> But that's academic.  High quality software is hard to come by
> regardless of whether it's done by students or high-priced
> software engineer consultants, and PERFECT software is nearly
> unobtainable.  It requires continuous perusal, feedback from
> users, and other things that are unlikely to occur in the DIY
> kit environment.  (This is one of the powers of open source;
> whatever else happens, SOMEONE might fix it!)

DIY *could* open source their kit software if they wished. And it may 
well work. I have the impression that kits largely live or die on the 
value of the parts provided compared with gathering it all together 
yourself. And having a PCB is a major factor. Open source software can 
be copied and will allow others to make kits with the same 
functionality. But PCBs are copyrighted works. Anyone who is going to 
copy your PCBs is about as likely to copy your software as well - open 
source or not. Having eg students get the software going and then open 
sourcing the result via say a company provided forum for each kit 
could be a marvellous way of improving the product and getting brand 
loyalty. if double flying horse brand subsequently copies your product 
at the clone level or functionally so your software will work on it, 
you can expect to retain at least some of your following from loyalty. 
The cost of hosting forums for each product can be minimal.



        Russell McMahon


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