Wednesday, December 17. 2008
iBoot: iPhone 3G finally running the ... Posted by Erik de Bruijn
in Linux / (K)ubuntu, Tech & Internet at
12:44Comments (2) Trackbacks (0) iBoot: iPhone 3G finally running the Linux (kernel). And: Canon Hack Development Kit
I've settled for a WM6 equipped HTC device: The HTC Touch Cruise. A fairly nice device. It doesn't look as fancy as the iPhone, but it is very well equipped and there are many applications available for WM6. I can watch online-streams, youtube, etc. I can telephone over VoIP and/or skype, so calling is essentially for free (granted that you have an unlimited internet subscription). It even synchronizes with my Google Calendar through oggSync (limted freeware). Still I don't really like the situation. I would neither really like to have an iPhone, regardless of the appealing looks.
My perfect phone has to have an open environment in which I'm able to do and change everything to my liking. Besides being able to SSH to it, it should still have decent hardware and a good UI, though. Now, it seems that the first important step is made, the linux kernel now runs on the iPhone! iPhone Linux Demonstration Video from planetbeing on Vimeo. This is another good example of very capable hackers opening up yet another device and freeing it from its proprietary & closed-source OS  This will allow for a more intense user-centric innovation of phone software. I think it will become interesting... Another nice example is the CHDK (the Canon Hack Development Kit). It allows anyone to easily upgrade various Canon camera's with many profesional features and new customization options without much risk of irreversible damage (YMMV). It only boots up with the firmware you load on the SD card, when you remove those files, it will boot up with the regular system. It is an interesting strategy for Cannon to allow this to happen, because Canon will surely learn a lot about what users do with a camera that they can adjust to their needs. They can start incorporating a selection of these features on their standard models, and/or support a more general plug-in mechanism.  A CHDK enhanced photography rig. This allows you to take HD timelapses with panning. You can tilt and pan the camera along a computer controlled path and create shots at regular intervals. It is an open source toolkit that allows you to: - Motion detection - Trigger exposure in response to motion, fast enough to catch lightning. - USB remote - Simple DIY remote allows you to control your camera remotely. - Zooming during filming! - You can now finally zoom in/out WHILE recording a movie clip. - IR remote control - Do zooming and shutter control wireless with an standard Apple Remote. - Time lapse - it allows better control over time lapse. E.g. you can create a movie of small seeds growing to become small plants! - Scripting interface - including a simple BASIC language - Bracketing - take multiple snaps almost simultaneously with different exposure, aperture, ISO, and even focus. You can later digitally combine the pictures using masks, etc. - Games - Play Reversi, Sokoban or 4-in-a-Row on your camera. - RAW - CHDK can record raw files, giving you access to every bit of data the sensor saw, without compression or processing. Raw files can be manipulated on the camera, or processed on your PC. CHDK also has experimental support for the open DNG raw standard. - Override Camera parameters - Exposures from 64s to 1/60.000s with flash sync. Full manual or priority control over exposure, aperture, ISO and focus. - Video Overrides - Control the quality or bitrate of video, or change it on the fly. - Scripting - Control CHDK and camera features using ubasic and LUA scripts. Enables time lapse, motion detection, advanced bracketing, and much more. - Many user-written scripts are available on the forum and wiki. - Edge overlay - Detect the edges in a scene, and display them later. Ideal for timelapses, stop-motion, stereography and much more. - Live Histogram - CHDK includes a customizable, live histogram display, like those typically found on more expensive cameras. - Zebra-Mode - Displays under and overexposure areas live on the screen. - GRIDS - Create custom grids and display whichever one suits your shooting conditions. - Multi-Lingual Interface - CHDK supports about 13 languages, and adding more languages is simple. - DOF Calculator - Display detailed DOF information on the screen. - Customizable OSD - Improved display of battery status, free space, camera parameters, and much more. Fully customizable with an on-screen editor. - Filebrowser - Manage files without a PC. - Textreader - Display text files on your camera. - Benchmark - Compare the performance of your SD cards. - User Menu - Edit your own customizable User-Menu for fast access to often used features. - there is even more → read the Manual & explore this wiki.  You can finally catch lightning with your camera... well, sort of. Source: http://chdk.setepontos.com/index.php/topic,1989.0.html Picture by mrpolitics This video nicely shows many of the new features you get (french language) Various canon models are supported. My camera (IXUS 90 IS) is too new but someone is working on a port. My older canon camera with a broken screen can still become useful, though. I could use it as a security camera with round robin snapshots (only when motion is detected) with a small SD card in it... Wednesday, December 17. 2008
Michel Bauwens on peer production Posted by Erik de Bruijn
in Energy/sustainability, RepRap at
09:51Comments (0) Trackbacks (0) Michel Bauwens on peer production
Monday evening, I've been to a reading on peer production in Amsterdam (@ Waag Society). Besides the excellent talk, I met some wonderful people as well! I had heard and read about the peer to peer foundation earlier, but didn't really dive into it then. Now, hearing Michel speak was really fascinating. He has the capacity to extract some generalizations about peer production that apply to much more than just open source software. In a way, it's more of a cultural change than any specific field to which an open, 'voluntary participation based' process is applied. Michel was able to clearly put the current state of affairs and developments in a historical context. This thought experiment allowed us to think much more out of the box, which is important since every person has a degree of paradigm lock-in. Paradigm lock-in can be attributed to the fact that it takes learning of a reference frame to start understanding things within this framework. If you want to understand the sames things from another perspective, we should have learnt both perspectives in parallel. Unlearning an older, tacit but consolidated mental model or reference frame is a low and hard process, which has to do with neuroplasticity. But let's not lose track of what I was talking about... I really welcome Michel's anthropological approach and like to integrate it with my own ideas and my experiences with open source.
What was interesting was that Michel was really hoping for peer production of material goods (as opposed to virtual goods) would become significant. We see this happening. Open source PowerLineComms, Private GSM networks, MP3 players, wearable electronics, game consoles, a multitude of embeddable electronics (controllers), robot controllers, alarm clocks, various gadgets, an open source EEG (measures brainwaves) and ECG, 3D printers, robot kits, etc. Most things vary from useful, to educational or plain fun, or any combination. Your plant's pot can now contain a module to send you an SMS in case your plant needs water. I think that 3D printing can create another wave of innovation and peer production. It's nice to see I'm not the only one who's convinced of the transformational power of technology and persistent benevolent people. I may write more on this subject later, but now I have some other obligations to attend to. |
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