TV-B-Gone: Not Your Average Open Source Success Story
There is an interesting story regarding open source hardware making the rounds today. Have you ever heard of TV-B-Gone? I hadn't, until today. It's an invention from Mitch Altman that works like a universal remote, except that it has only one purpose: turning off any TV that is on anywhere, especially in public places. Admittedly, this device could easily get its owner killed during the fourth quarter of a football game in any number of watering holes, but there is a notable open source twist to the story.
As Mitch Altman himself reports at the Make site, after he initially invented the TV-B-Gone device, he joined forces with his brother, a patent attorney, and applied for a patent. He also reports that within weeks the TV-B-Gone device was a hot seller, and got covered in many media outlets. Soon after this, he decided to open source everything from the board layout to the firmware source code, giving rise to a huge number of hacked and tweaked TV-B-Gone devices and kits. Altman explains:
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