Looking for a mentor for Google SoC - interested in GPS-smart app devel

[Michael Welter]

Hello Ryan,

I would be willing to mentor you, as I am interested in your proposed 
software.  However, I don't have any software development experience 
with embedded systems or kernel modules.  My experience is C/C++, Java, 
Lisp, PHP, HTML, etc.  let me know if and how I can help.

Michael Welter
Denver, Colorado
303-414-4980

Ryan Prior wrote:
> Dear OpenMoko community,
> 
> I plan on writing and extending OpenMoko apps to take best advantage of 
> GPS data, providing support to all OpenMoko apps via d-bus and providing 
> useful built-in functions in the base Moko apps. My primary objectives are:
> 1) Write a library or daemon that provides simple geographically related 
> data to Moko apps, such as creation and management of GPS points, 
> distance between the phone and a point, finding the nearest point, 
> generating a list of all points within a certain distance, etc.
> 2) Write a daemon that reports events based on geographical location or 
> location relative to defined GPS nodes. This allows the phone to 
> automatically perform tasks based on GPS data without each having to 
> poll the GPS module by providing an event-driven geolocation architecture.
> 3) Write a GPS-smart todo list application that can give reminders based 
> on location, generate a pared-down todo list based on location, and 
> provides an API to other apps for parsing various structures (especially 
> plain text, as might be received in an email or typed with the stylus, 
> and info imported from calendars) into a todo list complete with 
> geographic info.
> 4) Write GPS intelligence into a profile switching app, allowing 
> automatic reconfiguration of the phone depending on geographical 
> location or location relative to defined GPS points. Useful features 
> include automatically going into drive-mode when driving, silent-mode 
> when inside a theatre or symphony hall, silent mode (or disabled 
> communications mode) when inside a public school, etc.
> 5) Integrate the above into an auto-task manager that can automatically 
> perform tasks such as "Sync with my latest email and calendar data as I 
> walk/drive to work" or "Put music player at top of my commonly used apps 
> list when I get to track practice". The same task manager can also 
> incorporate data such as current time, number of emails in inbox, which 
> day of the week, etc. The goal of this application is to allow 
> sophisticated control over phone automation for power users and give a 
> number of sane, useful options to basic phone users.
> 
> Scope of the Summer of Code project: implement 1 and 2 solidly, laying 
> the framework for the next ones; implement 3 4 and 5 as far as time 
> allows, focusing more on function than polish (though with the OpenMoko 
> application framework, polish isn't exactly hard to come by!)
> 
> About me: I am 18 years old and a USA resident. I have been tinkering 
> with computers all my life, but only started programming at 11. My name 
> is Ryan and my primary interests are computers, microbiology, and world 
> travel (I'm writing this from Europe). I enjoy long walks on the beach 
> and longer hacking sessions afterwards.
> 
> My development experience: The languages I am best with are Python, 
> Scheme, and JavaScript. I am willing to (and know that I have to) learn 
> C/C++, and I know a smattering of Perl, PHP, and Java. I have worked 
> with a number of application frameworks including GTK+ and have spent a 
> lot of time using (and being frustrated with) mobile phones. I am 
> comfortable developing on a Linux computer, and use a Linux laptop as my 
> primary development tool. I have written a bunch of programs but I have 
> never contributed to open source projects before. I'm looking forward to 
> the experience! I have used many open-source project management tools 
> but I have never used CVS before. I'm good at picking these things 
> things up and I have strong online communication skills, so I am 
> optimistic that I can learn the ropes quickly.
> 
> Thanks for reading -- if anybody is interested in mentoring me, please 
> help me get the ball rolling for summer 2007! I'm really excited to 
> watch OpenMoko development unfold and I am itching to be a part of it.
> 
> Cheers,
> Ryan aka PirateHead
>