GTA04 openness/freedom (was GTA04 Group Buy - Status)

[Michael Sokolov]

Radek Polak <psonek2 at seznam.cz> wrote:

> What's the point in investing time into device that is no longer manufactured 
> and the number of users is decreasing to zero?

If it is so worthless in your eyes, why are you (not Radek personally,
but some others in this community) guarding that "moko" fw src/object
code so zealously?  Why are you so unwilling to brighten up at least
one person's life by having some anonymous account upload a copy from
some public WiFi hotspot?

> Did you realize that very soon you will loose the freedom to buy GTA02?

Well, I've already got mine. :-)

But seriously, swapping PCBAs between GTA02 and GTA04 is a zero-sum
game.  The number of existing {case + LCM + GSM antenna + other bits}
sets is finite, and it stays the same whether you leave the original
GTA02 PCBAs in those cases or replace them with GTA04s.

And if someone solves the problem of existing case shortage by making
a new case and starts selling full GTA04s with cases, perhaps I'll
make my own Calypso-based PCBA to stuff into those new cases.  I've
been thinking about using Leonardo+ schematics (quad-band Calypso
reference board) as my starting point, including the quad-band GSM RF
front-end, and slapping some simple application processor in front of
it, whatever is most readily available.  Maybe even the same OMAP
which Dr. HNS has used in the GTA04 - I don't really care what the AP
is as long as it can run Linux with full source, but I want the GSM
part to be Calypso, because it's the best-understood cellular baseband
chipset from the hacking standpoint.

MS