Jesse Ross | jesseross.com

December 13th.

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Insert sound of plan crashing…

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now.

I told Michael about the direction I was thinking of going with the phone, and he posed a challenge to me:

Could I build a phone that was just a phone? No IM, no text messaging, no calendar, no games. And, most importantly, no buttons and no display.

Since all the contacts could be managed via an IM app on the desktop, I guess it’s conceivable that you wouldn’t ever have to dial a number. Hmm… that’s still a challenge. Well, Michael, here’s my first conceptual go of it:

The Faceless Phone

In lieu of a lengthy post this week, I think it would quite beneficial to hand out my del.icio.us account. If you’re not using del.icio.us, well, you should be. del.icio.us is one of those things, like telephone or email, where the more people on the network, the greater the worth of the device/service.

And, speaking of telephones, many of you may or may not know that I am developing a phone. Specifically, a cell phone. Well, not exactly a cell phone, since it’s not on the cellular network. I’m a big fan of Jabber/XMPP, and when Google released their IM app (based on Jabber), I thought “wouldn’t it be brilliant to develop a mobile device, something that used Wi-Fi, and used the VoIP technologies behind their service to talk to your friends, rather than having to pay monthly fees?” So, I’m building the thing. I still have to order the parts, but I’ve been watching what Surj and Deva and others have been up to. I’ve got a name for it (to remain secret for now), and have been working on some software and infrastructure stuff, but it’s happening. You can check out some of the progress on my wiki.

• Went to California for work… got to cruise around Beverly Hills, and, interestingly enough, would like to go back
• Got to see the latest Roller Derby… MN whooped Carolina by 64 points… I love my Rollergirls
• Got in a car accident… not my fault… no one got hurt… no damage to either car
• Almost broke my leg… it still feels a bit twingey
• Ali got baptized… she was a very good girl and did a great job
• I have a horrible crush… on a girl who’s name I don’t know yet

Smart Girl

Danielle’s webpage

Buffy Talk UK Forum

Yeah, I built that.

I stayed up waaaay to late last night to watch I ♥(Heart) Huckabees.

What can I say… so damn good.

Mr. Hooten: God gave us oil! He gave it to us! How can God’s gift be bad?
Tommy Corn: I don’t know. He gave you a brain too and you messed that up pretty damn good.

Kiva is a site that helps entrepreneurs in developing nations start their businesses via microloans, a brilliant idea that demonstrates what is best about the internet. Offer a small loan, say $25, to a business — at the end of the loan period (usually 6 - 12 months), you are repaid. If, for some reason, the loan recipient defaults, the loan is considered a donation.