not being able to use Skype is a big problem

[Carsten Haitzler (The Rasterman)]

On Wed, 2 Jul 2008 20:56:43 -0500 "Forrest Sheng Bao" <forrest.bao at gmail.com>
babbled:

they both use ARM. freerunner is armv4, n8xx is armv5. (think of it like a
pentium vs pentium-mmx - it has extra instructions in v5 compared to v4, but
the vast majority of the core is the same). it can be run.. if you are lucky
that the compiled binary doesn't use them. you can always write binary shims to
interface binaries to existing libraries and system. you can manually hex-edit
the binary and replace the armv4 instructions with v4 ones (insert etc).
hacking a binary is not something that hasn't been done before. it's been done
so many times there are many people who think of it as an art form... it just
may be a LOT of work. 

> I don't think one can run Skype for N8xx on Neo coz the CPU instruction set
> is different. I am not sure whether TI OMAP, the CPU used in N8xx, uses ARM
> instruction set.
> 
> On Wed, Jul 2, 2008 at 8:25 PM, The Rasterman Carsten Haitzler <
> raster at openmoko.org> wrote:
> 
> > On Wed, 2 Jul 2008 20:06:45 -0500 "Forrest Sheng Bao" <
> > forrest.bao at gmail.com>
> > babbled:
> >
> > > Hey guys,
> > >
> > > I think not being about to use Skype on Neo is a big disadvantage. I
> > don't
> > > have a cell phone. I contact the world thru Internet solely, including
> > > watching TV series or telephone calls. I think OPenMoko is opener than
> > > Nokia's Meamo project. But one can use Skype on Nokia N810. Will OpenMoko
> > > consider asking Skype to develop the client for Neo?
> >
> > you do know nokia PAID skype significant money to develop skype for the
> > n8xx?
> > skype is not open. i would say OM has no intent to go pay money for someone
> > else to develop a CLOSED piece of software for openmoko. OM is all about
> > being
> > open. skype is not all about being open. they just don't mix. if you want
> > to
> > somehow reverse-engineer skype's protocol details and write your own - feel
> > free. also if you wish to somehow make the skype binaries for the n8xx work
> > on
> > OM - feel free to work at it and release your work, but OM, i seriously
> > doubt,
> > is going to lay down good money for a closed piece of software when there
> > are
> > plenty of open alternatives. :)
> >
> > > Cheers,
> > > Forrest
> > >
> > > --
> > > Forrest Sheng Bao
> > > Ph.D. student, Dept. of Computer Science
> > > M.Sc. student, Dept. of Electrical & Computer Engineering
> > > Rm 115, Experimental Sciences Building
> > > Texas Tech University, Lubbock, Texas, USA
> > > http://narnia.cs.ttu.edu
> > > 1-806-577-4592
> > >
> > > Forrest is an equal opportunity Email sender.
> > > 1. You are encouraged to use the language you prefer. Beyond English, I
> > can
> > > also read traditional/simplified Chinese and a bit German.
> > > 2. I will only send you files readable to free or open source software.
> > >
> >
> >
> > --
> > Carsten Haitzler (The Rasterman) <raster at openmoko.org>
> >
> 
> 
> 
> -- 
> Forrest Sheng Bao
> Ph.D. student, Dept. of Computer Science
> M.Sc. student, Dept. of Electrical & Computer Engineering
> Rm 115, Experimental Sciences Building
> Texas Tech University, Lubbock, Texas, USA
> http://narnia.cs.ttu.edu
> 1-806-577-4592
> 
> Forrest is an equal opportunity Email sender.
> 1. You are encouraged to use the language you prefer. Beyond English, I can
> also read traditional/simplified Chinese and a bit German.
> 2. I will only send you files readable to free or open source software.
> 


-- 
Carsten Haitzler (The Rasterman) <raster at openmoko.org>