World is no more closed !

Most of the people confuse Open Source movement as something confined to the software and related areas, but in reality Open Source is not only the making of a license free software world, it's beyond that. Let's see how Open Source ideas are taken into fields other than computing and software.There are several Projects and Communities motivated by the Open Source ideology. Like Open Source Hardware and BlinkenLights Project. These things shows us how Open Source technologies can better the life experience in much better and creative ways. Yeah the world is no more closed to creative ideas. Express yourself with Open Source Technologies.

BlinkenLights

BlinkenLights Project is one of the best examples for how crazy and creative Open Source ideas can be, and how it can change the way the world works.
On September 11th, 2001 the famous "Haus des Lehrers" (house of the teacher) building at Berlin Alexanderplatz has been enhanced to become world's biggest interactive computer display: Blinkenlights.



The upper eight floors of the building were transformed in to a huge display by arranging 144 lamps behind the building's front windows. A computer controlled each of the lamps independently to produce a monochrome matrix of 18 times 8 pixels. There was an interactive component, which enabled users to play old arcade classic Pong using the mobiles or placing love letters or animations on the Screen.Even a software called BlinkenPaint was created and made available as Free software which enabled users to create their own animations.

Free Beer (I'm not kidding!)

The project Free Beer, originally conceived by Copenhagen-based artist collective Superflex and students at the Copenhagen IT University, applies modern free software / open source methods to a traditional real-world product - namely the alcoholic beverage loved and enjoyed globally, and commonly known as beer.



The recipe and branding elements of FREE BEER is published under a Creative Commons (Attribution-ShareAlike 2.5) license, which means that anyone can use the recipe to brew their own FREE BEER or create a derivative of the recipe. Anyone is free to earn money from FREE BEER but they must publish the recipe under the same license.

RadioVeRVe

RadioVeRVe is an internet radio station operating out of Bangalore, India. It differentiates itself from other FM and internet radio stations by focusing exclusively on independent music from India.


Even though It's not an open Source project. The infrastructure for the radio station has been completely based on open source software.

Open source hardware

Open source hardware/Open source Electronics refers to computer and electronic hardware that is designed in the same fashion as free and open-source software.

Open source hardware is part of the open source culture that takes the open source ideas to fields other than software. An example of this is the Simputer project.

XKCD - A webcomic of romance,sarcasm, math, and language.

XKCD, a geek humor comic created by Randall Munroe a former contractor for Nasa. XKCD is Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 2.5 License . This means it's free to copy and share these comics




There are so many such open projects, that are currently involved in changing the world from the way it worked. May be you will be the one behind next major project :). Happy Open Sourcing.

Arduino - Open source electronics prototyping platform

Exceptionally boring classes made me think about some alternatives, so that I can get myself engaged in something. And some how I ended up googling about electronics. Amazingly my fingers led me to Arduino - an Open Source electronics prototyping platform.

Arduino

Arduino is an open-source electronics prototyping platform based on flexible, easy-to-use hardware and software. It's intended for artists, designers, hobbyists, and anyone interested in creating interactive objects or environments.

Arduino can sense the environment by receiving input from a variety of sensors and can affect its surroundings by controlling lights, motors, and other actuators. The microcontroller on the board is programmed using the Arduino programming language (based on Wiring) and the Arduino development environment (based on Processing). Arduino projects can be stand-alone or they can communicate with software on running on a computer (e.g. Flash, Processing, MaxMSP).

Why Arduino ?

Some of my friends are working on some electronics projects and all the time when something goes wrong they have to replace some parts or remake it again. But the open source nature of Arduino initiated projects like Fritzing, which made the job of enthusiasts much less and interesting. Anyone with common sense can understand how these stuff works and can get started in a few hours or days. The strong community support is always available whenever we are in the middle of trouble.

What is Fritzing ?

Fritzing is essentially an Electronic Design Automation software with a low entry barrier, suited for the needs of designers and artists. It uses the metaphor of the breadboard, so that it is easy to transfer your hardware sketch to the software. From there it is possible to create PCB layouts for turning it into a robust PCB yourself or by help of a manufacturer.

I'm interested. But..Where Should I start ?

The getting started section of Arduino site is complete with instructions to install and documentations to help you on the go. You can access the page here - http://arduino.cc/en/Guide/

The Arduino forum is another place where you can actively discuss your problems, doubts and suggestions. Everyone out there are so helpful and cooperative. Check out - http://www.arduino.cc/cgi-bin/yabb2/

You can also checkout http://fritzing.org/learning/ for learning more about Fritzing project.