User innovation talk links

This talk was has been giving a number of times at Eric von Hippel's classes and is usually 90 minutes in length.

The following links act a tour of a series of examples of user innovation to show the breadth of user innovation and community innovation and production.

CHDK

CHDK is a free software/open source firmware add-on for digital cameras.

• Dumping Canon Firmware
• CHDK homepage (including supported camera list)
• Screenshots
• Time-lapse sample
• Lightning photography plus [1] [2]
• HDR photography [3]
• Focus bracketing
• Ultra high-speed shutter and flash
• FAQ: May I suggest a new feature?

RockBox

RockBox is alternate firmware for Digital Audio Players (DAP) including Apple iPods.

• Archos Jukebox
• RockBox Feature Tour (iPod nano) iPod Screenshot
• RockBox plugin matrix
• RockBox support devices
• SanDisk Sansa news article

dotSUB

Is an online community that engages in collaborative translations of videos and film through collaborative amateur subtitling at less than order of magnitude the cost of professional subtitling.

• dotSUB homepage
• Translation demonstration
• RSS in Plain English video with a couple dozen translations

Wikitravel

Wikitravel is a non-Wikimedia collaborative projects that allows communities to create travel guides.

• Ho Chi Minh City on Wikitravel (sample article)
• Wikitravel Press
• Sample Wikitravel Book

Other (more whimsical but no less useful) community travel sites include:

• The Budget Travel's Guide to Sleeping in Airports
• arlinemeals.net and their extensive meal list

DDWRT and OpenWRT

OpenWRT is a community produced firmware for home routers including the Linksys WRT. [DD-WRT is a version of OpenWRT that is now distributed commercially on several routers.

• List of currently supported hardware

Software hacks:

• DD-WRT feature list
• Turn $60 router into a $600 router
• Tomato firmware

Hardware hacks:

• Adding ports
• Overclocking
• Wifi Car (more pictures)

There are now even several books on the topic of modifying a WRT54G machine including this one:

• Ultimate WRT54G Hacking

Roomba/iCreate

iRobot is a version of iRobot's popular Roomba vacuum cleaner that is designed for hobbiest. A large number of hobbiest had modified and improved their Roomba robotic vaccum cleaners. Create is essentially a Roomba minus the vacuum cleaner that is targeted at hobbiests.

• Top 5 Roomba Hacks
• Cylon Roomba
• MIDI Hack for Roomba
• Tilt sensor with Mac
• Hacking Roomba book