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Open hardware desktop 3D printing is dead?

josefprusa.com

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Re: Open hardware desktop 3D printing is dead?

#311

Post by f1shy »

jandrese wrote: post #200
izacus wrote: post #146

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The more I look into it, the more I'm convinced that current state of IP law is the rot at the core of western worlds technological stagnation. The rise of monopolistic megacorps, lack of independent innovation and enshittifcation can pretty much be traced back to the wide free market violating reach of current IP law. This article just highlights it and shows how China weaponized this weakness of the west and is suc…

It's telling that before the Patent system the solution was secretive guilds that jealously (sometimes lethally) guarded their secrets to avoid competition. This was obviously terrible since it greatly slowed down innovation. I'm not sure what the correct solution is to this problem. We want to avoid anything that causes a return of the guild system, but at the same time we don't want small inventors steamrolled by l…

Was really so (specifically “lethal”? Do you have sources?

I know trade secret was much more important. Also the spirit of patents is to allow development by making all public.

But do they?! I’m tired of trying to extract useful information off patents, they are empty of content and full of BS is laywer language. Real important details are kept secret, as long as possible.

The current system is de facto not working properly. I’m not saying is the worst, or I have better ideas, but is clear that the system is being heavily abused in all corners.

Re: Open hardware desktop 3D printing is dead?

#312

Post by Melonai »

beng-nl wrote: post #193
uticus wrote: post #139

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> a proper "Engrish" instruction manual At what point do the instruction manuals stop catering to Engrish and start focusing on 汉字?

I quite honestly fear this day. (But for other reasons, eg we might have to go to china for top conferences, universities, jobs, etc.).

I myself have been preparing for that day, learning simplified Mandarin and trying to expose myself to Chinese online presence. :)

I'm not sure that China will ever "overtake" the US in global technology mindshare, but they are getting closer, and if that ever properly happens, I'm quite ready, and if not, at least I get a whole new language out of it and a better understanding of a huge culture that felt a lot more out of reach before.

For context, I'm from Russia, so maybe it's easier for me to trade one foreign hegemony for another than for many others..

Re: Open hardware desktop 3D printing is dead?

#313

Post by martin-t »

Pet_Ant wrote: post #208
martin-t wrote: post #176

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's not a binary too string / too weak. It's that _copyright_: - protects the wrong entities (corporations instead of individuals who did the real work) - IP should be collectively owned by the people who created it and selling it should be illegal, - is too long, yes - DMCA can be used to harass without actually owning the IP and there are no penalties - the fair use exception can be used to allow clear cases of pl…

> - protects the wrong entities (corporations instead of individuals who did the real work) - IP should be collectively owned by the people who created it and selling it should be illegal, That's like say a band getting an advance to record their album should be illegal. Without access to people with money now a lot of it wouldn't get made. And if they are fronting the money before it exists, then they are taking ris…

The other replies are good.

The general principle is inverting who has power. It should always be with people doing real positive-sum work, not those with money whose primary business of redistributing money and taking a cut.

If they are allowed to ask for something, they will and because they have more power, they are able to pressure people into unfavorable deals. They don't need your band, there's plenty of others who will take the deal. But you need their money or someone else's but that somebody else will offer similar terms, unless those exploitative terms are illegal because people united against parasitism.

Re: Open hardware desktop 3D printing is dead?

#315

Post by f1shy »

nine_k wrote: post #241
jandrese wrote: post #200

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's telling that before the Patent system the solution was secretive guilds that jealously (sometimes lethally) guarded their secrets to avoid competition. This was obviously terrible since it greatly slowed down innovation. I'm not sure what the correct solution is to this problem. We want to avoid anything that causes a return of the guild system, but at the same time we don't want small inventors steamrolled by l…

(Repeating for umpteenth time:) I wish patent fees were exponential. Pay $10 the first year, $40 the second year, $160 the third year,.. $10,485,760 the tenth year, etc. The patent expires and goes to public domain the first year when the fee has not been not paid. This way there'd be enough time to commercialize an invention for basically peanuts, so the small guy won't be dissuaded from doing so. OTOH holding on a…

This is an excellent idea. I would still limit the time though. Also inflation should be taken into account (maybe) not that in 10 years 10M dollars is a chocolate.

Re: Open hardware desktop 3D printing is dead?

#316

Post by sarchertech »

hyperbovine wrote: post #303
sarchertech wrote: post #283

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That depends on what you’re doing. For many things Prusa printers produce higher quality prints.

> For many things Prusa printers produce higher quality prints. I have yet to have this happen, despite a lot of trying. The Bambu just works and the results are better. The Prusa requires constant recalibration and tuning, and still produces an inferior looking product. I'd love to be proven wrong here. It's probably the case that somebody with a ton of experience can squeeze better results out of a Prusa ... but th…

My Prusa just always works. I spend virtually zero time doing maintenance or any kind of tuning.

If you’re spending that much time fiddling with it, sounds like you either have much a much better eye for print quality than I do or you got a dud.

Re: Open hardware desktop 3D printing is dead?

#317

Post by ajmurmann »

mystraline wrote: post #273
ajmurmann wrote: post #148

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think "sourcing internationally" is one thing and avoiding China (or any single country for that matter) is another. The current administration puts a lot of effort on being independent from everyone else. I think that approach is misguided. We have allies and we need them anyways. Unlike the Soviet Union, China has 3x the population of the US. If we want to have weight on the international stage, we need our allie…

That wasn't really the problem I had. I'm also not a Sinophobe. I've ordered plenty from China. I even have a XiaoHongShu account. As an inventor, one thing that greatly speeds up making stuff is a rapid order and getting parts. And in my case, I literally needed a rectangular sheet of aluminum. I did all the CAD work, submitted to local companies who could do it, and not a peep. I would have paid the American premiu…

"I know its a very boomerish thing to say, but its like companies in the USA really don't want to work. My thing would have been small"

This rings truer than it should. We had a locksmith out to give us an estimate to install several high-security locks that I can only assume would have been fairly good business. Never heard back from them. We didn't bother following up with them either because if they can't even bother writing up the estimate, how can I trust their work?

I wonder if it's a lack of competition in part based on a labor shortage and tight occupational licensing

Re: Open hardware desktop 3D printing is dead?

#318

Post by kiba »

simpaticoder wrote: post #11

The real story here is that IP ownership is capital-intensive when it shouldn't be. Open-source and community-led IP contributions are grossly under-protected because of this, and those with capital become unopposed predators. This is a special-case of the more general observation that the justice system is capital-intensive when it shouldn't be. The answer is something you very rarely hear: the US (especially) needs…

Patents just aren't necessary. When something is in the "air", sooner or later it will be invented because it will be obvious in the state of the art.

There's no need to grant monopoly privileges. Rather, I favor market governed subsidies and grants for innovators to recoup the cost of their effort. The government will play a role in setting up the market and running it. This will be more democratic as people will have a voice to reward inventors for their efforts.

I expect this to be complimentary to innovations that will already arise.

Re: Open hardware desktop 3D printing is dead?

#319

Post by MetaWhirledPeas »

simpaticoder wrote: post #11

The real story here is that IP ownership is capital-intensive when it shouldn't be. Open-source and community-led IP contributions are grossly under-protected because of this, and those with capital become unopposed predators. This is a special-case of the more general observation that the justice system is capital-intensive when it shouldn't be. The answer is something you very rarely hear: the US (especially) needs…

> the US (especially) needs justice system reform with an eye toward making actions take 100x less time and 100x less money, approaching free for consumer and IP actions

While not addressing the situation in the same way, here's my knee-jerk idea for defense against patent trolls:

"If you want to sue a person or an organization, you must pay the legal fees for the defendant, in an amount equal or greater to the amount of money being spent by the plaintiff on legal matters pertaining to the case."

So a small business would get full funding for defense, but it would cost them double to sue someone else. I'd say that's an excellent trade-off. This would dissuade not just patent trolls but any lawsuit where money would be the determining factor for victory.

The Achilles' heel would be enforcement, leading to a new subcategory of legal efforts to ensure compliance. But there's an opportunity for a net reduction in legal action.

Re: Open hardware desktop 3D printing is dead?

#320

Post by MetaWhirledPeas »

kiba wrote: post #318
simpaticoder wrote: post #11

The real story here is that IP ownership is capital-intensive when it shouldn't be. Open-source and community-led IP contributions are grossly under-protected because of this, and those with capital become unopposed predators. This is a special-case of the more general observation that the justice system is capital-intensive when it shouldn't be. The answer is something you very rarely hear: the US (especially) needs…

Patents just aren't necessary. When something is in the "air", sooner or later it will be invented because it will be obvious in the state of the art. There's no need to grant monopoly privileges. Rather, I favor market governed subsidies and grants for innovators to recoup the cost of their effort. The government will play a role in setting up the market and running it. This will be more democratic as people will ha…

> Patents just aren't necessary.

One argument is that patents encourage innovation. The promise of a patent and the rewards to be gained act as a motivating force for ideas. Supposedly.

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