Make Magazine has a nice list of items that gadgets should conform to, so that they are user friendly. Most of them are reasonable and should be required. Here are some more that I want:
- Gadgets must support open formats, and preferrably not have DRM at all
- No frail wires in the open that can snap off
- Any chipsets and processors that the gadget uses must at the very least have open and complete documentation
- Any firmware / software on a gadget should be free software, along with a HOWTO on how the software can be compiled and replaced by the user
- It’s the designer’s job to make sure the gadget cannot be disabled (or `bricked’) by any software updates, and it must always be possible to reload a default image and get the gadget back to its factory state
I’d asked on this blog for hosting after Nerdfest’s demise. While some kind folks offered to pitch in free user accounts, I needed a full server as there were many web applications to run. After a lot of careful evaluation, I decided to go with The Planet for hosting. At $69/month, they provide a dedicated 2.4 GHz P4 server with 512MB RAM, 80GB disk, 750 GB bandwidth and most important of all, remote reboots and support. It’s real money and expensive for someone living in India, but all in the name of a free software company :).
FWIW, I had evaluated several options including SFCCP, Blue Linux, Jump and Server Beach. I can only say good things about the former three options and the nice people behind them, but they ended up as either expensive or not a good match. Now I have to contact them and let them know.
After about a week of moving in, things are good so far. There is no upstream firewall which is a great thing. I have moved many of Banu’s web applications and services over in the past week, and hope to finish it off this week. This website and blog have also been moved.
After the demise of Nerdfest, I was/am looking for a dedicated server setup to host projects and other assorted websites such as Graphics Planet. The trouble with popular hosts such as ServerBeach and Layered Tech is that they filter useful ports such as IRC to achieve a false sense of security. Blue Linux seems to be a great place to go to, but I’m facing trouble getting a Dell server out to them as Dell UK will only accept UK registered credit cards. Other options are far too expensive.
If any company in UK is willing to donate a used 1U rackmount server (x86 P4, 1GB RAM and 80 GB disk - or higher class), please get back to me (muks at mukund dot org). The server will be used to host free software and open media projects, and we can add a link in the footer back to any website of your choice. It will be a one-way transfer though and the server will not be returned. It will be put to good use. 