[Freedombox-discuss] Developing code for Freedombox

[Rick Hodgin]

Nick,

Thank you.  It's the summary I was hoping for. :-)  My next step is to get the hardware and hit the IRC channel.

I believe very strongly in this project.  I love what Eben said in one of his videos, about creating devices like this that go in street lamps.  They plug in to the outlet, and the light bulb plugs in above that, and there we have a little mesh network operating 24/7 entirely off the grid.

Eben and James are the reason I'm putting my time into this project.  They summarize so beautifully what we're all up against.  And I think it would be great to work with them. :-)

Best regards,
Rick C. Hodgin

--- On Sat, 5/26/12, Nick Hardiman <nick at internetmachines.co.uk> wrote:

From: Nick Hardiman <nick at internetmachines.co.uk>
Subject: Re: [Freedombox-discuss] Developing code for Freedombox
To: "FreedomBox discussions" <freedombox-discuss at lists.alioth.debian.org>
Date: Saturday, May 26, 2012, 5:34 PM

Hi Rick, 
I've spent decades in IT and months watching this list and I quite often think "I just have no idea what these people are talking about". JTAG? Plinth? Santiago?  Luckily for me, I don't think that matters.  The FreedomBox project is breaking new ground, so we will, unfortunately, make slow progress. The more people who help, the quicker we forge ahead. 
It seems to me this is the story so far. 
The need is clear.  Eben Moglen saw the potential of the DreamPlug and created the FreedomBox project. James Vasile is running with it. 
On the technology side, an inital set of hardware, networking, OS and apps exists. Kind of. * The Dreamplug forms the base layer of hardware and networking. Globalscale built this as a complete hardware and software package, but it has multiple issues.* Debian is the OS controlling the Dreamplug. * An initial collection of software to build on - the off-the-shelf, ready-to-wear stuff - is listed in the wiki.* The first application for the end user - FreedomBuddy - was recently built by Nick Daly. The next apps to concentrate on are being discussed on this mailing list.
The obstacles, such as the speed of tor, information leaked from the TLS protocol and chicken-and-egg problems with trust, are also discussed on this mailing list. 
You can start with any of these points, and they are not all technical. I guess most people are hackers who want to get up to speed wit the apps.  
Is that where you want to start? 
For the clever guys out there - Is that a fair summary? Or am I miles off? 
 


Nick Hardimannick at internetmachines.co.uk@intmachines




On 26 May 2012, at 20:55, Rick Hodgin wrote:
I have desired since January to work on this project.  However, the software tools in use were completely outside of my prior experience.

As the weeks wear on and I see more and more videos about Freedombox, and listen to more and more speeches by Eben Moglen, I am moved from the inside to step up and offer my developer services.

I don't know where to begin.  I assume I need to get a FreedomBox device with JTAG debugging (from what I've read).  But I don't know how up-to-date the documentation is, where the toolsets are, what is required, where I can meet with other developers to more quickly learn what I don't know, etc.

I'm willing to learn.  Where do I start?

Best regards,
Rick C. Hodgin


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