FC project direction

[Spacefalcon the Outlaw]

Das Signal <das.signal at freecalypso.org> wrote:

> Managed to install v58 without issue. I agree with you, the UI is very
> snappy and usable!

How does it compare to what we seek to achieve with a Calypso-only
Free Dumb Phone sans Linux?

I often find myself questioning and soul-searching as to whether or
not I am on the right track with my dumbphone obsession.  Everyone
else around me prefers smartphones, and even many of the supporters of
FreeCalypso have said that they would prefer to have a device with the
capabilities of a handheld Linux computer, rather than just a
dumbphone.

So just how good is a Freerunner running QtMoko?  Is it really equal
or superior to a dumbphone on every metric (no worse in terms of
usability and battery life, but far superior in capabilities), such
that building a Calypso-only Free Dumb Phone sans Linux would be a
waste of time and energy?  Is the Freerunner with QtMoko such an
epitome of perfection (better than a dumbphone etc) that the *only*
problem with this option is that the devices are no longer made and
the old stock has been exhausted?  Should we then direct our energy
toward building a device that is as close as possible to a verbatim
clone of the GTA02?

Don't forget that we have the original PCB layout files now, thus
producing verbatim clones of at least the bare PCB in any desired
quantity would be trivial.  Components would be a much bigger problem
though - from what I heard, everyone who looked into it came up with
the answer that most of the original components are now unobtainium,
so the trivial act of resending the original gerbers to a PCB fab
would be rather useless - instead one would need to invest some major
effort into redesigning the device with currently available components.

But none of the above considerations address the philosophical question
of which is ultimately "better": a free smartphone like GTA02 with
Linux, or a Free Dumb Phone without Linux.  So let's make a thought
experiment: suppose a flying saucer landed right in front of you, an
almighty fairy stepped out and offered to you just one of two possible
choices:

1. You can have a dumbphone similar to Pirelli DP-L10 (color LCD
   ranging from Pirelli's 1.5" 128x128 pix up to maybe 2" 176x220 pix,
   traditional numeric dial keypad) with only Calypso inside, no Linux,
   but running fully free fw.  Usability and functionality exactly the
   same as any regular dumbphone of this class, but with full source
   code for the fw.  New production not limited by a scarce used market,
   so you can recommend them to your friends, buy extras in case yours
   breaks, etc.

2. You can have a GTA02 clone indistinguishable from those made by
   Openmoko, except that they are once again made new and you can buy
   extras, recommend them to your friends, etc.

With everything else being equal, which would you choose?  Please put
some serious thought into this question, as we are now at a crossroads
and I really wish to know which project direction would be more
appreciated by the community.  Lurkers from the land of the shy, your
input is sought too, not just the core contributors - so please speak
up and let your preference be heard!

> I haven't managed to make GPRS work yet,

Gaining a convenient way to play with advanced features of the TCS211
firmware such as GPRS is one of the many reasons I want a standalone
version of the modem, on a board by itself without the AP.  I haven't
tried playing with GPRS myself yet either in all these years, because
I find it to be too much pain to figure out how to do such experiments
in whatever environment is running on GTA02's Linux AP.  OTOH, if the
modem's main UART (the one carrying AT commands, CSD, fax and GPRS)
could be connected directly to a regular laptop, without going through
an AP, playing with all of those data functions would be a lot easier
and a lot more fun, methinks.

But if you happen to be more comfortable with the FR's AP environment
(QtMoko or some other) than I am and you manage to play with GPRS,
that would be cool.

> but perhaps
> I should try to update to moko11 or leo2moko first.

If you are going to use your new GTA02 for FreeCalypso fw development
and debugging, you'll be flashing your modem back and forth between
different experimental images a lot (unfortunately the amount of RAM
this modem is endowed with is too small to run a GSM fw image solely
out of RAM, hence one has to flash every experimental image in order
to try it), so it makes absolutely no difference what the starting
version is. :)  Just make an initial dump of your modem's flash with
fc-loadtool before you do anything else to it, and save this dump so
you will always have a good FFS image with good calibration to go back
to.  (Having known-good calibration matching each individual unit that
is also in the right format for our fw is one of the special qualities
which currently set the FR above all other potential Calypso targets.)

Happy hacking,
Mychaela aka Space Falcon