**** BEGIN LOGGING AT Sat May 12 02:59:58 2012 May 12 06:52:29 i am interested in but ignorant of open moko, it is both a software stack AND a hardware platform iiuc? May 12 06:55:51 yes May 12 06:56:40 Openmoko (GNU/)Linux is a set of Operating sytems developed for the Openmoko phone. May 12 06:56:54 and neofreerunner is the current phone which is actually an open source design as well? (I.e. i can download a schematic and try to solder on myself) May 12 06:57:09 The hardware is mostly open and thus can be expanded... May 12 06:58:00 "mostly" open? (lol in software that has proven to be a death phrase) ;-) May 12 06:58:01 This is how the new phone from golden delicious came to life... May 12 06:58:17 what is that new phone please aloniv ? May 12 06:58:21 I said hardware not software :) May 12 06:58:31 GTA04 May 12 06:59:00 the GTA04 ( I saw that on the open moko website ,wasn't sure what it was) is from "golden delicious" ? May 12 06:59:12 yes May 12 06:59:35 it uses some parts from neo freerunner like screen. May 12 07:00:07 is it open too, can someone make legal clones of it ? May 12 07:00:31 less than gta02 but still mostly open... May 12 07:00:48 I think only wireless requires non-free firmware. May 12 07:01:01 we need a completely open phone, but wireless firmware is not a problem May 12 07:01:06 (that only counts for the USA) May 12 07:01:27 well i am sure there are other countries with differing regulations, pardon me for being so quick May 12 07:01:30 please May 12 07:02:02 the freerunner doesn't require any firmware for wireless though. May 12 07:02:23 Although the chip itself isn;t documented so it is essentially "firmware". May 12 07:02:35 what "chip" ? May 12 07:02:53 The atheros wireless chip in the neo freerunner. May 12 07:03:20 ah right May 12 07:04:13 The neo freerunner doesn't run any proprietary software on cpu, gta04 loads non free firmware. May 12 07:04:16 i was listening to a lady who works with the health ministry in nicaragua tonight and she was talking about how cheaper and more open source cell phones are the limiting factor in developing country health care May 12 07:04:40 and she is not the first dev country health care worker who has told me that May 12 07:04:50 What is the connection? May 12 07:06:05 Anyway the problem that Openmoko addresses is spying via modem (e.g. modem on otherphones can remotely access GPS and microphone...) May 12 07:06:06 you mean why is the lack of cell phones etc a limit in health care ? May 12 07:06:13 yes... May 12 07:07:53 phones are getting cheaper though, at least mid range ones... May 12 07:07:55 1) cell phones can communicate all sorts of data, for example a midwife being able to send a live video feed of a difficult rural birth to a doctor in a large city hospital MIGHT save a young mother's life May 12 07:08:14 yes... May 12 07:08:26 but it seems the closed source problem always rears its head May 12 07:08:57 aren't most cell phones pretty proprietary in their devel environments? May 12 07:09:03 i'm pretty sure live video is supported on proprietary phones as well... May 12 07:09:15 well of course it is ;-) i wasn't trolling honestly May 12 07:09:24 i may look dumb but ... May 12 07:09:45 i don't know much about cell phones tbh, aloniv i don't even use them May 12 07:10:01 i am not a "call me on the phone" kind of guy May 12 07:10:08 the problem is phone carriers charge a lot for internet bandwidth... May 12 07:10:34 but so many health care workers have told me about these cell phones being such a boon in rural tropical villages May 12 07:11:06 I think in parts of the world people use phones and not computers. May 12 07:11:07 the real cost of bandwidth is the energy and the health costs associated with the radio waves May 12 07:11:16 isn't it ? May 12 07:11:36 yes but as long as there is no competition it is overpriced. May 12 07:11:43 like the cost of sms messages... May 12 07:12:26 so if we subsidise the energy costs (remember this is tropical) May 12 07:12:38 then just the available energy becomes the problem May 12 07:12:56 makes me wonder May 12 07:13:47 it still seems impractical to beam a signal out of every village May 12 07:14:37 the problem with all the new technology is the old technology fills the house. May 12 07:15:03 e.g. just gave a friend a vcr and dvd as they aren't used... May 12 07:15:21 will probably give also an old camera... May 12 07:18:48 recording shows from tv seems too much effort, especially since videotapes require effort to organise as opposed to digital files and hard drives... May 12 07:38:43 fils the house? May 12 07:38:52 oh i cee May 12 07:53:43 peace out May 12 19:45:09 hi **** ENDING LOGGING AT Sun May 13 02:59:59 2012