Hi Jon, Thanks for all this - like most people here, I think this is fantastic news that gives me some meagre hope for the future of the freerunner.
On Tue, Jul 14, 2009 at 8:11 PM, Jon 'maddog' Hall <[email protected]> wrote: > > One of the issues here is that the project has not exactly been focused > on one stack of software....ergo the number of cycles that it is taking > to get any one stack ready has taken a long time. IMHO this is both a > blessing and a curse. A blessing because the hardware and kernel are > "tickled" in many ways, making the kernel more robust in the long run > and a person has choice in the software stack. A curse because instead > of one intense effort we have several somewhat coordinated efforts. > > >My feeling is that the GTA02 device itself is in pretty good shape > >compared to the software it runs. So how will the community benefit > >from a GTA03? > > Yes, I agree the GTA02 is in "pretty good shape" compared to the > "software it runs". However, it is in "good shape" for the middle of > 2008.....not necessarily for the year 2009 or even the end of 2008. > > Eventually the tide will turn and the software will be "in good shape" > while the hardware is perceived as being "long in the tooth". I hope you are are right that eventually the software will be in better shape than the hardware. I must admit that in my less optimistic moments, I wonder about that. The progress towards a stable, easily usable distro for the FR has been slow. I agree that finding people who can work on the phone software is a lot easier than hardware, and I think that this current opportunity is great. However, I also think that at the moment the software environment requires a *lot* of work to be ready for more mainstream users. I'm very happy to hear that there is an organization that can help move the hardware forward... However, until there's a software environment that is feature-complete, user-friendly, and stable enough that a mainstream user can use it, I don't think we're going to find that the 10,000 unit production limit is a big issue. Your goals about 100M units sound fantastic - but I think to get to even 1M units we're going to need a rock-solid, but most importantly, a very user-friendly software environment. something at least as pretty and easy to use as a Pre or an iPhone. I'm not convinced that can happen without more backing than any of the current projects seem to have - you need people trained in usability, tonnes of usability testing across a wide range of audiences, etc. I know it's a lot to ask, but I don't suppose you've got another ace up your sleeve? A university with a usability lab and an interest in the usability of hand-held devices? Warren -- Warren Baird - Photographer and Digital Artist http://www.synergisticimages.ca
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