[GTALUG] Voting with our Dollars on Computing Future that Respects our Freedom.

[Alvin Starr]

On 08/25/2016 12:47 AM, Scott Sullivan via talk wrote:
> There is a common refrain on this list, "Vote with your Dollars". 
> We'll I'm going to put my money where my mouth is.
>
> The EOMA-68 effort is something I've spoken on before. It's a real 
> earnest attempt to put together a hardware project that meets the 
> ideals of the free software community. It's matter of principle, much 
> like recycling is matter or principle (recycling is not cheaper then 
> new materials).
>
> https://www.crowdsupply.com/eoma68/micro-desktop
>
> I've been watching Luke, the project lead, fail and succeed in various 
> ways for nearly 5 years now. He's had hardware prototypes built, small 
> productions runs of the A20 card done.
I remember having discussions about this all those 5 years ago.
My argument is largely the same.
First off I like the idea of readability  because there is lots of 
hardware out there that is perfectly serviceable but is setting on 
shelves doing nothing or taking up space in landfills.

This is basically a raspberry pi without the ability to access the features.

For things like custom controllers I can go and buy a pi and a few 
add-ons then plug it into a box and I have my little music player to put 
in a corner or my led light controller to make fancy designs on my walls 
but with the EOMA-68 I need a breakout carrier and some extra hardware 
before I am in the same place.

For laptop's the memory, speed and heat generated by a usable laptop 
make the EOMA-68 a very difficult design choice.
The reason for laptop upgrades is often needing more memory or disk 
space but by the time you get there 2-3 years down the road the keyboard 
has food bits under it and the touch pad is wearing out so getting a new 
laptop is the way to go.
The EOMA-68 will do very little to alleviate those problems.

>
> This is a early adopter scenario, it's going to be rough around the 
> edges, and it's not going to be the fastest hardware. But it's got the 
> heart.
>
> Spend sometime reading into the details.
>
> https://www.crowdsupply.com/eoma68/micro-desktop/updates/fsf-ryf-background 
>
>
> In Five years, I've not seen Luke give up. He's finally found a 
> partner company with a good track record (Think Penguin). And the 
> design is done and tested. It just has to be built in mass.
>
> I'm not asking that folks go for the laptop. But maybe just a Card, 
> and a Cable Set for Standalone Operation. The costs of Hardware won't 
> come down until we show that we are willing to put a down payment on 
> future we've been asking for.
>
> I'm backing this project, not because its the cheapest, or the 
> fastest. But because I want to see more projects like in the future 
> that will be faster and possibly cost competitive in the market.
>
If a project needs people to go out and buy items in the hopes of 
getting the price down then its in real trouble.

The raspberry pi did not take 5 years of uphill fighting to make it 
possible and now there are literally millions of them out there.
The pi was a product that filled a unique need and because of that it 
took off.

If you want a reuse project to back then take a look at Project ARA from 
google(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Project_Ara).
Its the same kind of idea but a scope limited to a cell phone.
It is also the right idea in that its taking something I use and finding 
a way to expand it and make it more functional as oppose to EOMA-68 
where the idea is to take replace something I have with something less 
functional in the hopes that someday there will be the demand to make 
the less functional product cheap.

The plug and play idea and re-use angles are nice but that is not enough 
to build a technology ecosystem on its own.

-- 
Alvin Starr                   ||   voice: (905)513-7688
Netvel Inc.                   ||   Cell:  (416)806-0133
alvin at netvel.net              ||

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