- Bruce Perens’ 2012 linux.conf.au keynote (video at http://mirror.linux.org.au/pub/linux.conf.au/2012/Keynote_Bruce_Perens.ogv) was highlighted for its discussion of open-hardware ideology and “ideological warfare.”  
- OpenJsCad (http://joostn.github.com/OpenJsCad/) was evaluated as a browser-based CSG engine; participants criticized its reliance on mesh booleans instead of true NURBS and its poor scalability for large models.  
- A microfluidic DNA-synthesis concept was debated that would combine on-chip phosphoramidite oligo synthesis with integrated Sanger sequencing for real-time error checking, using PDMS or laser-cut chips and Quake-style valve layouts.  
- The group proposed a pre-validated 1,024-member oligo library (all possible 5-mers) to avoid repeated de-novo synthesis, estimating ~10–30 s per 5-mer addition and ~1 h per kilobase on a bead- or wall-attached strand.  
- Practical hardware challenges discussed included routing 1,024 distinct DNA blocks through microfluidic channels, the trade-offs between 1,024 individually addressable microvalves versus macro-world well-to-chip transfer, and the need for sterile, closed fluid paths.  
- Error-rate analysis indicated oligo synthesis has ~0.1 % errors per base; downstream quality-control options considered were PCR amplification, bacterial cloning, and on-chip Sanger sequencing (though the latter was deemed unsuitable below ~50 bp).  
- Nanoliter PCR using laser-assisted heating (40 cycles in 370 s) and PicoArray-style photolithographic oligo-synthesis chips were cited as enabling technologies for rapid, low-volume amplification and synthesis.  
- Open-source liquid-handling robots (delinquentme’s LH001/LH002) were presented as potential hardware platforms, though no reliability or positional-accuracy data yet exist.  
- Participants framed the project as a step toward cheap, desktop gene synthesis for biohackers and DIY-transhumanists, with an open invitation for collaborators to help validate the 5-mer library approach.