- SKDB is a git-backed package manager for hardware that stores CAD files, material specs, process recipes, and Python plugins describing how to make each part, aiming to become the “Debian of physical objects.”

- A layered architecture is proposed: YAML metadata with GNU units for dimensional analysis, a “partially-dead” simulation layer that checks interface compatibility without full physics, and fab-lab drivers plus a printing server that emit g-code or human-readable instructions.

- “Autospec” is an algorithm that scores packages on user-weighted criteria (cost, safety, autonomy, etc.) and selects the smallest set of base units that can interconnect all chosen parts, avoiding an O(n!) comparison explosion.

- A universal tool-control API is envisioned so every instrument—CNC mill, 3-D printer, hand-drill, even human operators—exposes a common interface, letting SKDB packages query capabilities, reserve time, and orchestrate builds like Unix /dev abstractions.

- Physical-world complexities (electrical interference, thermal limits, vibration, insertion-force tolerances) will be handled by encoding best-practice heuristics and feeding empirical build reports back into the database rather than attempting full simulation.

- A “fab-lab manager” is planned to auto-lay-out machines, route cables, track inventory, and generate step-by-step checklists for human tasks when full automation is impossible.

- Autogenix is the proposed Debian-style distribution for hardware and bio-design packages, using BitTorrent as the primary transport layer for thousands of small design files, with seeding archives maintained for long-term availability.

- David’s MIT talk “The Internet as a Computing Surface” (http://cba.mit.edu/events/08.04.ASC/) is highlighted, covering “fab-in-a-box,” reverse-engineering the brain, and Minsky’s “How to Build a Brain.”