--- /dev/null
+# FreedomBox activities at Debconf11
+
+I spent the last two weeks of July 2011 in Banja Luka. The occasion was the
+annual [Debian](http://debian.org) developer's conference,
+[Debconf11](http://debconf11.debconf.org) and preceeding work week known as
+Debcamp. This was my tenth successive year attending Debconf, and I had a
+very productive and pleasant time! The facilities were good, the local team
+was friendly, enthusiastic, and very helpful, and in addition to giving three
+talks and hosting a couple panel discussions, I managed to put a burst
+of energy into work on [FreedomBox](http://freedomboxfoundation.org). Several
+other developers working on FreedomBox were also present, and a good number of
+[Sheeva](http://www.globalscaletechnologies.com/p-22-sheevaplug-dev-kit-us.aspx)
+and
+[Dream](http://www.globalscaletechnologies.com/c-5-dreamplugs.aspx)
+plugs were evident in the hacklabs sporting new FreedomBox stickers.
+Working together in the same place for several days, we made good progress
+on several projects, and also had some great discussions about what we want
+to do going forward.
+
+## image building tools
+
+For some time, I've been working towards a light-weight tool set to build
+FreedomBox software images. Shortly before Debconf started, I chose the
+name 'freedom-maker' for this tool and shared a link to a readable copy of my
+git repository with other developers I expected to work with in Banja Luka.
+With input from Bert Agaz and Jonas Smedegaard during Debcamp, freedom-maker
+went from almost useful to actually useful. It still deserves work to be
+more useful to others, but I have now pushed a copy of the git repository to
+[git.debian.org](http://anonscm.debian.org/gitweb/?p=freedombox/freedom-maker.git;a=summary) so that we can take advantage of the tools supported there to
+enable others to more easily contribute to the code.
+
+Very soon, Bert plans to add support to freedom-maker for using Lars Wirzenius'
+[vmdebootstrap](https://gitorious.org/vmdebootstrap) to build x86 images
+suitable for testing in a virtualized environment. At the same time, we plan
+to refactor the existing code slightly
+to enable lists of desired packages for the various image flavors we expect
+to produce independently of the configuration for each specific image building
+tool.
+
+Jonas continued in parallel to work on his alternate packaging toolset
+[boxer](http://git.emdebian.org/?p=upstream/boxer.git;a=summary).
+It offers some potentially interesting features for the future, and we may
+eventually merge some or all of it into freedom-maker, but for now it remains
+a separate utility.
+
+## uAP user space tools
+
+Several weeks ago, we received from Marvell the source code to two user space
+programs that are necessary for configuring and monitoring the binary firmware
+provided for the uAP wireless chip used in the DreamPlug. Early during my
+stay in Banja Luka, I packaged these for Debian as
+[uaputl](http://packages.debian.org/uaputl) and
+[uapevent](http://packages.debian.org/uapevent), and I am pleased to note
+that they were quickly accepted into the archive and are now present in Debian
+mirrors.
+
+## u-boot
+
+Another bit of code received very shortly before Debconf started was the
+source for the version of u-boot shipped by
+[Globalscale](http://www.globalscaletechnologies.com/) in the DreamPlug
+units we're working with. During Debcamp, Clint Adams passed a copy of this
+source to Jason Cooper, who was already trying to add support for the
+DreamPlug to upstream u-boot, but had stalled due to a lack of
+information. Jason has now merged his own work with the sources we got
+from the manufacturer, and is
+making good progress towards merging DreamPlug support into upstream u-boot.
+Once that happens, we should be able to flash our Sheeva and Dream plug devices
+with a u-boot image built from the source in the Debian u-boot package, in the
+process enabling things that matter to us like the ability to boot from an
+ext2 partition, and hopefully the ability to execute command scripts from that
+partition instead of having to hard-code kernel filenames in flash. This will
+allow us to support the ongoing effort in Debian to move away from the need
+for kernel symlinks.
+
+## DreamPlug kernels
+
+With respect to kernels, another work stream at Debconf primarily involving
+Héctor Orón and Nick Bane was to analyze the current state of the patches from
+Marvell and Globalscale used to support the DreamPlug against both upstream
+and current Debian kernel sources. To my surprise and our collective pleasure,
+the remaining patch set required against current upstream kernels is much
+smaller than we previously believed! There are still several patches critical
+to us that are not merged upstream, but the work remaining to be able to build
+images for our devices from mainline and Debian kernel source trees now seems
+like something we might be able to complete before Debian's next stable
+release.
+
+One of our discoveries during the u-boot and kernel work during Debconf was
+that Globalscale did not obtain a new machine id for the DreamPlug, but
+instead re-used the one for the GuruPlug series, despite there being some
+differences in the hardware that require at least one additional driver. After
+much discussion, we plan to continue using the existing machine id instead
+of requesting another, particularly because the ARM kernel community
+has apparently stopped issuing new ids for the moment. We will add a new
+kernel config option for the DreamPlug, however, and are likely to build
+distinct Sheeva and Dream kernel packages that do not require initrd for use
+in FreedomBox images, even if doing so is not strictly necessary. This will
+allow us to optimize both the in-memory footprint and boot times for our
+devices.
+
+## software configuration
+
+Another area of investigation in Banja Luka was technology for package
+configuration. Mirsal Ennaime performed various tests using debconf and
+Config::Model, with some results reflected in [this commit](http://git.mirsal.fr/?p=bitcoin.git;a=commitdiff;h=d79bc9e212dff19a9cc1a4aceaaf8f195d61dab0)
+relating to configuring the bitcoind daemon in the bitcoin package for Debian.
+
+## identity and trust management
+
+While we did not actually do any FreedomBox specific work on the trust
+management layer we know is necessary, after several rounds of conversation,
+I am now more convinced than ever that the right path forward is to base our
+trust relationships on OpenPGP keys using GnuPG and Monkeysphere as starting
+software elements. Our thinking to date is captured on an
+[Identity Management](http://wiki.debian.org/FreedomBox/IdentityManagement)
+page in the wiki.
+
+## communication services
+
+Another thing that became fairly clear to me during discussions at Debconf
+is that in the near term, planning to build communication services around
+XMPP is the approach most likely to give good results. Investigating the
+software choices available to build an interesting XMPP infrastructure is
+now a high priority for me. Jonas has done some work towards
+configuring and integrating [ejabberd](http://www.ejabberd.im/)
+or [Prosody](http://prosody.im/), I've started studying
+[yate](http://yate.null.ro/pmwiki/) as a possible call manager and VoIP
+server choice with
+XMPP/jingle support, and we await with great interest a release from the
+[Buddycloud](http://buddycloud.com/) developers to evaluate as
+a possible basis for deploying social network services.
+
+Some of these software choices will lead us to use Apache as our web services
+base technology because of the need for features that only it supports well
+among daemons that are Free Software.
+
+Jonas completed packaging [GNU Sip Witch](http://www.gnu.org/s/sipwitch/)
+for Debian, and it is now available in the mirror network. Tzafrir Cohen and
+Jonas did some initial testing on its use.
+
+## documentation
+
+A number of new [wiki pages](https://wiki.debian.org/FreedomBox) were written
+(or at least started) in order to sum up ideas, design various aspects of
+FreedomBox, and reflect discussions that happened during DebConf11. A lot
+of work is needed to complete these pages though, as well as others to capture
+more of the current state of the project.
+
+## press coverage
+
+Finally, while in Banja Luka I got some great press coverage for FreedomBox!
+On Sunday the 24th, I was
+[interviewed](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VY2wlfjHFx4)
+by the main television network serving the Republika Srpska. This led
+to a couple of minutes of coverage near the top of the national news program
+that night, immediately following the lead story about the President and
+several ministers appearing at Debian Day that morning to help open the
+conference. This interview was later re-used in
+[another TV program](http://rtrs.tv/av/player.php?id=14234&x=1)
+that summarized Debconf11. On the morning of Thursday the 28th, I was part
+of a small group that spent more than an hour meeting with the Minister of
+Science and Technology in his office, and the relationship between Debian
+and our work on FreedomBox was one of the items of discussion in that meeting
+and the associated press conference. I'm told this resulted in more press
+coverage, but if true I have not seen it yet.
+
+## summary
+
+On Friday afternoon the 29th, I gave a talk in the main Debconf program containing a [FreedomBox Progress Report]( http://meetings-archive.debian.net/pub/debian-meetings/2011/debconf11/low/704_FreedomBox_progress_report.ogv) . In it, I talked about the structure of the FreedomBox Foundation, progress the foundation has made, and the work that was still then underway in Banja Luka. It was streamed live over the internet, and replays are available online. The reaction from Debian developers present was very positive, which was good to learn since by that time my energy level was quite low after the nearly two weeks of intense technical and social interaction that is Debconf!
+
+All in all, we got lots of work done on FreedomBox in Banja Luka, enough that
+I think at least the next few steps along the road towards an eventual "1.0"
+release of a reference implementation are now much clearer than they were two
+weeks ago!
+
+[[!tag tags/debian]]
+[[!tag tags/freedombox]]
The OpenRocket design file is
[2YikStik.ork](/rockets/airframes/2YikStik/2YikStik.ork).
-## Build
-
-Parts gathered during October 2010. Built mostly during April and May 2011.
-
-The nose cone was custom fabricated by Jeff Lane at
-[Shockwave Rocketry](http://shockwaverocketry.com), with thermistors embedded.
-
-The fins are 3/16 inch birch ply, tapered on the leading and trailing edges,
-then covered with one layer of 5.7 oz 2x2 twill carbon fiber and a layer of
-6 oz glass as a sanding veil, all vacuum bagged with West Systems laminating
-epoxy using a kitchen food saver appliance.
-
-The airframe tubing is Giant Leap Rocketry 98mm Magnaframe-based Dynawind,
-except for a short section behind the nose cone that uses the older phenolic
-based Dynawind because of the slightly larger inside diameter being a better
-fit for the glass nose cone shoulder.
-
-The tailcone is a no-longer-available Giant Leap 98-75mm Slimline tailcone.
-
-All rings and bulkheads were cut using a CNC milling machine from 3/8 inch
-birch plywood. The fin forward and leading edge rings are made from 3/4 inch
-thick assemblies made by laminating two such rings with wood glue, to provide
-sufficient depth for milled fin slots.
-
-Assembly techniques were "nothing special" except for the electronics...
-
-[Build Photos](http://gallery.gag.com/rockets/2yikstik/)
-
### Thermistors ###
The temperature sensors chosen are 0.8 mm diameter glass bead NTC thermistors
Installing the electronics in the fin can bay was .. interesting. More later.
+## Build
+
+Parts gathered during October 2010. Built mostly during April and May 2011.
+
+The nose cone was custom fabricated by Jeff Lane at
+[Shockwave Rocketry](http://shockwaverocketry.com), with thermistors embedded.
+
+The fins are 3/16 inch birch ply, tapered on the leading and trailing edges,
+then covered with one layer of 5.7 oz 2x2 twill carbon fiber and a layer of
+6 oz glass as a sanding veil, all vacuum bagged with West Systems laminating
+epoxy using a kitchen food saver appliance.
+
+The airframe tubing is Giant Leap Rocketry 98mm Magnaframe-based Dynawind,
+except for a short section behind the nose cone that uses the older phenolic
+based Dynawind because of the slightly larger inside diameter being a better
+fit for the glass nose cone shoulder.
+
+The tailcone is a no-longer-available Giant Leap 98-75mm Slimline tailcone.
+
+All rings and bulkheads were cut using a CNC milling machine from 3/8 inch
+birch plywood. The fin forward and leading edge rings are made from 3/4 inch
+thick assemblies made by laminating two such rings with wood glue, to provide
+sufficient depth for milled fin slots.
+
+Assembly techniques were "nothing special" except for the electronics... but
+I kept a [log](/rockets/airframes/2YikStik/buildlog) that may be of interest.
+
+[Photos](http://gallery.gag.com/rockets/2yikstik/)
+
## Publicity
## Flights
This is a custom, 54mm minimum diameter airframe, based on a KestreL kit from
[3 Dogs Rocketry](http://3dogsrocketry.com/). The name is a play on "Way Up
-Yonder" with the intended initial motor being the new
+Yonder", chosen when the intended initial motor was the
[Cesaroni](http://pro38.com) Pro54 6xl K300 long-burn reload.
## Motivation
-My fundamental objective with this airframe is to "need" the high altitude
-window at the NCR North launch site sometime in 2010. This would have the
+My original objective with this airframe was to "need" the high altitude
+window at the NCR North launch site in 2010. This would have had the
consequence of raising my personal altitude record from 14141 feet AGL on an
-L730 in my Vertical Assault. A secondary objective is to take one of our
+L730 in my Vertical Assault. A secondary objective was to take one of our
[TeleMetrum](http://altusmetrum.org/TeleMetrum) altimeters higher than it has
-ever gone before and demonstrate successful GPS based recovery with it.
+ever gone before and demonstrate successful GPS based recovery with it.
+Unfortunately, thanks to weather conditions and related issues, this airframe
+did not fly in 2010.
I pondered various
-airframe and other materials choices and designs over several months. The
+airframe and other materials choices and designs over several months. John's
introduction of the Kestrel kit with an introductory special including the
Cesaroni Pro54 6xl case and associated tail cone rear closure was too good
pass up. However, as is often the case, I won't be building this kit stock!
-The first flight is planned for [NCR](http://ncrocketry.org)'s Mile High
-Mayhem 2010, weather permitting.
-
## Design Details
From the kit, we get:
* Cesaroni Pro54 6xl case and tail cone rear closure
* G10 bulkheads and coupler stock
-To which I'll add:
+To which I added:
* [TeleMetrum](http://altusmetrum.org/TeleMetrum) avionics in the nose cone
* 5.6oz 2x2 twill carbon fiber and 6oz glass tip to tip on fin can
## Build
-Construction has not started yet.
-
-Measurements of parts provided with the kit for building a simulation:
-
-* Pro54 tail cone rear closure
- * 58 grams
- * 36mm long, 11mm straight then tapering
- * 57mm forward OD, 48mm aft OD
-* Pro54 6xl case
- * 469 grams
- * 645mm long, 636mm forward of aft closure
-* 54mm convolute fin can, with fin slots cut
- * 416 grams
- * 808mm long
- * 183mm fin slots starting 17mm from trailing edge
-* 54mm convolute forward air frame
- * 169 grams
- * 312mm long
-* 54mm convolute coupler
- * 68 grams
- * 130mm long
-* 54mm VK nose cone
- * 132 grams (before smoothing)
- * 288mm long, 67mm shoulder
-* 3 fin set
- * 91 grams
- * 184mm root chord, 71.5mm span
- * clipped delta, aft 27mm is straight
- * leading and trailing edges tapered
-* nose bulk plate
- * 9 grams
- * 2.5mm long, 51mm diameter, 6mm hole
-* 2 machined duplex bulkheads
- * 13.5 grams each
- * 3.5mm long, 54mm OD, 5mm hole
-* 2 machined aluminum shock cord anchors
- * 7 grams each
- * 26mm long, 13mm diameter
-* kevlar shock cord
- * 61 grams
-
## Publicity
-None yet.
-
## Flights
-None yet.
projects / web / gag.com / commitdiff