I have a question,I can create software for BeagleBoard, such as a
people counting software with video camera and can sell it to an end
customer? since beagleboard is cheaper than a computer.
We promise we'll continue to make BeagleBoards available somewhere in
the market for a reasonable price for a total of at least 10 years
(through inventory, new builds, clones or otherwise). What we can't
promise is that any of the individual non-TI components will still be
available, such as the RAM, such that we wouldn't need to make a part
substitution, mechanical change or other incompatibility that might
interfere with your production. Further, product returns in the case
of commercial use are also not supported.
There is, however, a bit of a "white label" program where some
distributors are looking to support purchases under more
commercial-friendly terms. You should look to contact CircuitCo
directly to see if they can enable you to purchase either a clone of a
BeagleBoard directly or through a distributor. Depending on your
volumes, pricing might be a bit different as BeagleBoard.org is
getting a fairly good volume discount on components. I'm not sure
what of those discounts CircuitCo could pass on to you.
To clarify my response to your initial question, we don't strictly
limit what you can do with your BeagleBoard, only:
* what we are willing to accept in the way of clearing out our
inventory in ways that hurt hobbyists/developers from getting boards
for their purposes and
* requesting authorization to return a board for replacement, repair, etc.
Gerald, please correct me if I wasn't clear.
You’ve captured the main points. The design is Open Source Hardware and anybody can do as they choose with the design. We will continue to improve and update the HW as needed. We wan’t the freedom to do that without worrying about a dozens user’s of the BeagleBoard itself in their product and the impact it has on their product offerings. We want the freedom to innovate where and whenever it makes sense.
Gerald