TL;DR: Get started with OpenPOWER, help build a better future, and win prizes.
"I like things just the way they are. Let's keep computer architectures stagnant. Let's ensure that everything is powered by the same chip."
Really?
I have to confess: I never liked Monopoly. I'm not a fan of board games in general, but Monopoly has a "special place in my heart"; a place reserved for all those horribly brutish things (and behaviours) that shouldn't exist.
But how do we create a world where we are free from a "winner-takes-all-at-the-expense-of-everyone-else" mentality? In the world of software we open the source, we make projects inclusive, we remix each other's code, and we share.
So why aren't things like this in hardware? Why do we accept, even if tacitly, a world where we're "railroaded" into a single monolithic platform?
We shouldn't. But despite everyone's best intentions, it's often difficult to get started with something new and disruptive. As a result, we stick to the tried-and-true: the easy path. In order to get to a new technology, it is reasonable to need and expect an on-ramp and a bit of help. Ubuntu did exactly that by making it easy for anyone to install a free system and to help build and shape it in a friendly and inviting community.
And, in the way history sometimes rhymes, the fine folks at the OpenPOWER Foundation are making it easy to get started with hardware that is collaborative and forward-looking. We're offering free use of OpenPOWER systems and also prizes to encourage people to tinker and build interesting projects that showcase the values (and value) of an open hardware platform.
I encourage you to join, participate and learn. There are prizes to be won and a brighter future to build. Let's get started.
