Hi Jon,<br><br>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.<br><br><div class="gmail_quote">On Tue, Jul 14, 2009 at 8:11 PM, Jon 'maddog' Hall <span dir="ltr"><<a href="mailto:maddog@li.org">maddog@li.org</a>></span> wrote:<br>
<blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="border-left: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); margin: 0pt 0pt 0pt 0.8ex; padding-left: 1ex;">
<br>
One of the issues here is that the project has not exactly been focused<br>
on one stack of software....ergo the number of cycles that it is taking<br>
to get any one stack ready has taken a long time. IMHO this is both a<br>
blessing and a curse. A blessing because the hardware and kernel are<br>
"tickled" in many ways, making the kernel more robust in the long run<br>
and a person has choice in the software stack. A curse because instead<br>
of one intense effort we have several somewhat coordinated efforts.<br>
<div class="im"><br>
>My feeling is that the GTA02 device itself is in pretty good shape<br>
>compared to the software it runs. So how will the community benefit<br>
>from a GTA03?<br>
<br>
</div>Yes, I agree the GTA02 is in "pretty good shape" compared to the<br>
"software it runs". However, it is in "good shape" for the middle of<br>
2008.....not necessarily for the year 2009 or even the end of 2008.<br>
<br>
Eventually the tide will turn and the software will be "in good shape"<br>
while the hardware is perceived as being "long in the tooth".</blockquote><div><br>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.<br>
<br>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. <br> <br>
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.<br>
<br>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.<br>
<br>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? <br><br>
Warren<br>
<br clear="all"></div></div><br>-- <br>Warren Baird - Photographer and Digital Artist<br><a href="http://www.synergisticimages.ca">http://www.synergisticimages.ca</a><br>