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Open-Source Blossoms Around Blackberry Keyboard: Witnessing the Emergence of an Independent Community

Potential Consequences of Sharing an Open- source Hardware Project: Exploring a Controversial Viewpoint, Mines the Advantages of Maximum Open-source Flexibility

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Potential Consequences of Releasing Hardware Projects as Open Source: A Fervent Advocate Shares His...
Potential Consequences of Releasing Hardware Projects as Open Source: A Fervent Advocate Shares His Viewpoint

Open-Source Blossoms Around Blackberry Keyboard: Witnessing the Emergence of an Independent Community

Open-sourcing your hardware projects can be a game-changer, fostering a stronger hacker community and nourishing that ecosystem we all love. I'm a firm believer in sharing projects, even when they're incomplete - as long as your opsec allows! This tale of Blackberry hacking and an open-source pocket computer proves that point.

A Chain of Blackberry Hackers

The yarn begins with a reverse-engineered Blackberry Q10 keyboard part in 2015. JoeN on Eevblog forums pinpointed the hardware connector, posting the info on Arduino forums to let fellow hackers tinker. Years later, Woodworker dived in on our own website.io, cracking the Q10's backlight, and whipped up an Arduino Nano proof-of-concept. Arturo182 took the torch in 2018, starting with a Q10 keyboard PMOD and eventually cracking the Q20's touchpad-equipped keyboard. Since, you've likely seen downstream QWERTY handhelds adorning this former work.

These days, Arturo182 runs a hardware company, SolderParty, with innovative products like FlexyPins, which I'm a big fan of. And let's not forget about the Tanmatsu's custom QWERTY keyboard, designed by Arturo himself! If you're curious, check out the BBKB community website - it's a fascinating journey through these Blackberry-adorned devices, much kudos to Michael, who's been recording it all.

Beep Beep (Be careful with Trademarks)

The Q20 keyboard gained a lot of attention, hitting the news and surely fueled by a dash of nostalgia for QWERTY handhelds. Iwana! disagreed, crafting the Beepberry project (later known as Beepy), a pocket computer boasting a Raspberry Pi Zero, a Sharp LCD, a Q20 keyboard, an RP2040 controller, and extras like an RGB LED and side button for notifications. KiCad files for the board were fully published on GitHub, an open-invite Discord server set up, BOM came in under $60, reviews rolled in, and people began playing with their new gadget.

They weren't without issues, of course. Legal wrangles with Blackberry made the project rebrand as Beepy, and the hardware had a few flaws. But Beepy owners, fans alike, joined the Discord community to share, learn, and contribute. With Linux driver assistance, a lightweight RP2040 firmware, and a Linux environment growing, apps took flight - games, Doom, music players, even a ChatGPT interface - people ran the gamut.

Despite the occasional challenges, the Beepy community has flourished into a pocket-friendly hacker companion, pushing Pi Zero, screen, and keyboard to their limits. Now, there's a plethora of software to run, dozens of 3D printed cases, and an endless parade of curious newcomers asking when Beepy will make another appearance.

The Ongoing Ecosystem

What's truly intriguing is watching the chain unfold, starting from a single keyboard pinout to a mass-produced, community-supported open-source board. This journey isn't complete - stay tuned next week for a follow-up article on Beepy derivatives, as the story keeps shifting.

Here's to open-sourcing and the impact it can have on our technology, education, and community - cheers! In the next article, we'll dive into the concept of closed-open-source, explore projects' clones, and take a look at an open-source Beepy successor (spoiler: I'm involved!). But for now, let's rewind back to an overlooked Texas Instruments boost regulator, underestimated resistor, and ignored datasheet parameters.

Thoughts on Open-Sourcing

  • Crowd-Driven Development: Tapping into the community's collective brainpower can lead to faster innovation and improvements.
  • Cost Reduction: Open-sourced hardware projects can decrease the costs associated with research, development, and manufacturing.
  • Adaptability: Open-source hardware allows for personal customization, creating more tailored solutions across various applications.
  • Transparency: The openness of hardware designs fosters trust through clarity on how the technology works.
  • Skill Development: Open-source hardware projects serve as valuable educational tools for hardware development and training.

[1] Electronics Tutorials - https://www.electronics-tutorials.ws/opto/optocoupler_5.html[2] African Minds - https://www.gutenberg.org/files/48365/48365-h/48365-h.htm[5] AllAboutCircuits - https://www.allaboutcircuits.com/design-reference/faq/understanding-open-source-hardware/

  • The Arduino forum post by JoeN about the reverse-engineered Blackberry Q10 keyboard part sparked a wave of electronics tinkering within the hacker community, triggering a chain of hardware development.
  • Arturo182, now the founder of SolderParty, contributed significantly to this chain by cracking the Q10's backlight and creating an Arduino Nano proof-of-concept.
  • The Beepberry project, a pocket computer open-sourced by Iwana!, showcases the power of open-source hardware, as it includes a Raspberry Pi Zero, a Sharp LCD, a Q20 keyboard, an RP2040 controller, and more.
  • Open-source hardware projects foster transparency, skill development, crowd-driven development, adaptability, and cost-reduction, making them integral to the technology, education, and community landscape.

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