From mboxrd@z Thu Jan 1 00:00:00 1970 Received: from pigeon.gentoo.org ([208.92.234.80] helo=lists.gentoo.org) by finch.gentoo.org with esmtp (Exim 4.60) (envelope-from ) id 1MzT4V-00056b-1J for garchives@archives.gentoo.org; Sun, 18 Oct 2009 10:33:07 +0000 Received: from pigeon.gentoo.org (localhost [127.0.0.1]) by pigeon.gentoo.org (Postfix) with SMTP id 3F6FAE07DB; Sun, 18 Oct 2009 10:33:05 +0000 (UTC) Received: from smtpout.karoo.kcom.com (smtpout.karoo.kcom.com [212.50.160.34]) by pigeon.gentoo.org (Postfix) with ESMTP id D5DDAE07DB for ; Sun, 18 Oct 2009 10:33:04 +0000 (UTC) X-IronPort-AV: E=Sophos;i="4.44,579,1249254000"; d="scan'208";a="141589275" Received: from unknown (HELO compaq.stroller.uk.eu.org) ([213.152.39.90]) by smtpout.karoo.kcom.com with ESMTP; 18 Oct 2009 11:33:04 +0100 Received: from funf.stroller.uk.eu.org (funf.stroller.uk.eu.org [192.168.1.71]) by compaq.stroller.uk.eu.org (Postfix) with ESMTP id B1EF8E4F7 for ; Sun, 18 Oct 2009 11:33:01 +0100 (BST) Message-Id: From: Stroller To: gentoo-user@lists.gentoo.org In-Reply-To: <3ac129340910180242w912a6b5y22a20e366698dc8c@mail.gmail.com> Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1; format=flowed; delsp=yes Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable Precedence: bulk List-Post: List-Help: List-Unsubscribe: List-Subscribe: List-Id: Gentoo Linux mail X-BeenThere: gentoo-user@lists.gentoo.org Reply-to: gentoo-user@lists.gentoo.org Mime-Version: 1.0 (Apple Message framework v936) Subject: Re: [gentoo-user] OT: Openmoko Freerunner as USB client Date: Sun, 18 Oct 2009 11:33:01 +0100 References: <200910061222.56519.wonko@wonkology.org> <200910161358.20103.wonko@wonkology.org> <200910180109.50004.wonko@wonkology.org> <8F01FB27-7596-4760-BF24-7BBFA4090D0F@stellar.eclipse.co.uk> <3ac129340910180242w912a6b5y22a20e366698dc8c@mail.gmail.com> X-Mailer: Apple Mail (2.936) X-Archives-Salt: 9e722017-ae35-43b6-8d4a-01aaab0991bc X-Archives-Hash: 032b5b607a09b3ee951ff1ce159c865d On 18 Oct 2009, at 10:42, daid kahl wrote: >> I think what has really killed Openmoko is the inability to get =20 >> hold of 3G >> chips in the low quantities and licensing terms they required. Lack =20= >> of >> camera and 3G were the biggest source of "this is lame, i was really >> interested but lacking these i'm not buying a freerunner" whinges =20 >> on the >> mailing list. I think now, a year or so later, and looking to the =20 >> future >> this looks really dated. I gather Openmoko have pretty dropped =20 >> development >> of phones, although this WikiReder was announced last week, and =20 >> apparently >> something else is in the pipeline. > > I agree. I don't really care about the camera, but I moved to Japan > recently. I'm not sure if the 3G itself is required, but the likely > carriers (SoftBank, for example) would charge exorbitant rates per > month because Apple isn't paying them off... Uh, I'm kinda surprised by that. I mean, here in the UK it costs about =20= $15 to add a free unlimited data plan to your standard mobile traiff. =20= And smartphones are really popular in Japan. I don't know what you =20 mean by "because Apple isn't paying them off". > But I really really wanted a Freerunner. I still dream of getting one > and not getting a service plan..just using it as like a PDA with wifi. > Any thoughts on this? There are other PDAs with wifi and such (a > friend was trying to sell me an old Palm with wifi a few months ago), > but I really want it to run Linux. ... > But I really want SSH on my phone...grrr. Laziness for the win! Well, this seems kinda contradictory. Either you want just a Linux PDA =20= without phone functionality, or you want ssh on your phone. Seems to =20 me like you do indeed want a single device. SSH on the Freerunner is really pretty nice. I haven't used mine much, =20= but it almost seems like the Freerunner's best or "killer" feature. =20 The Freerunner has a particularly high-resolution screen, so that you =20= can fit a lot in the terminal, and even tiny fonts display fine. I'm =20 not completely convinced about the on-screen keyboard, but like I say =20= I haven't used it much. Downsides of the Freerunner: - it's a bit large, it was described as a "brick" by a 20-something =20 female I know. I wouldn't want to have to carry it _and_ a separate PDA. - may need some hardware fixes, which require surface-mount soldering =20= skills. There are people offering these fixes, but it could cost you =20 some $. I'm not sure on the status if you were to buy a new one today. =20= Keywords: buzz-fix, #1024 (the latter is supposed to significantly =20 improve battery life in suspend). - just a lack of slickness, really. I mean, I don't like the iPhone's =20= closed ecosystem, they're apples and oranges, but the iPhone blows the =20= Freerunner out of the water. Have you tried the email setup on an =20 iPhone? It's just slick and it works, you can set it up in 2 minutes, =20= and your new mail is there. End of story. I hate the iPhone Store and =20= this whole thing of $3 apps, but I'll bet you could get a decent SSH =20 app for the iPhone for not much money. Install Pidgin on the =20 Freerunner and it just looks like a typical X-windows application from =20= the Linux desktop; it's not really very inspiring. There was a video on the BBC website the other day which showed the =20 interfaces of the Palm Pre and an Android phone. I think they're both =20= worth considering, particularly Android-based models. = http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/technology/2009/10/palm_pre_and_o2_a_marriage_o= f.html =46rom what I'm seeing of the Freerunner's user space applications, =20 it's at least a couple of years behind these, just a lot slower and =20 less responsive. Yet both the Palm Pre and Android phones are based on =20= Linux, so that you may be able to find one that's easily unlocked and =20= which you can install whatever environment you want (e.g. Google's =20 developer edition of the Android G1). You might well stick with the =20 original firmware for the moment, but because these ship with Linux =20 they give a decent opportunity to developers who want to develop a =20 Linux / 3rd-party / X-windows based user space, and that might be =20 really good in a couple of years. I'm probably not the best person to write about mobile phones, because =20= I get really excited about the tech, and then when I get a new mobile =20= phone I tend to find it too fiddly to actually use. Maybe an iPhone =20 would actually be ideal for me. I think there are lots of other =20 alternatives to Openmoko, and most of those you can get from your =20 mobile phone provider for an extra =A310 or =A315 a month, spread over = an =20 18-month contract so you basically don't notice the cost. If I was in the USA, I think the Kindle looks like a killer device. =20 You can get a refurbished one from Amazon for $175 and the built-in =20 web-browser works with a web-based SSH GUI (see xkcd's kindle 2 blog =20 post). It's been hacked enough to get a shell prompt on it, and that =20 opens the way for a native SSH app and PDF readers &c. I think ideally =20= you wouldn't just install a completely new Linux distro on it, because =20= the Kindle's dictionary and stuff look quite slick, but I think =20 there's the potential to install an alternative "main menu" so that =20 you could download books from Google's book service and from project =20 Gutenburg. Stroller.