Interview with Michael Shiloh, of OpenMoko
SCALE: Gareth Greenaway, SCALE Community Relations Chair & Orv Beach, SCALE PR Chair
Michael: Michael Shiloh, OpenMoko
SCALE: Michael, what role do you play in the OpenMoko Development Community?
Michael: I’m the advocate for the community within the company, and the advocate for the company within the community. It’s a bit hard to describe, but I try to make sure information, questions, and issues flow as freely as possible between the two.
SCALE: How involved are you with the development of the OpenMoko software and the development of the hardware that runs the software?
Michael: I wear a number of hats. One is to develop sample applications and demonstration code, both pure software projects, but also projects involving add-on hardware. Since the openness of OpenMoko extends beyond the software (e.g. the availability of expansion pads on the PCB) we want to show people how they can extend the hardware as well. In addition, the fact that the USB port is both device and host means that external USB devices can easily be hooked up. I think this will be an invaluable way to prototype new hardware.
SCALE: That’s a really good feature, the host & device based USB port…that’s huge. There aren’t many people are doing that.
Michael: Yeah, that was actually the single feature that caught my eye when I first heard about the project, and caused me to look into it further. of course I loved what I saw.SCALE: How many people contribute to the software? How about on the hardware side?
Michael: I think the company is about 40 people (I’m not really sure). In terms of developers, we also contract out with some people, such as OpenedHand.
SCALE: what would you say is the ultimate goal of the OpenMoko project? Where do you see it going in the future?
Michael: the ultimate goal: I think FIC (and now OpenMoko) wanted to leapfrog over the next couple of years, and create the devices of a little in the future: the so-called ubiquitous computers. The trouble is, no one really knows what they are and what they will do, and what hardware will be necessary. So Sean figured that the way to speed that up would be to create a project that would allow the open source community to participate, since they are incredibly creative, imaginative, and resourceful. They also come from varied backgrounds and thus can see beyond “It’s just a new cellphone”. Most importantly, Sean created a structure that allowed for rapid feedback from the community, so that we could build the hardware that would support the applications the community wanted to develop. So applications aren’t limited to what existing hardware can support.
SCALE: pardon our ignorance..but who is Sean?
Michael: Sean Moss-Pultz started the OpenMoko project within FIC, and is now the CEO of the new company OpenMoko, which FIC sponsors to carry on this project
SCALE: What are your thoughts on Google’s Android project? 
Michael: Sadly I’m not an expert at that issue, but obviously we’ve thought and talked about that a lot. The main point is that in some way the Android target software can exist on top of the OpenMoko distribution, and that Android development can take place along with OpenMoko.
SCALE: That’s good to know. It’s good that people won’t have to choose one over the other.
Michael: Yes. In that way we can coexist.
SCALE: What is the status of the Neo 1973? Will it remain the basis for OpenMoko development or will there be other models from FIC?
Michael: We’re still selling the Neo 1973, but it’s almost sold out. The next model is the Neo FreeRunner. We are nearing production. We are testing some prototypes that have come out of the factory, and we’re verifying all the various hardware modules. Note that we say consumer-ready hardware, to point out that while the hardware will be final, but the consumer software will not be ready immediately. Our goal is to get the hardware into the hands of our community as quickly as possible, so that they can start experimenting and developing all the brilliant ideas they have. The Neo FreeRunner looks a lot like the earlier model, the Neo 1973, with some additions: we’ve added WiFi, a faster processor, more memory, a 2D/3D graphics accelerator, and a pair of accelerometers. The goal of our extensive testing, before we go into mass production, is to verify the hardware so that no changes will be necessary.
SCALE: Do you think the FreeRunner will be available by mid year?
Michael: Yes.
SCALE: What do you like most & like least about working with open source software?
Michael: Great question. What I like most: I am constantly and continuously amazed at the creativity and imagination of the OS community. not only does it create wonderful projects, but it inspires me, and I suspect others, to participate. What do I like the least: that’s tough. I may have to think about that for a bit. nothing comes to mind right away
SCALE: Nothing wrong with that answer
SCALE: What’s the HARDEST thing about working on the OpenMoko project?
Michael: Great question. As I mentioned at the start, my role is to be a bi-directional advocate. The OpenMoko project was founded on the principle of openness, and we strive to base all our work on that philosophy. Thus, we tell our community as much as possible about what’s going on. For instance, much of the discussion of testing the new hardware (Neo FreeRunner) is taking place on our kernel mailing list, which is public. Anyone can read about our struggles, and successes, in verifying the hardware.On the other hand, there are various aspects of the business that need to be private. In between is a vast grey area, and sometimes it’s hard to tell what really needs to be private, and what was private in the past but there is no reason to do so now.
SCALE: “Opensource; closed business” ; That must be tough to manage.
Michael: Yes, it’s an ongoing topic of conversation within the company. A number of times we have started talking about something on an internal mailing list, and then someone pointed out that the discussion should be moved to an external list. Interestingly, we’ve never had the reverse situation. One more thing : we’ve recently made the CAD files for the plastic case of the Neo 1973 available. What this means is that anyone with the appropriate tools can modify the case for their own needs, for instance adding expansion capabilities, or just making it a different shape.
SCALE: Nice. Will that case fit on the new FreeRunner?
Michael: There are some internal changes on the FreeRunner. I’m not sure of the details.
SCALE: What other open source projects are you most excited about, besides OpenMoko?
Michael: My background is hardware engineering, and I’m an amateur radio operator (callsign KA6RCQ). So I’m very interested in software defined radio, like gnuradio. I also think there are some interesting possibilities for combining such hardware with OpenMoko.
SCALE: Michael, tell us a bit about yourself; some personal info.
Michael: I’ve been a hardware tinkerer and hacker from an early age. I grew up taking things apart. When I got to college, I studied electrical engineering, but then discovered computer science. this was at Berkeley, in the late ’70s, so I grew up with Unix. I graduated with an EECS degree, and my career (and hobby) has been where hardware and software intersect
SCALE: How did you get involved with Open Source software?
Michael: I discovered Linux when I wanted to work from home, and needed a way to set up an X server. I used MACH at a previous job, and then someone suggested Linux.
SCALE: How old are you? Married/single? Kids? Other hobbies? Other interests?
Michael: I’m 52, married but becoming single. I have two grown step-daughters, and a 13 year old who has grown up with Linux. I’m passionate about machine art. here in the San Francisco Bay Area we are lucky to have a very strong community that does that. I’ve worked with SRL (Survival Research Labs) for some 17 years, and I’m involved in various other group that do related stuff. Of course, there’s a tremendous amount of electronics involved, and often microcontrollers and even computers, so it’s another aspect of my job and my other hobbies.
SCALE: “Machine art”?
Michael: There’s info on Machine Art here: Survival_Research_Labs. Although I see they call it “industrial performing arts”. that works for me too, but I like installations as well, so “performing” is a little limiting.
SCALE: Michael, would you like to make any more comments before we wrap this up? Anything at all?
Michael: I think the community plays a crucial role in the success of this project, and I’m lucky to be in the position to help with this. I’m looking forward to SCALE because these are the kind of people we want involved in the project, and I’m looking forward to meeting them.
SCALE: Thanks for taking the time to talk to us!