interesting hackable device?

[Christopher Browne]

On Mon, May 24, 2010 at 11:26 AM, D. Hugh Redelmeier <hugh-pmF8o41NoarQT0dZR+AlfA at public.gmane.org> wrote:
> | From: Christopher Browne <cbbrowne-Re5JQEeQqe8AvxtiuMwx3w at public.gmane.org>
>
> | Here is a link to the first readily acquirable ARM-based laptop that I've seen:
> | http://www.dealextreme.com/details.dx/sku.39391
>
> It's really unfortunate for us that all this hardware innovation seems
> to happen on a distant continent in a distant language.  I don't see a
> good way for us to participate in the process as anything other than
> consumers.

I expect DX are "takers" as opposed to "choosers," so there are still
layers between there.

> First things I'd change if I could:
>
> - clearer hardware specs
>
> - more open firmware
>
> - smaller bezels
>
> - at least the option of more generous RAM
>
> - community liaison

Interestingly, the followup device, the EKEN M003, is available from
the same place for $136 USD.

http://www.dealextreme.com/details.dx/sku.39448

> I don't really know what Android is.  Linux kernel but completely
> different and unique userland?

More or less.  It consists of:
 - Linux kernel, with some divergences that may yet converge back
   (they needed event management stuff, before the kernel folk had
   decided on an implementation)

 - Some set of C-based user space stuff.  SQLite, OpenGL, Webkit, SSL,
and a few others

This provides a series of low level services.  They then have a Java
layering so that apps are deployed in Java.  This has a couple of
merits:
- Android API includes interfaces to application services such as
Phone, Contacts, web Browser, SMS messaging, so that applications can
coherently manipulate these things.  (Telephony, after all!)
- Binaries are Java .class files, which can be expected to compile
once and run on various CPU architectures

That reads as a suggesting this is a reasonable way to do this;
someone could certainly take a less "reasonable" reading of it all,
and this might correlate with whether one considers Google to be "not
evil," versus more suspicious views.
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