Virtual Coach » From the MIT Model Railroad Club to Open Cell Phone Systems

From the MIT Model Railroad Club to Open Cell Phone Systems

May 13, 2008 Barbara No comments

Long long ago,

back when the earth’s crust cooled and I was a young lass, I read about the original MIT Model Railroad Club from the super book Hackers. They accomplished some truly brilliant goodies back then, ranging from hacking PDPs to mapping out the subway station and beyond.

Well, MIT is doing it again! To wit:

… What do you want your cell phone to be able to do?

Massachusetts Institute of Technology professor Hal Abelson put that question to about 20 computer science students this semester when he gave them one assignment: Design a software program for cell phones that use Google Inc.’s upcoming Android mobile operating system.

In the process, they revealed the power of an open system like Android to shake up the mobile phone industry, where wireless companies are being pressured to loosen the control they have maintained over what devices do. If the brainstorms of these MIT students are an indication, phones will soon challenge the Internet as a source of innovation ….MORE…

Neat ideas! What do you think?

Owlbert

ps – speaking about open cell phones:

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