Nokia N900, My Preciousssss

I haven't had time to update this blog for the past few months, the main reason for this has been my (at times torrid) affair with the piece of silicon and plastic created in the fires of Mount Doom. Ok a bit of history, my first smartphone was the 6600 (I am used to carrying bulky black bricks), that phone consumed an entire summer break, I was obsessed with doing everything I could to make maximum use of it, configuring it as a webcam (although I had a 256 kbps line at that time), running N-gage games, writing python scripts for it etc etc. Then the iPhone came along with the obsession with touch, and my trusty 6600 crash and burned in a washing machine (I mourned for a few months), so I decided to have a fling with Esopos take on the iPhone, the 5800.

The first day with that phone was a brutal shake, the certificate manager denied access to almost all sis files I attempted to install, and then it occurred to me, Nokia wanted me to go to the Ovi store and shop for my siss. I was shaken (although I got through the certificate managers, still having to do so hurt me), hardware-wise the phone did not disappoint, although the speed of the phone paled when compared to ANY adversary.

After a year of this sham I was exhausted and wanted to move on, I had locked my sights on Android, but I always had a fleeting paranoia about google (which was proven correct later on) (yes I know I am blogging on google, but I will not surrender to the overlords when they come for me), just out of sheer morbid curiosity I checked out the N900 (also I had just chucked my laptop for a desktop, finally, so I needed a portable computer), I was infatuated by its first and only advertisement, that is around the time I came to the realization that I loved tinkering more than the results, and that was all I expected out of a device. Over the next month I thoroughly went over maemo.org and was swept away at the almost Thor like power of the device, it was everything I wanted.

After a week I went to the Nokia priority store, the phone was outta stock, after a few more days of waiting (I HATE waiting for something I really want), I finally got it. I wasn't able to get myself away from it even for a few minutes, I was commited for ever. Earlier I mentioned torrid, this would be because sometime negative posts on maemo.org would get me down, and I would join the dissenters, but then something new would surface and I would be lost again.

Here is a list of stuff (that I remember) I have done to BlackBird (my name for her):

0. Controlled my Air Conditioner (Had lost the remote)
1. Installed Android and dual booted (lotta games).
2. Installed Ubuntu and dual booted.
3. Programmed the phone via FrankenCamera and wrote some code to click the perfect pics, I was able to control stuff like exposure time, aperture speed etc. Lot of fun.
4. Installed Meego via u-boot.
5. Got palm games working (full 3D openGl games).
6. Quake 3.
7. Flashed her a coupla times.
8. Currently coding a coupla apps on QT.
9. VNCed to my PC.
10. Used TV out to watch few movies at home. (next I am going to attempt using pen drives, and connecting a bluetooth mouse and keyboard and use it as a TRUE computer)
11. Wrote some scripts for good backups.
12. Boosted the FM transmitter.
13. Skype video calling (The Indian SS want to ban it, to them I say #@!$ you)
14. Used it as a webcam via gstreamer.
15. Streamed music from it via Gst.
16. Used it as a hearing aid by sending mic signals to earpiece.
18. Wrote scripts for sync.

I cannot begin to describe or fathom the mammoth potential of the device, I am never restricted by the device, only by imagination. Waiting for 3G to truly unleash it.

I have convinced myself that this is the best phone ever and the last of the free as in free speech type device (cause Nokia will try to lockdown meego), so I have been contemplating buying another one and locking it in a safe in case of apocalyptic like situations (or what happened to my 6600).