[openmoko-announce] Openmoko on Design

Stroller stroller at stellar.eclipse.co.uk
Tue Jul 29 01:54:33 CEST 2008


On 28 Jul 2008, at 21:31, Jay Vaughan wrote:

>> Sorry to hear it doesn't work for you. But like I said, we each have
>> our
>> own ways of understanding and making meanings.
>> You are free to create your own meanings.
>
> I just can't see how you honestly believe all this panty-waiste
> dilettante waffling about "not having a design because its up to the
> open community" is going to drive things forward.


I read Sean's message quite differently to the way you did, apparently.

I read it as "we do have a design for ASU" and presumably when he  
said "we're not taking votes on piddly little implementation details"  
this is because FIC just want to get on with things and as quickly as  
possible and get ASU to the sate where it's the reference-platform  
(with the nice-looking GUI) that you desire.

Having said that, I had to read the message more than once to arrive  
at these conclusions. From Sean's message & Will's [1] it seems to me  
like people at Openmoko sometimes speak a different language from the  
rest of us, a language with over a thousand words for "blue sky".

I don't want to sound negative (again!) because over the weekend I've  
had a bit of a revelation about Openmoko, and I'm feeling much more  
positive than I was a couple of days ago. I've just spent quite a bit  
of time trying to express that in a reply to "Openmoko on Design"  
that I sent privately to Sean; I've asked him if I can post that to  
the list, but I don't want want to publicly post "my interpretation"  
of Openmoko if he thinks that mischaracterises them. Initially I was  
really angry about the whole removal-of-the-keyboard-button-by- 
shadowy-designers thing, and I've come to realise it's irrelevant and  
that I was stupid to get upset about it.

Nevertheless, the problem with the explanations made by Sean & Will  
is that one shouldn't have to "interpret" statements of official  
policy at all. We shouldn't be "free to create your own meanings"  
from your explanations. I found these posts surprising because they  
seem to have borrowed their manner of response from John McCain's  
recent interview on gay adoption [2]. They approached some clear and  
specific concerns in a way that geometry does not address - had they  
done so tangentially it would have been a vast improvement.

I think my first project will be called MokoBingo! (with the  
exclamation mark!)! It will check the mailing list on a regular basis  
and the Freerunner will make a squeaky noise when any of the  
following terms are encountered:

   Open, free, innovation, imaginative
   creative, community. Resources, sharing,
   imagination, struggle, essential ideas.
   Foundation, openness, art, growth.
   Self-organize,
   building dreams.
   Productive!
   Understanding, the power of open.
   diversity, change.

Actually, you will get two squeaks for "self-organize".

Stroller.




[1] onimas at gmail.com is an Openmoko employee, right?
[2] http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=llZuoMXpr4s




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