[openmoko-announce] Let us impact the material world

Dear Community I am in Columbia. Drinking local coffee (yes Paola your coffee is the best in the world) and thinking with the early morning clarity only those blessed with jag-lag can understand. Yesterday was an amazing day. After a morning walk around the government buildings and many beautiful museums of Bogota, we went up into the mountainous region of Monserrate. To get to the top of this cityscape icon and pilgrimage destination you have three choices: A gravity defying train, a somewhat stable cable car, or climbing. Pilgrims prefer the latter; but, perhaps due to the long delays of FreeRunner, my sense of urgency even here was overwhelming, I chose the cable car. For almost two years now I have told the story of Openmoko. Ascending that mountain provided me with a brief moment where, like my new view of Bogota, I was able to look at things from the outside. A moment long enough to rethink the way in which I told our story. I realized that evangelizing the impact of digital technologies is not enough. We must take charge of them. The story of Openmoko needs to be a story of us changing our "open source reality". For this is the opportunity presented to us now. Think: The collapse of so many hi tech companies on our stock exchanges has humbled many. Creators within the digital world -- no matter how novel and exciting -- will have no value unless they impact the material world directly. So this is my call to all of us today. Our work must begin to impact the material world. We have the tools. We have the knowledge. We must use our knowledge to transcend the digital world. People use heroes as touchstones to help them surmount their challenges. John Maeda has been a hero of mine ever since I first discovered my love for combining art and computers. I encourage you all to learn more about this incredibly creative person. His "Laws of Simplicity" would be a good place to start. For projects like ours, these are indeed guiding lights. Let me share one of his "laws" with you today; it's the tenth one: "Simplicity is about subtracting the obvious, and adding the meaningful." Hardly a day goes by for me without thinking about this elegant idea. The smart phone has become too complex. Our challenge is to make it simple and wise. Yes I am well aware of the distance between us and this goal. The complexity of our system pains me as much as I'm sure it pains you. But starting today, I hope we can become more conscious and more focused on simplicity and wisdom. We have been hard at work subtracting the obvious from our current architectures. Our new framework initiative (http://wiki.openmoko.org/wiki/OpenmokoFramework), is all about simplicity achieved through a complexity of thought and design. But Maeda insists that we must add meaning. Removing the obvious is not enough. So then, what meaningful for a smart phone? What exactly can we add that hasn't been added before? Today let me share two concepts. The first stems from a genre of design called "reactive graphics". Pressed to come up with an explanation of how this differs from interactive graphics, I would say the following: Reactive design engages the viewer at an almost instinctual level, rather than just the communication level found in interactive designs. This has a profound effect on how an individual views technology. "Reactivity" is, in my opinion, the key ingredient for making computers feel more human. All living organisms react. When our Neos begin to react to the environment around them, they will feel more alive to normal people. This is comforting. This is a simple way for us to impact the material world. Meeting interesting people with creative ideas is perhaps the most rewarding part of my job. Last night, while fighting off the less-than-helpful side of jet-lag, I had an great conversation with my new Columbian friend, Offray, about how Openmoko can better impact our daily lives. The Neo, to him, is a social cognition node -- an artifact -- where we can balance the power of the individual with that of the group within the mobile world. Here comes the second concept: Artifacts, he explained, have values embedded within, but sometimes they are not explicit. Our challenge, he said, is how to make this explicit. Start with things people are familiar with and find new ways to make them more qualitative, says Offray. Take SMS, he continues, instead of just plain text, why not send special compressed messages, readable only by Neos. We can use these as enablers to change mobile ecosystems. Hack their network to embed more freedoms for normal people. Add more meaning. Transform our Neo into an artifact. These are only two concepts. Many more exist. Together, we must start a conscious exploration of simple ways to impact the material world around us. Exactly where this will lead us is unclear. But we must begin. Whenever I talk publicly about Openmoko, or so it seems, the following question is asked: How can you compete again the giants of this industry? For most of us, I'd like to think, the answer is obvious. Instead of answering, I usually return their question: How can they compete against us? Openmoko is the collective creation of amateurs working on exactly what we love. They are professions, some doing what they love, most working towards the next paycheck. At certain times, the amateur has a distinct advantage over the professional. A professional knows what they can deliver, and rarely goes beyond it. An amateur has no concept of their limitations and usually goes well beyond them. Experience teaches us our limits. When we have learned that and become complacent, we are finished, because our work can be calculated and measured. Our work ceases to be a weapon. Now is such a time. Let us ignore limitations. Let us create new technologies that breed new ways of thinking. Let us impact the material world. Thousands of FreeRunners have been loaded into planes and fired around the world. Many of our distributors have already begun shipping. In about another week, Steve and Harry will announce the opening of our own webshop. I plan to start a new blog, sharing stories of how our Neos impact the material world. If you have something you would like to share, please email me directly. I would love to weave your ideas in our collective story. Thank you, from the the bottom of my heart, for all your incredible support and patience. I know the delays have been long. But now we are ready. Let us run free and impact the material world. Sincerely, Sean (one very excited amateur)