It's easy to beat them, in terms of delivering a technologically superior product. (For example, not a stupid plywood box that vibrates.)
Simply deliver superior engineering then they do, release it and improve it and re-release it on a faster cycle than they do, and keep it open source. Furthermore, keep the superior engineering as simple and streamlined as possible, so the parts count is as small as possible and it's easy to construct and relatively cheap to construct so it's accessible to everybody, and well documented, and that allows the RepRap community to keep the edge over MakerBot.
Put a clear open license - like CERN Open Hardware License or TAPR Open Hardware License - on everything so they can't just take it and lock it up into a closed product.
When STL files are released onto the Web via some website including but not limited to Thingiverse, do they have a license specified? Maybe license terms need to be specified on 3D designs to keep them open - is something like the CERNOHL or TAPROHL applicable and sensible when applied to a 3D device model? If so I guess one should be used, to prevent bad people ripping them off.
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"we are going to be as open as we possibly can while building a sustainable business"
So, in other words, they think that they can't have the basic hardware / firmware that is the basis open source and still have a viable business? That's completely wrong.
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BSD and MIT licenses allow shipping binary using closed source and with extensions. You can't close the original, and you must acknowledge (dependent on version) but you can do closed source derivatives. Sometimes those become good enough that ppl forget the original. I've also seen such such things become locked up under GPL, and had to search far and wide to find the original less-restricted version, so it cuts both ways. Personally I refuse to apply GPL to my work unless it derives from GPL. If you want to give something away, do so. Don't give with one hand and take with the other, as GPL does, is my view.
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