Re: the open source 'thing'

Chris L,

It seems you "don't get" the open source thing. That's okay - not
everyone is bothered by having to accept that things they dislike are
unchangeable, and in fact many things that are theoretically
changeable about even open source packages are beyond the capabilities
of most of their users to change - but the possiblity is always there
if one wants to learn how or seek help from someone who already knows how.

Let me try to construct an analogy.

Suppose a company started offering an "everyman's lathe" which was
reasonably priced and reasonably featured. We'd all want it, right?
But there is a catch - almost all of the machine is a single casting.
The screw and bearings inserted at the factory, and then end blocks
are welded on. And it is all made of a material so hard that even
carbide can't cut it (yet somehow the bed abrades at a normal rate ;-)

You are free to machine any part you like with this machine (you can
even use any cad package to design it, hire any operator you like, and
swear at it in the language of your choice) as long as you do it in a
way the manufacturer planned for. Because you can't change anything
about the machine - you can't retrofit better screws, put a VFD on the
motor, take off the chuck and switch to collets, fit a dro, or hang a
stepper or servos on it for CNC.

It's still a decent machine... and may get the job done quite well for
many people who are content to work within its designed abilities... at
least as long as the company that made it stays in business.

Now look at my South Bend lathes... they have their limits, sure. But
they are made out of nice stuff to drill mounting holes in (cast
iron), they come with good manuals and diagrams, they are designed
with the assumption that users will maintain them, and just about
everything comes off by undoing bolts, and parts (both original and
adaptations from other suppliers) are available 40-50 years after they
were made. I could, if I wanted to badly enough, change anything
about that machine (indeed, I keep thinking of making a native 5C
headstock for the 9-incher, and I am converting both of them to CNC in
a way that still permits manual operation) up to and including
replacing the entire thing bit by bit.

That is what open source means to me. It may not mean a thing to you,
and that is fine.

Chris Stratton

-------------------------------------------------
Christopher C. Stratton
Engineer, Instrument Maker, and Horn Player
ccs@... 617 628 1062
http://web.mit.edu/~stratton/www/brassbuild.html