Put Open Source on Your Holiday List #OPENCYBERMONDAY

2016-11-28 | By Maker.io Staff

It’s Cyber Monday which means millions of consumers are out in full force scouring the web spending countless hours searching and buying products and services.  Technology is always the greatest benefactor of consumption this time of year but if you love technology, if you REALLY love technology then you should think about putting one more name on your list.  This is not only the season of buying but, and many people would argue this is the time of giving and there is no more deserving group than your favorite Open Source organization.

Our friends from Adafruit and Hackaday made us aware of a really cool cause today. While consumers are on the web spending money they are encouraging people to donate to their favorite Open Source foundations and projects. The goal is to create awareness and support the open source community during this busy online shopping day.

According to Adobe, in 2015 shoppers spend nearly $3 billion during Cyber Monday and visited more than 4,500 retail websites. If just a small fraction of users could give back during #OpenCyperMonday it would go a long way to support projects and communities that have transformed the internet and technology.

In the last 10 years the Open Source Community have driven the price down and increased the speed of innovation like no other trend since the start of technology.  If you are just starting out, a maker, a maker professional or a professional engineer you are benefiting immensely from platforms, boards and ecosystems developed from these leaders.  Low cost modular design for rapid prototyping had transformed the way designs are approached and inspired an entirely new generation of designers to create your next loved gadget.  Please think about giving them just a little thank you for all the good they have done for the evolution of design.

Here are just a few places you may want to think about checking out:

Open Source Hardware Association

Python Software Foundation

KiCad EDA

It’s not a complete list but please also check out https://opensource.org/affiliates/list for a list of foundations and donate today. If there are other worthy Open Source initiatives, please share socially.