Thought experiment

Fun with mobile devices
Welcome
Codebits 2008
Marcus Bauer - bearstech.com
What is the talk about?
Presentation of a mobile platform:
the Openmoko Freerunner
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What is it?
What can you do with it?
What software stacks exist?
How do you develop for it?
Ideas for hacking - be creative & innovative
Thought experiment
Let's go back to 1980
IBM PC - the begin of personal computing:
Thought experiment
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4,77 Mhz
16KB - 256KB RAM memory
360KB floppy disk
optional 10 MB harddisk
no networking
big box on your desktop
80x24 character screen (no graphics)
25 kilograms, 150 Watt
Thought experiment
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Let's jump back to 2008 - Openmoko Neo:
Thought experiment
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128 MB RAM
450 MHz CPU
up to 8 GB flash storage
fully networked: not just on the desk but
everywhere
120 grams
=> it fits in your pocket!
Thought experiment
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don't compare to a desktop computer,
you will miss the opportunities
think like somebody from 1980 suddenly
offered this gadget
free your mind from quad core CPUs, 1TB
harddisks and Gbit Ethernet
To repeat the Mantra: It's cool - it fits in my
pocket and can go everywhere
Thought experiment
More hardware features:
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networked everywhere by GPRS,
prices are dropping
power needs: 1 Watt (solar panel)
location based services: built-in GPS
universal connectivity: USB
data acquisition
accelerometers: fun
high resolution 285dpi VGA screen 640x480
Thought experiment
Even printing and scanning via USB possible.
Think beyond limits - unleash your mind!
Software Stack
What do we have?
What can we build upon?
Software Stack
Hackabable1, a distribution by Bearstech
integrates Open Source for easy development:
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Debian
-> 15.000+ packages
GNOME mobile implementation
-> industry heavy weights
full LAMP stack
-> easy integration with the web
Software Stack
Debian
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available for ARM
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apt-get install
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build and package management tools
Software Stack
GNOME mobile supported by
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Moblin (Intel)
Limo Foundation (many major manfs & ops)
Ubuntu
=> good base for development, future proof
=> mature, well documented
Software Stack
LAMP
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Linux, Apache, MySQL, PHP
python, ruby...
sqlite, a lightweight alternative
even postgres possible if need for
transactions
=> mobile device development is no longer
only for specialized embedded developers
Software Stack
A word about embedded development
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GTK apps work everywhere, just recompile
for ARM or i386: the netbook and mobile
worlds are growing together
full toolchain on the device, start in 5
minutes: apt­get source ­b hello
for speed up compiling use distcc
Software Stack
tangoGPS - an Open Source GPS Application
● with friend finder and POI support
Software Stack
A word about open source and
the power of communites
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wikipedia
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openstreetmap.org - collaborative mapping
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starting you own projects: gain experience
Create, Hack & Innovate
What can you do?
Some ideas...
Create, Hack & Innovate
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tourism: lbs guides & information systems
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lbs based social networking
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location games - “scotland yard”
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disaster recovery - “Myanmar|Birma”
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NGO 3rd world databases - think vaccination
Create, Hack & Innovate
Needed skills:
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either web or embedded
CSS, Javascript, PHP, etc...
C, C++, Python...
Several devices are available
plus support for the contest
GTD in 30 hours: possible hacks, shortcuts...
Create, Hack & Innovate
Now it's your turn!
Create, Hack & Innovate
Questions? Go ahead!
Create, Hack & Innovate
Last not least: bearstech is growing and we
are looking for talents...
Thank you for listening!
Ressources
http://www.bearstech.com/
http://www.hackable1.com/
http://www.tangogps.org/