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| ::FIXME: Write short introduction here, make few images, ... just short briefing for anybody who came for the first time, no details, no specifications. | | ::FIXME: Write short introduction here, make few images, ... just short briefing for anybody who came for the first time, no details, no specifications. |
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− | "The most profound technologies are those that disappear. They weave
| + | OpenMoko is an attempt to create the worlds first completely open mobile phone software stack. |
− | themselves into the fabric of everyday life until they are
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− | indistinguishable from it."
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− | Mark Weiser wrote those words almost 15 years ago in a Scientific
| + | Think standardization bottom-up (defined and implemented by the community), instead of top-down (defined by a consortium). |
− | American article titled, "The Computer for the 21st Century." In it, he
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− | coined the term "ubiquitous computing", and proposed a set of ground
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− | rules for devices of the 21st century.
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− | Temporally, we're here. Technologically, we're close. But everyone
| + | For a more thorough introduction see [http://lists.openmoko.org/pipermail/announce/2007-January/000000.html this announcement] |
− | still seems to be talking about ubiquitous computing like a mirage on
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− | desert road: it's always the same distance away. Sometimes looking at
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− | common every day objects with a fresh perspective yields interesting
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− | new ideas. Today we're going to propose that the foundation for
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− | ubiquitous computing is already here. All that is stopping us from
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− | going forward is change of context.
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− | Almost everyone we know has a mobile phone. Mobile phones have become
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− | part of the fabric of everyday life. Does this mean that the mobile
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− | phone is the ubiquitous computing device we've all waited for?
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− | Currently, no. But with a subtle change we would argue, yes.
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− | Mobile phones are closed environments created with a mobile context in
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− | mind. But this concept is limiting; a mobile phone has the potential
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− | to be a platform that can do anything that a small computer with
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− | broadband access can do. If mobile phones were based on open platforms,
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− | they would have the potential to bring computing to people in a ways
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− | traditional computers cannot. Mobile phones can become ubiquitous
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− | computers.
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− | Ubiquitous computing, however, does not simply mean computers that can
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− | be carried to work, to the home, to the beach, and to the movies.
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− | Ubiquitous computers must know where they are, and then must be able to
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− | merge into the environment.
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− | We put GPS functionality into the Neo1973, because when your phone
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− | simply knows its location, it can adapt its behavior in significant
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− | ways without even a hint of artificial intelligence.
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− | How can devices disappear into the background? To be honest, we have
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− | far more questions than answers here. But do we know what is needed for
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− | exploring this idea. Developers must have unrestricted access to
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− | hardware at all times. Being able to control the microphone, for
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− | example, will allow phones to sense ambient noise. A simple program
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− | could prevent your phone from ringing while you're in a conversation.
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− | We will always try our absolute best to give you devices that are as
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− | open as possible. Our goal is freeing end-users and businesses alike
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− | from proprietary constraints. We're about encouraging people to modify
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− | and personalize their software to support their individual needs.
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− | Building products as we do, we strive to enable people to connect and
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− | communicate in new and relevant ways, using their own languages and
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− | their own symbols.
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− | Our company is unconventional, We openly share our roadmap. And today
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− | we're going to share it with you. (Hopefully, by now, there isn't a
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− | single person left on this list who thinks we're conventional ;-)
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− | Your participation, in terms of actual code, hardware features,
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− | suggestions, and usage-scenarios will shape product features of our
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− | roadmap.
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− | It is based on ...
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| == Photos == | | == Photos == |
OpenMoko is an attempt to create the worlds first completely open mobile phone software stack.
Think standardization bottom-up (defined and implemented by the community), instead of top-down (defined by a consortium).