FreeSoft and the Ever-Changing Hardware of Today

[Gregory Nowak]

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Thank you for your eloquent post Sabahattin. One thing I'd like to
mention is that there was a similar project way back when, before we
got started, that had the same goals that we have, but that failed to
get off the ground because they didn't have hardware to work with,
they didn't have specifications for the hardware, and Pulsedata
refused to help back then, although they had supposedly promised to
provide units to that team when it got started. This other project was
mentioned early on, when this list first got started, by Frank Carmikle
(spelling), who was on the freesoft development team, and according to
him, was also on the team of the first project, but who left
our project when his domain registration expired, and didn't bother resubscribing
under a new address.

So as Sabahattin stated, Please let us know if you're still out there,
and what your thoughts are on the future of freesoft. If it is decided
that the project should be scrapped, it won't be the first linux on
braillenote, (or in our case, netbsd on braillenote) project to end in such a way, to the detriment of all
those who own these units, and want to have more choice about what
software is available.

Greg


On Fri, Nov 03, 2006 at 11:46:42PM -0000, Sabahattin Gucukoglu wrote:
> Hi everyone,
> 
> It's come to light recently, after a somewhat lengthy interlude of 
> silence, that we are no longer in possession of the Humanware hardware we 
> once were: one of our members had to give his unit back, the other has 
> upgraded to the latest hardware available.  We therefore no longer have 
> the original basis for FreeSoft, that of early-day, expensive hardware 
> upon which to run a cool suite of apps powered by Open Source rather than 
> the cludgy software currently in use.  Not, of course, to say that we 
> haven't discussed running FreeSoft on anything else, of course; it's just 
> that we really are spread thin now as far as supporting any given platform 
> goes.
> 
> It seems like a good opportunity to ask everyone what they think of the 
> whole idea now that times are changing, Freedom Scientific is offering 
> trade-in programs few people are apparently able to refuse, key staff of 
> PulseData have left for other jobs or worlds, and the prospect of any kind 
> of external support in anything but the vaguest geek projects spun off by 
> other people elsewhere working on entirely different projects is entirely 
> unlikely.  Help from Humanware seems certainly unlikely.  We were here to 
> bring Open Source to an expensive but very suitably blind-friendly 
> hardware basis, and although we've had some geek successes in running a 
> NetBSD kernel and developing a couple of system tools in aid of the 
> project, we just haven't got enough to make any kind of progress on any 
> given platform.  One of a kind and no tech specs isn't enough.
> 
> It would be disappointing indeed to consign these expensive units to the 
> grave and abandon the project, but if we must then we must.  We ask you to 
> give your opinions.  Is the enterprise worth pursuing?  Other projects may 
> start up on clean slates, other projects already run Linux on accessible 
> PDAs, and the world of Windows CE is open to anyone who will pay for it or 
> trade in using Freedom Scientific's current offer.
> 
> Please tell us if you're alive and whether you think anything can come out 
> of this.  We'd rather scrap the whole idea if there's no enthusiasm in it 
> than try fruitlessly to continue in the current conditions.  Any last-
> ditch appeals, offers of help or other recommendations are welcome.
> 
> Cheers,
> Sabahattin
> 
> -- 
> Sabahattin Gucukoglu <mail<at>sabahattin<dash>gucukoglu<dot>com>
> Address harvesters, snag this: feedme at yamta.org
> Phone: +44 20 88008915
> Mobile: +44 7986 053399
> 
> 

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