Grass-Roots Innovation Takes Root
08.13.08, 6:00 PM ET The next great wave of technology maybe something that you invent yourself. Really.
Most of the big commercial technology companies do all they can to hide the complexity of their products under shiny tamper-proof surfaces. They believe consumers don't want to read manuals. The fewer buttons the better. Think Apple (nasdaq: AAPL - news - people ), automakers and most consumer electronics makers.
But there's a subversive movement building, too, led by self-proclaimed do-it-youselfers. They want to reinvent the gadgets in their life, much like software hackers have reworked code. They don't all have expert technical skills, but they have a passionate desire to reshape technology in their own rough image.
In Pictures: Eight People Inventing The Future
What makes their dreams possible is easy access to open-source software, cheap microchips and wide-open collaboration on the Web. It's the manufacturing-sector version of desktop publishing.
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