(un)certainty == freedom the owners of the device will have. Will they prefer a black box(manufacturer control==certainty) or a white box(owner control==uncertainty)

Believe it or not humans(grown ups as well as not so grown ups) as a species can never stop complaining. Its really unbearable to watch the various incidents unfolding(purely own thought process of technological advancement causing the dissatisfaction) right in front of oneself. Happen to get my hands on PSP 3001(yep, a Sony product) Its an awesome product with no freedom for user(mainly it was meant to be for a certain age group so not much of freedom/responsibility talk involved). (OSHW)The kid happen to buy PSP with the intention to play as much game as possible as soon as the device was bought but to his disappointment there was one UMD(universal Media disc) and another one bought for 500+INR but the kid was not satisfied. The package came with
- power adapter
- PSP
- 8GB MMC
- manual (ridiculously was meant for non English speaking audience)

* no USB cable was provided.

This device was/is a great piece of work (HW as well as SW(firmware)) and there it was in the hands of a kid so that he/she can play with it(superficial act) and no knowledge of device either its hardware spec or software stack could be elicited out of that device but little bit of googling helped with some wanted information like
MIPs based processor - speed
graphics accelerator
no mmu
sdcard size

I am not certainly asking Sony to part with HW schematics but they can at-least let the device owner who want to willfully go beyond set gaming use(there are tons of games I can get my hands on then why confine to games that is defined by manufacturer). They can also add the void warranty if something done beyond gaming purpose and believe it or not there are takers for such options too(not too many but yep they exist). Its tug of war between user/manufacturer gaining access to the device. Seriously device owner paid for it and they don't have complete access to the device, must be kidding(Its like after buying a motor bike one cannot open any part of it because that is the invasion of privacy so says the manufacturer. Well then why to sell the product if they want so much privacy). Who ever thinks in that way they take the responsibility of what happens to device is of their own doing and believe it or not its exciting for very few and for most its the pain in the a**(just a matter of frame of mind).

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PlayStation_Portable_homebrew
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PlayStation_Portable#Technical_specifications
http://psplinux.info/

Yep the device came with certainty i.e Sony will take care of anything if any thing goes wrong but was the kid satisfied by buying the product. NO!!! reason there was not enough games provided... reason the ignorance of the ones accompanying the kid as well as those recommending the device based on its certainty and Sony invariable cashing in on any thing the poor kid touches (know that the game creators need be payed) but this is no way to make money.
Another reason for switching the area of responsibility i.e philosophy behind FLOSS where the user desist from being ignorant and see to it that what they want.
Certainty which includes
- You don't have to be responsible
- Everything is the responsibility of the providers(Sony in this case)
- Don't even bother to know any thing related to installing process
- provider will be charging exorbitantly for the services (don't complain)

Uncertainty which inculcates or involves
- be responsible(you make or break the device)
- be attentive
- be far-sightedness i.e use device for life long without being bogged down by the manufactures terms ones the consumer buys the product its his/her device and should have the freedom to upgrade or do what ever the user wants with no restrictions imposed by others.
- the manufacture take less or no liability even if the device is buggy

linux on PSP
http://sites.google.com/site/linuxonpspproject/
http://www.linux-mips.org/wiki/PSP
http://psplinux.info/

LokPal Bill - heroes and villains!

These are the list of members who are/were involved in the happening of bill that the whole nation voted IN but ironically the same nation who voted these members in(so says the record) were hell bend on rejecting the bill. Hence proving that this kind of civilization got to go. The shabha(rajya/lok or whatever) need to go and something that works for the development of the nation need to be devised. For that to happen the ones occupying the seats in the shabha with their self vested interest who are working in a way that makes it an independent body and their relentless hunger for power need to go. The list was taken from avaaz.org

vote for the heroes and villains!
*
1. Vote for your top Lokpal villain - from this list of 10:
Vote for your top Lokpal villain - from this list of 10: Pranab Mukherji - Congress MP
This Congress troubleshooter met Rajya Sabha Chairman Hamid Ansari and requested him not to allow the proceedings to continue beyond midnight.

Mulayam Singh Yadav - Samjwadi Party Chief
He walked out of Lok Sabha along with his 28 MPs claiming there were too few votes to pass the bill.

Rahul Gandhi - Congress Secretary
Consistently downplaying the benefits of a strong Lokpal, he blamed opposition parties last week for refusing to get behind Lok Sabha’s weak version of the bill.

Sonia Gandhi - Congress Chair
Conspicuously absent in the recent Lokpal debates, she has disappointed many by not proactively supporting the Lokpal bill and setting the wrong tone for her party.

Lalu Prasad Yadav - RJD President
He pushed for minority quotas in the Lokpal and diluted the bill negotiations in both houses.


Abhishek Manu Singhvi - Lokpal Standing Committee Chairman
He took three months to draft a toothless Lokpal bill.

Rajniti Prasad - RJD MP
Acting on the orders of his leader Lalu Prasad Yadav, he tore the Lokpal bill in the Rajya Sabha, and the ensuing ruckus delayed and destabilised the proceedings for a considerable amount of time.

Kapil Sibal - Congress MP:
A staunch opponent of a strong Lokpal bill from the start, he abruptly disrupted the Rajya Sabha proceedings and declared the end of the winter session before Lokpal could come to a vote.

Hamid Ansari - Rajya Sabha Chair
He failed to put the bill to vote and instead decided to listened to the demands of the ruling party to adjourn it indefinitely.

Ram Vilas Paswan - Lok Janashakti Party Chief
He diluted demands for a strong Lokpal Bill by pressing for reservations.

2. If your favorite villain was not nominated, please write their name and a brief reason here (optional):
If your favorite villain was not nominated, please write their name and a brief reason here (optional):
3. These Lokpal heroes went out of their way to support a strong Lokpal. Choose your favorite here:
These Lokpal heroes went out of their way to support a strong Lokpal. Choose your favorite here: Praveen Singh Aron - Congress MP
He submitted a copy of Anna's Jan Lokpal bill to the Parliamentary Standing Committee.

Rajeev Chandrasekhar - Independent MP
This Karnataka MP introduced Anna Hazare’s version of the Lokpal bill in Rajya Sabha.

Chandrababu Naidu - Telegu Desam Party Leader
He was the first prominent leader to voice support for strong Lokpal bill after the movement started in January.


Sandeep Dikshit - Congress MP
Going against his party line, he pressed for a strong Lokpal bill from early on.

Varun Gandhi - BJP MP
A staunch supporter of the Jan Lokpal bill, he offered to introduce Jan Lokpal as a private member’s bill in the Lok Sabha if the government would not do it.
top