StompBox

FAQs

On April 19th these pages got slashdotted. From there it bounced through all kinds of cool sites, such as Engadget, Gizmodo, InstaPundit and many others. The response was pretty huge. It was also a lot of fun. For the last week or so I've been buried under email as a result. I've tried to write everybody back but I'm sure I've missed a few here or there. If I didn't get back to you, I apologize!

Here's a quick list of things that have happened since then, plus the answers to a few FAQ's:

• Events
  • I've been asked to show the StompBox and talk about it at the WhereFair, a part of the Where 2.0 Conference being held up in San Francisco. I'll be there the evening of the 29th giving demos and answering questions. Drop by and say hi!
  • I've been asked to write an article for a major tech-magazine about the develoment of the unit. Once they give the OK (or when the article is out) I'll post more about it.
  • An Australian computer magazine asked for more details about the projects that Garth and I are working on for an 'extreme geek of the month' article. If this actually happens I'll put a link up here once available. Yes, I'm highly amused by this.
  • It's amazing how far-reaching a little internet site-attention goes. I've had nearly a dozen old friends I'd not heard from for years (one from as far back as 15 years) find me and re-establish communications. Want to find old buddies? Get a site posted on Slashdot. :)
• FAQs
  • Will you build a StompBox for me? As much as I would like to, at the current time the answer is a "No" with heartfelt apologies. I built the original StompBox as a fun hack project and wanted to open the platform up for anybody else to build their own. I don't have the time or business infrastructure to crank these out for other people. That wasn't the goal of this project.
  • But you said you were going to build them for a trucking company. What gives? Aah, there's the key. The platform is something I want everybody to be able to build on their own if they wish. If I ever do any commercial efforts it will be to put extra applications and abilities onto the platform for specific markets. If you're a business that wants to talk about developing a specific application you'd like to see the StompBox platform applied to, please, get in touch!
  • Okay, so I'll build my own. But I'm stuck on one of the steps... help? Sure, drop me an email and I'll advise where I can. Just realize that I've got a dayjob and my own projects so I can't always respond all that quickly. Yes, I know the current article isn't exactly step-by-step; it assumes a lot of Linux knowledge for the builder. A much more detailed how-to is in the works but won't be publically available for a bit. Once it publishes I'll put a note here with links.
  • Heck with building, I want one now and have the cash. Aren't there commercial versions already on the market? The answer is a definite yes. Due to the recent media attention a few manufacturers of devices have sent me units to review. I've requested review units from a few additional manufacturers to get more in the mix. (If you're a manufacturer and can spare a unit for a few weeks to review, please, let me know!) When I have the reviews far enough along to put on the web you'll find a link here. Currently the only commercial one I've personally tried is by JunXion. It does indeed work though it does not have high-gain external antennas like the StompBox. Nothing stops you from adding them, though.
  • Doesn't using a router violate the user-agreement of (insert-carrier-here)? I have no idea. You'd have to ask your provider or read their fine print. Since there are multiple commercial WWAN routers out there that will work with all manners of 2G and 3G cellular data solutions I have to assume that carriers know about these devices. Read your provider's contract before you go making a mobile hotspot and reselling the data or anything like that. The account you save could be your own.
  • Can you put a compact-flash image online? That'd be a lot easier to get going with... Yes! Details are on the next page. The first version (v0.9) was posted 5/19/2005.

To everybody who has sent me email and commented about this and other projects I've done -- Thank You! My servers survived the slashdotting and almost every single comment has been positive. You've all made my season. I'll get a community together soon for people who want to work on this platform as a group, along with some sourceforge projects for the applications being developed on it. A few helpful people have suggested (or even already set up!) forums for such use but I've not yet had time to dive in on them. As the hoopla calms and development work resumes I'll get into it soon, I promise.

Thanks for reading. :)

--Tor

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_{Contacts: Tor Amundson and Garth Minette . Questions, suggestions and criticisms appreciated! Flames will most likely be snickered at.}

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