Inspired by the death of the Flip camera, Make magazine’s Phil Torrone has a call-to-arms for companies that discontinue their projects: “If You’re Going To Kill It, Open Source It!” He catalogs a long list of dead products whose firmware remain locked up even though the companies that made them are through with them, from the Aibo to to the Palm Pilot.
Another week, another company killing off a giant product after spending millions of dollars and years developing. Back in 2009 Cisco bought Pure Digital Technology’s Flip. Gadget fans and makers were puzzled by this; phones were just about good enough to start beating the Flip. Now, it’s heading for the landfill.
Some companies fail, some kill off product lines that are not profitable, but in the end, where does all the knowledge go? Nowhere, usually. In a world of disposable everything, is it time that we demand companies do what’s good for humankind in addition to the bottom line?
If companies are going to just kill something off, why not open source it? Some companies do just that, and others, like Nokia, will promise open source (Symbian, dead product) and then quickly reverse itself, locking it up. Pictured above, a Nokia coffin.
If You’re Going To Kill It, Open Source It!