[Freedombox-discuss] [ask] booting and configuring

Thomas Lord lord at emf.net
Tue Mar 15 07:35:06 UTC 2011


Jonas:

> I want activation to be possible even in a somewhat hostile environment.
> 

This is a really great answer and so thanks, Jonas .... but...

I mean, I really do want to get to that kind of vision
you are talking about but I'm trying to ask about a way
point between here and there, if that makes sense.

Can I ask people to "think smaller for now" on this?

Maybe I can put it this way (maybe):

Suppose we have some core os that boots just fine one
one of the plugs already available.   Once configured,
assume we have the user-space services all done.

Suppose I want to make a bulk purchase of a whopping
500 of of these, load 'em up with freedombox 
pre-installs and sell 'em -- in my town among friends
and family and such, for now.

And I want all this to go down 11 months from today.

So I don't care for that short a time frame about
booting in the most hostile environments because I'm
pretty sure I can't ship any of the hardware to 
such environments nevermind support the software there
just yet.  I want to ship to less hostile environments
first to kind of get the juices flowing... to get 
to a point where honest to gosh users (however unexciting
they are compared to active revolutionaries) are spending
money on freedombox technology, and that money is feeding
back into development.

Real, real simple.   I want to give one to my cousin-in-law
to use for their blogging of their kids progress as she
enters first grade....  that kind of thing.   The hardware
in question is a little out of our control but could be any
of the existing plugs or any number of options at around a 
similar price point and capability level.

Forget the "rocket science" and the perfect answer for 
revolutionaries around the world ...  what's the "faster cheaper
better" solution we can roll out in 11 months?

-t


On Tue, 2011-03-15 at 05:32 +0100, Jonas Smedegaard wrote:
> On Mon, Mar 14, 2011 at 07:03:23PM -0700, Thomas Lord wrote:
> >
> >Opinions and speculations requested, please.
> >What is our group vision about this:
> >
> >I mail off a headless freedombox to some non-hacker
> >friend (who, let's assume, has a computer
> >and Internet connection at home already, but
> >who isn't a sysadmin or anything close).
> >
> >He opens it up.  Plugs it in / turns it
> >on.   The package, I hope, has one page of
> >instructions about how to configure the
> >freedombox and start using it.
> >
> >What does the process look like?
> >
> >Does my friend have to have wifi?
> >Or a spare ethernet cable and a router
> >with a spare slot?   What if his wifi
> >is password protected?   Does he
> >telnet to the box?  Use a web browser?
> >Or does it include a (possibly tiny, minimal)
> >display and my friend is supposed to plug
> >in a keyboard?
> >
> >What is a realistic and desirable "vision"
> >for the "first 10 minutes" experience?
> 
> 
> I imagine something like this:
> 
> 
>   * Initiate personalization mode in one of these ways:
>     a) Plug a USB keyboard into the box while turned off.
>        Turn box on, and when light changes to slowly blinking
>        (approx. 1 minut) type in a temporary passphrase (yes,
>        blindly, there is no screen) and unplug the keyboard.
>     b) Hold down reset button for 5 seconds while turned off.
>        Turn box on while keeping down reset button, and when
>        light changes to slowly blinking (approx. 1 minut)
>        release the reset button.
>   * Notice how light blinks double now, indicating pairing mode.
>     If not then repeat above step.
>   * connect the box and your own computer one of these ways:
>     a) connect directly with an ethernet cable
>     b) connect directly with a USB cable - showing as a usb-net at
>        your computer
>     c) connect your own computer to wifi network "freedomnet"
>        offered by the box.
>   * connect to web address http://freedombox.local/ or connect 
>     to DLNA device "freedombox".
>   * Enter your passphrase (if using reset button, enter 1234).
>   * Select the Freedoms you want enabled, and select "OK".
>   * If your selection included personal freedoms then enter your
>     nickname (you can add more later), and save the WebID you
>     are then being given.
>     NB! Very important that you keep this WebID and keep it
>     private - it is your key to personal data on FreedomBox!
> 
> I want activation to be possible even in a somewhat hostile environment.
> 
> I want to support Zeroconf of most types of personal computers in common 
> use today - both Mac and Linux (mDNS/DNS-SD) and Windows and e.g. some 
> TVs (SSDP part of UPnP).
> 
> I guess DLNA style interfaces are unable to store a WebID so cannot 
> support personal freedoms.  They can instead be presented with a notice 
> that personal freedoms needs a more capable computer because simple 
> passwords is too weak to provide adequate protection.
> 
> 
> I tried hard to imagine alternative ways of interaction (e.g. call it 
> with a SIP phone and interact with it through voice and phone digits).  
> I am sure design folks are more creative here, and I would be more than 
> happy to help find technical ways to support non-web-style interfaces!
> 
> Anyone knows which interfaces (plural - I assume not one is ideal for 
> all) most ideally support blind, deaf or differently challenged people?
> 
> 
> I strongly believe that initial setup should consist only of a list of 
> enable/disable style choices and (if needed at all) a single personal 
> identifier and/or a single box identifier - all services should have 
> sensible defaults and be ready to go (any tuning is optional and done at 
> later reconnect).  This helps keep initial setup to a minimum and helps 
> ease ability to provide vastly different kinds of interfaces (like 
> voice-controlled or even clapping-hands-by-certain-logic).
> 
> 
>   - Jonas
> 
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