BeagleBoard.org Misson Statement (for public review)

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This has been talked about for a while, but not put into words. Please provide public comment on this proposed mission statement.

http://beagleboard.org/about/mission/

BeagleBoard.org Mission Statement

Open Everywhere Computing for Everyone

Mission is Open Everywhere Computing

BeagleBoard.org seeks to foster the advancement of open source hardware and software for building embedded computing solutions at all skill levels.

Vision is Openness Enables Everyone

Open development means sharing the ability to reproduce a craft and providing a means for refining that craft. Individuals with less defined skills are able to fully observe the skills of others to refine their skills. Contributions of individuals are collected, advancing the ability of all individuals with the basic skills of the community.

Linux plays a critical role in this vision, because no other software project has ever brought so many collaborators together and run on so many platforms. For BeagleBoard.org to be successful, it means enabling Linux developers through support in the mainline Linux kernel such that all popular Linux distros can provide support for a viable everywhere-computing platform.

Because the mainline Linux maintainers demand that capabilities not be implemented for a single device if the capability exists on multiple devices, the work that goes into the mainline kernel as a result of the BeagleBoard.org platforms is available for all platforms, making Linux more friendly for anyone using it on a everywhere-computing platform.

Skills and capabilities enabled by open everywhere computing- Interfacing sensors and controls

  • Programming
  • Networking
  • Device driver development
  • Operating system design and usage
  • Other general computer science and electrical engingeering concepts and usage
  • Collaboration
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Mission is Open Everywhere Computing

BeagleBoard.org seeks to foster the advancement of open source hardware and software for building embedded computing solutions at all skill levels.

- Software and Hardware are not the same thing, the true open hardware does not exists yet, i think. Manufacturing impossibilities also plays a pivotal role. (from sand to chip). This process should be open too, as detailed as how the BB system is designed.

Vision is Openness Enables Everyone

Open development means sharing the ability to reproduce a craft and providing a means for refining that craft. Individuals with less defined skills are able to fully observe the skills of others to refine their skills. Contributions of individuals are collected, advancing the ability of all individuals with the basic skills of the community.

- Unless there was a “true open hardware” all the BB/Arduino users will be in a state near the “less defined skills” forever.

Linux plays a critical role in this vision, because no other software project has ever brought so many collaborators together and run on so many platforms. For BeagleBoard.org to be successful, it means enabling Linux developers through support in the mainline Linux kernel such that all popular Linux distros can provide support for a viable everywhere-computing platform.

- Hardware should not be the same as Software. They need each other, like day and night, but not the same.

Because the mainline Linux maintainers demand that capabilities not be implemented for a single device if the capability exists on multiple devices, the work that goes into the mainline kernel as a result of the BeagleBoard.org platforms is available for all platforms, making Linux more friendly for anyone using it on a everywhere-computing platform.

  • SW again

Skills and capabilities enabled by open everywhere computing

  • Interfacing sensors and controls
  • Programming
  • Networking
  • Device driver development
  • Operating system design and usage
  • Other general computer science and electrical engingeering concepts and usage
  • Collaboration

- Is not open everywhere, i think is kind of TI-ed

I love BB!!!

Manuel Gondra

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This declaration, of great import, is quite vague:

“…capabilities not be implemented for a single device if the capability exists on multiple devices…”

please elaborate. Thank you…dd

5

This declaration, of great import, is quite vague:

"...capabilities not be implemented for a single device if the capability
exists on multiple devices..."

please elaborate. Thank you............dd

Your clip eliminated the part about this being related to Linux. Linux
doesn't want one-off implementations of something like an ADC or PWM
driver where you'd essentially be learning the specifics of every
driver for every new implementation. Instead, Linux maintainers seek
to have implementations of such drivers fall into a bit more generic
class and share some portion of the implementation with other devices
with similar peripheral features.

BeagleBoard.org believes the best way to support the community in the
long term is to align with those goals of Linux, rather than stop at
simply exposing the hardware features. There are shorter-term efforts
at times to expose such features within the community, but we try to
stay aligned on the end-game, which is aligned with the goals of Linux
itself.