Mailing the story:

It's no secret that open source has shaken up the software world, not least for the savings it's brought both organizations and consumers. Now it's starting to look like open source hardware could have a similar, game-changing effect.

Though still nowhere near as ubiquitous as FOSS, open hardware is gaining ground rapidly -- especially with the booming popularity of open source 3D printing -- and some very compelling benefits are becoming clear.