Topic: Microbusiness and Chumby
OK...all posts lead to here.
A suggestion before the hackers get carried away with grand ideas....as it's not just Joe that has a tendency to this kind of thing!
If I would like to start a microbusiness either modifying/hacking or selling accessories or software for chumby, what do I need to know?
I would really like it if you could get together with your legal advisers and produce a booklet to guide us as to what we can and can't do with chumby, his name and logo. Long legalese agreements are also needed for us to take to our lawyers but a layperson's guidebook would be very useful for people just thinking tentatively about this. (Particularly for people with short attention spans, no cash and no real profit motive who just want to put a few things up on the web so they can generate more funds to support their expensive crafting addiction!)
It is important to have this ready ASAP if you are really going to launch chumby Q107. Some forumers and other interested parties may need that amount of time to bring together resources and designs etc. in order to take advantage of the hype that will surround the release.
I predict that with a few months advance notice, like you have given here with pre-launch info and the forums, a constellation of micro-businesses could spring up that would shine an even brighter light on chumby. You say you want people to be creative with your product...that needs to be backed up with a pathway on how to go about it.
The reason why I say microbusiness is that crafters, in particular, love the unique and hate the mass-produced and logo-laden objects that abound in this world. I think you could structure your legal stuff in a way to support their grassroots creativity.
What is particularly hard to get my head around is the notion of OpenSource and how this is going to operate with limitations imposed by licensing, IP, copyright and trademark issues. You are charting new territory with this product. It is not quite anything goes because you are a business entity. You really need to educate the hackers on their boundaries. Like with the USB device compatibility issue, it will be much better to outline the game rules now, rather than in a few months time or after the release date.
I actually think that getting this info out there in an easy-to-digest format should be one of your priorities in the coming weeks, considering it will be of mutual benefit to both Chumby Industries and people who have unique development ideas.
If you have already got plans for this, I sincerely apologise for telling you how to suck eggs...as my Grandma would put it! My heart is in the right place on this one...because I wish your company every success.