Open Source Hardware Holds The Same Promise As Software

I see SparkFun Electronics mentioned often in my social media stream, so I jumped at the chance to interview Chris Clark, the company's Director of Information Technology.

From their website: SparkFun is an online retail store that sells the bits and pieces to make your electronics projects possible. Our ever-growing product catalog boasts over 3,500 components and widgets designed to help you unleash your inner inventor... Through our Department of Education, SparkFun offers classes and online tutorials designed to help educate individuals in the wonderful world of embedded electronics... We believe an open market is a healthy market and we open source all of our product designs. SparkFun subscribes to the belief that open source tech encourages innovation and creativity, while helping empower individuals to build the projects they want.

In this interview with Chris, I asked some pressing questions about who is and isn't embracing open source hardware and how SparkFun is educating the masses in a new way. Plus, hear about the power of open source from SparkFun's CEO Nathan Seidle, who recently presented at TEDx Boulder. And, read more from Chris on Opensource.com about how open source has helped SparkFun succeed.