Question : Problem: Open Source Hardware?

Hi, please don't laugh at me if my question doesn't make sense. Just let me know =)

Is there a hardware equivalent of "open source", i.e. the blueprint and specs on how to design certain hardware components, and be free to extend the design if one wished to? Something like that. Any thoughts? Thanks.

Answer : Problem: Open Source Hardware?

I thought that's what pc's were ;-)  (as opposed to Apple's architecture)

There are standards for ATX power supplies, PCI bus, AGP slot, fans, RAM, IDE bus or none of these would be interchangeable from different manufacturers.  There are also energy-efficiency standards (energy star) and ergonomic standards (TCO) for monitors.  Every form-factor motherboard has to be a certain dimension and have connectors in roughly the same place or they would not fit cases.  Pin-outs and connectors are standard: 15-pin VGA, 9-pin COM, 25-pin LPT, USB, Firewire, cat5 RJ45.