Android open source smart phone

Open source system: Just recently Open Handset Alliance and Google released the source code of smart phone operating system Android, based on Linux kernel and operating system. What does that mean to the common public? It means so many developers/hackers/programmers can come up with really creative and innovative ideas/applications for the open smart phones of yours. Anyone can take a look at source code and help contribute by providing more ideas. Anyone who wishes to make any hardwares compatible with the software can do so with modification without any charges incurred, part of the benefit of GNU GPL License.

An open world: I've always opted for open systems as I believe living beings evolve in an open environment. Our genetics have gone through countless natural selections to have become the human forms today. Traditional medicine has always worked in an open manner without patents or copyrights. Why not the operating systems for computers/smart phones/pdas and etc.?

More joining: Another company that is going to open up her source code is Nokia and her Symbian operating system. Visionaries such as these people see the benefits that can be shared among human beings, and the vast amount of human talents that can help contribute to better and more innovative coding.

First Android phone: To the more common public all these names and programmings may not mean much. Let's bring something closer to the earth: The first android hand phone: HTC Dream G1

Links:
1. Google, http://www.google.com
2. Open Handset Alliance, http://www.openhandsetalliance.com
3. Android Open Source Project, http://www.android.com
4. HTC Corporation, http://www.htc.com
5. Nokia, http://www.nokia.com
6. Symbian OS, http://www.symbian.com

Open source Openmoko phone

July 4th, 2008 came a phone so unique it may revolutionize the mobile phone industry. Openmoko Neo FreeRunner is a completely open source mobile phone, including the mobile Linux platform and application software, and as such is sold "unlocked" and can be used with any GSM network.

There are currently three voices in the world of open platform for handphones. The Openmoko Neo FreeRunner is ahead of the other two (the LiMo Foundation and the Open Handset Alliance) in terms of rolling out handsets in the actual world market.

About the phone:
Operating the device seems not difficult because it has built-in core software that’s meant for recording contacts, dialing, and SMS. Neo FreeRunner is going to be available in two versions – 900MHz and 850MHz models.

Aside from that, it has 128MB WSDRAM and 256MB NAND flash memory. Making it more competitive is the 2.8-inch VGA touch screen having 480 x 640 resolution. Yes, anything you want done can be achieved with a touch of finger. Connectivity available is 802.11 b/g, AGPS, and GPRS 2.5G. Bluetooth is also provided.

Open source everything:
Openmoko hopes that by using open source software other developers can also make something unique out of the Neo FreeRunner handset.

Open source hardware:
Openmoko has made available downloadable Pro-Engineer format CAD files under a Creative Commons license for the developer community. It’ll be interesting to see how the developer community adapts the insides of FreeRunner to various form factors and application areas.

Open source software:
The Openmoko Neo FreeRunner comes equipped with a GNU/Linux OS base, and a core system for dialing, SMS and recording contacts. It currently does not include a camera, but it wouldn't surprise us if it is somehow modified into one. In about a month, a brand new software suite will be released that will provide location-based applications.

The FreeRunner can be a good training ground for the Linux community to adapt their codes/programs from desktop to this phone. So if you want to move beyond the narrow confines of the Windows Mobile operating system, or Nokia's Symbian OS doesn't float your boat, you might want to try this one out.

Discussion of specifications:
The FreeRunner will come in two versions at first: 850MHz or 900MHz Tri-band GSM. It packs in 128MB WSDRAM and 256MB NAND of flash memory, and includes a 2.8-inch VGA touch screen (at 480 x 640), Wi-Fi at 802.1 1b/g, AGPS, and GPRS 2.5G. And it of course has Bluetooth 2.0 connectivity, plus a couple of 3-axis motion sensors.

Upgrading and customization of the phone:
Users would have to become familiar with an apt-based (i.e. Debian, a Linux OS) Linux distribution. Programs and customization can be chosen over a device manager that links to a few sites, either OpenMoKo-related or certified sites. This in turn will definitely boost the sales of network operators’ bandwidth.

Endless possibilities:
The phone comes as a basic one. Much of the additional functionality is still in the developer stage and Linux skills are required to get many of them to work. At present new versions of the firmware are posted almost every day on the Openmoko web site. This is to say initial users are most likely to be open source / Linux geeks. Openmoko will eventually release a consumer version with fully functional, stable software.

One of the interesting things about this phone, according to Shiroh, an executive of the company, is “what people will do with this phone. What will people write in the open source community that I can't even imagine? It's the things that are completely unexpected that I'm really looking forward to."

So, what do you think are the exciting things we can do with the phone?
1) Walkie-talkie with GPS tracking?
2) Guitar tuner?
3) GPS assistant?
4) Add a camera (this is possible with hardware openness) and have conference call via GSM or WIFI?
5) Add an infra-red (again, possible) and have gyro-sensed remote control?
6) Digital drum machine? It’s all touchpad anyway. Let's throw in MIDI interface too.
7) Act as interface control of WII?
8) Many more unthinkable ideas?... :@)

Openmoko’s Neo FreeRunner phone can be availed at a retail price of USD399.

More info at:
OpenMoKo: www.openmoko.com; www.openmoko.org.
LiMo Foundation: www.limofoundation.org
Open Handset Alliance (Google Android): www.openhandsetalliance.com

Note:
1. Click on the pictures for original resolution of 480x640 VGA size.
2. Pictures are from www.openmobilefree.net (Chinese language) and www.openmoko.com.

Open source health care system

Open source IT applications in healthcare is a relatively new topic as information technology doesn’t creep into medicine field that fast and widespread, especially in the practice of small clinics.

[Problems faced] Similar to the issue of standardization of linux desktop or other environments for that matter, open source healthcare standardization faces difficulty in interoperability and sharing of data. This is especially true when the open medical IT world is in infancy era.

[Ready? Not quite so.] Members of medical associations are not yet exposed to a few things that are essential elements of the healthcare system like electronic medical record (EMR) or electronic health record (EHR) and clinic efficiency. When even the most infant stage has not been attained, the water isn’t muddy enough to create more creative life form. This is currently what’s happening in many of the developing countries.

[Open source vs. Proprietary] And quite typically enough, infant stages of IT medical applications are usually dominated by proprietary solutions because these closed source solutions offer rigid and seemingly more user-friendly interface even though they’re usually more costly. Not having to tweak with difficult and messy coding of open source feeds well for many people looking for “fire-and-forget” application. Doctors and medical physicians are just human beings who could be as short-sighted. Good things don’t come easy. Those that come easy aren’t usually good. But hey, “I want it and I want it now!” is the attitude of spoilt modern generation. In the end, proprietary are chosen over open source solutions, initially. Almost always the case.

[Idealistic view] The idealistic solution is that the open source solutions will be the de facto standard used by the majority of the doctors. One day. Hopefully sonner.

[History repeats itself] This is a long and challenging task. With members from the developing nations learn from the mistakes made by those in the developed nations. If human beings learn well, we don’t have to repeat the mistakes.

[Evidence-based medicine & Open source] Dr. Molly Cheah, president of Primary Care Doctors’ Organization Malaysia (PCDOM), puts it this way: “Using open source in healthcare is almost similar as evidence-based medical practice processes. How can the processes in medicine be improved? You share.” I find this rather interesting and in line with many of the evidence-based traditional medicine practice. You find a better treatment method or a better explanation of disease mechanism and you pass it on to others so that others can improve upon it and keep passing it on to others too. “There is freedom to use, improve, share and collaborate.”

[My vision of IT usage in medicine] A mature system of medical IT software package should not be just handling of patients’ records and streamlining clinic or hospital efficiency, it should also cater for analysis of symptoms, patients’ profiles, with that of syndromes. For example, the package should help to analyze how two similar patients differ in treatment reactions and how different body constituents or syndromes give rise to different efficacy of the treatments and so on. From the point of view of a physician, this is what counts for the benefit of the patients.

For now, I can’t wait to lay my fingers on Gnu General Public License (GPL) software…

Links:
1) Open Source Health Care Alliance, www.oshca.org
2) International Open Source Network an initiative of the United Nations Development Programme's (UNDP) Asia Pacific Development Information Programme (APDIP), www.iosn.net
3) Primary Care Doctors' Organisation Malaysia, www.pcdom.org.my