As validated by companies from Google and Cafe Press to Nike and Toyota, there is a growing demand for "open" and hackable systems, and manufacturers in virtually every industry are heeding the call to offer customization and personalization at the individual scale. As it becomes evident the extent by which online communities spur and foster innovation, the consumer electronics industry is ripe for disruption, in the same way that open source and the web have transformed software development. In this session, Peter will provide an overview of open source hardware, discuss how customization and personalization benefit individual consumers and device manufacturers, what opportunities lie ahead for individual entrepreneurs catering to the "long tail" of gadgets, and how the vast untapped pool of creativity among developers and individuals will flip the $171bn CE industry on its head.
http://2008.sxsw.com/interactive/programming/panels_schedule/?action=show&id=IAP060411
