# Key Ideas from #hplusroadmap IRC Discussion (Jan 11, 2010)

• Participants discussed building SKDB, described as "apt-get for open source hardware," which aims to encode standardized information about hardware components from resources like Machinery's Handbook to create a unified system for open hardware development.

• The Allen Brain Institute's mouse brain gene expression map was shared, with one user having parsed this dataset and made it available through GitHub (github.com/kanzure/brain), representing efforts to make neuroscience data more accessible.

• The group explored distributed version control systems with particular interest in Hatta-wiki, a wiki system using Mercurial that allows non-technical users to interact with version control through a web interface.

• EEG technology was evaluated for its practicality and applications, with participants sharing resources (http://designfiles.org/papers/neuro/eeg-notes.txt) and discussing OpenEEG setups ranging from under $50 to more expensive multi-channel configurations for both medical and creative applications.

• The RepRap community's development of a self-replicating building system for small to medium-scale machinery was discussed, along with a new "Eiffel" RepStrap project capable of both FDM printing and milling.

• The concept of a "civilization seed" was explored in relation to post-collapse rebuilding, examining which technologies and knowledge would be most efficient for restarting technological development based on historical patterns.