OSHW, Makerbot & Memristo - Maundering Memristor Mathematicaster
Dave Jones and Chris Gammell discuss the viability of venture capital for open source hardware startups, specifically comparing Aya's magnetic educational kits to funded companies like MakerBot, Bug Labs, and Chumby, while debating whether bootstrapping is superior. They analyze the shifting landscape of semiconductor manufacturing, noting how high costs at advanced nodes like 10nm are consolidating power among giants like Intel and Samsung, and explore the theoretical physics and potential of memristors from HP. The hosts also critique a product called the Ampelizer, a power factor correction device marketed to consumers, and highlight community resources like the Computer History Museum's Jim Williams exhibit and the Transistor Museum.