From mboxrd@z Thu Jan 1 00:00:00 1970 Return-Path: Received: from snark.thyrsus.com (static-71-162-243-5.phlapa.fios.verizon.net [71.162.243.5]) by huchra.bufferbloat.net (Postfix) with ESMTP id DEE392011CD for ; Mon, 12 Mar 2012 18:29:09 -0700 (PDT) Received: by snark.thyrsus.com (Postfix, from userid 1000) id C56E440617; Mon, 12 Mar 2012 21:28:51 -0400 (EDT) Date: Mon, 12 Mar 2012 21:28:51 -0400 From: "Eric S. Raymond" To: Dave Taht Message-ID: <20120313012851.GA18695@thyrsus.com> References: <20120312220623.GB18256@thyrsus.com> MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii Content-Disposition: inline In-Reply-To: Organization: Eric Conspiracy Secret Labs X-Eric-Conspiracy: There is no conspiracy User-Agent: Mutt/1.5.21 (2010-09-15) Cc: thumbgps-devel@lists.bufferbloat.net Subject: Re: [Thumbgps-devel] the serial alternative/radio noise X-BeenThere: thumbgps-devel@lists.bufferbloat.net X-Mailman-Version: 2.1.13 Precedence: list Reply-To: esr@thyrsus.com List-Id: List-Unsubscribe: , List-Archive: List-Post: List-Help: List-Subscribe: , X-List-Received-Date: Tue, 13 Mar 2012 01:29:10 -0000 Dave Taht : > I note that in the early stages of any project, I tend to appreciate > all sorts of blue-sky thinking, rather than tie down to any one goal, > and try to encourage such in others. Fair enough. But, as the person who has sort of dropped into the role of project manager, it'a my job to ensure that (a) we have a coherent and achievable set of objectives, and (b) the engineers keep their eye on that ball. (For completeness, I consider the third major challenge of my job to be (c) negotiating with vendors and fabricators.) For me, this is an amazing adventure, really. Me, a defrocked mathematician, cat-herding a...*hardware* project. Riiiight. Good thing I'm a naturally arrogant person or I'd probably be curled up in fetal position in a corner somewhere. Note, I also want to try this as a kind of experiment in just how far down the post-industrial road we actually are. I've been reading and thinking for years about the demassification of production, silicon foundries, 3D fabbing and other technologies that are supposedly making semi-custom and individualized products more viable then ever. The economist in me wants to grok these changes from ground level. > I guess in part what drives me in > suggesting alternatives (and please note my alternative above was > intended as a lead-in into the noise question more than an actual > suggestion), is that I would like to find markets for a 'new device', > that 'does new stuff', that justifies the manufacturing run, more than > a 'usb gps with hyper-accurate pps and time output' may, as a > differentiator. I understand that urge, but the increment in complexity required for us to do "new stuff" would be all too likely to complexify the project out of the zone of feasibility. Let's do a design for which we *know* that we have established need and a clear specification first. If the team gels and we develop good relationships with our vendors and fabricators, we can then use that to go back around to things like randomness sources and environmental sensors. -- Eric S. Raymond