocket series.
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Just one quibble:
Replace "Metric or standard, not both." with:
"Metric is standard."
Hellllloooo USA - this is the 21st century calling! Anyone home?
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I think you missed the word "non" in the penultimate clause:
"Metric or NON-standard, not both".
But I'm still not sure what you're getting at; on the PCBs I build, some components have metric dimensions (e.g. 2 mm pin headers); others have, well, also metric dimensions like 1.26 mm pin headers; when I see an irregular number like this I presume that it's something that makes sense to Americans. So, you want me to not use both? That's quite hard with ICs (e.g. 2.54 mm DILs and 1.0 mm SOICs), and I'm not sure why you care.
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There is a lot of metric stuff in the US; we have both kinds of wrenches, and it's not a big deal. (We also have things like Torx that are neither metric nor inch-based.)
A better rule might be to make sure all the fasteners on a given device can be opened with just one or two wrenches. This is already the case on a lot of machinery, both metric and otherwise. I buy extra wrenches of certain sizes because they're used for so many things.
Doesn't anyone want to comment on the "unlocked" logo?
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I'm not sure why this "unlocked" trademark is getting so much coverage... sure, it's great that a large corporate dvr maker would make a drm-free device, but to create a buzzword trademark while drm is still getting media coverage, is little more than a cheap cash-grab by a for-profit, closed-source, same as every other, device manufacturer.
As far as I can tell, this is not an open standard or a label that will be adopted by other companies offering drm-free products, but an ad-word specifically for Neuros(TM) branded products.
Anyways, Metric is the global standard. What americans use is called the imperial system, and is a primitive throwback from the roman ages... To imply that it's "standard" or normal is a stunning display of american ignorance.
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I'd say the metric system is more of a global standard than what you call "standard".
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"Power from USB is good" -- but ONLY if it's a proper USB device. If it violates the USB spec, it's bad.
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