Open Source your mobile devices

Got an old iPod? Install iPodLinux on it and make music with a PDA! Want to play Doom on your iPod Video? Install Rockbox on your iPod, and still use the original Apple software too. Free that PDA and turn it into an 8-bit sequencer or touchscreen guitar. Or hook up an Arduino to your old wifi router and discover what’s possible.

This workshop is based on the idea of making iPods, wifi routers and PDA’s “generative”, that is, the possibility of changing their software to make them open to experimentation. Until recently, only the very skilled hackers were able to “untether” their own devices. Thanks to the work of so many hackers, it is getting easier. Yes, there are still irksome technical details master, but that’s what this workshop is for!

Eyebeam resident Hans-Christoph Steiner, together with Eyebeam interns Marius Schebella and Chris “the Widget” DiMauro will lead the workshop. They’ve been collecting a wide range of devices and hacking them with free software to see what’s possible and now want to help you do the same.