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Welcome to HOITG!
HOITG is short for How Open Is This Gadget?
Tests on electronic gadgets are published on this portal, with openness being an essential test criterion. The questions to answer are:
- Is the firmware used open source?
- Does the manufacturer follow the rules of open source licenses and publish the modified source code?
- Can the device be addressed, used and configured with open source software?
- How open is the documentation of a device?
- How easy can the device be disassembled, are components easily accessible, can repairs be carried out?
- How does the manufacturer deal with patents?
- How is the support?
Pointing the finger at a lack of openness of a gadeget is intended to get manufactures moving towards more openess. My experience is that many manufacturers are not aware of the fact that open source software is also subject to licenses whose rules must be followed. Essentially, any changes to the source code of the software must be published. That is obvious: You make use of the support of many hard-working programmers free of charge and in return you shouldn't withhold your own work from the community!
Of course, I receive requests to publish videos on my channel with the ulterior motive that the respective manufacturers or online shops want to boost sales. With that in mind, manufacturers want to hear only good things on their gadgets. In my experience, pointing out bad treatment of open source software actually gets the ball rolling and that's what must happen!
(Almost) Everything that is offered by manufacturers is tested, including completely dongeled, proprietary devices that are difficult to repair. It is finally your very own decision which gadget to buy. Which leads to:
Decision-making
I avoid superlatives in my reviews and would like to leave the ranking more or less up to you, because no one knows better than yourself what is important to you!To help you make a decision, I give you the following:
- Videos that show you the gadget in moving pictures with sound.
- Lots and lots of high-resolution photos of the gadgets.
- Lots of high-resolution photos of the test results obtained.
- My personal comments, but without superlatives and with a clear statement on the openness of the device.
High-resolution photos, videos and above all the descriptive text should help to get the best possible impressions of your gadget of desire before making a purchase.
Did I already mention that I avoid superlatives? So there are no real ranking tables that show you the greatest, best, most wonderful product at the top. I don't want to advertise a product, just present it. Keep in mind that "neutral" only exists in theory, so don't blame me for not being able to report completely neutrally on products either, I try to be neutral, but you can and should build up your own opinion about this, too.
You have a gadget for me?
Are you a manufacturer or seller of gadgets that I should feature on these pages and the linked YouTube channel?
Please email your offer to:
...and if the logo looks familiar to you
HOITG emerged from my project HomoFaciens.de. With HOITG, I would like to create a clearer separation between my work as a hobbyist and teacher on the one hand and the "squirrel" that I am on the other hand, which simply always wants to get any gadget that is on offer...
| <<< News 2022 | Open Source >>> |
