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A Wi-Fi/VoIP Phone Booth In the Burning Man Desert
Brad Templeton writes "I,
(of EFF/ClariNet/rec.humor.funny) along with
Brent Chapman
(Majordomo/Building Internet Firewalls) and the satellite dish of
John Gilmore (EFF/Cygnus/Cypherpunks/etc.)
put together an engaging hack -- a battery-powered free phone booth using
802.11,
VoIP and a satellite IP uplink. This was placed in the desert at
the Burning Man arts festival deep
in the remote Nevada Black Rock playa, exactly where you wouldn't expect
a working phone booth to be. With cheap VoIP people were able to call
all over the world. The reactions of people to such incongruous
technology were great fun and emotional as well. There's a
page about the phone including
details of
building it and
live experiences including totally non-gratuitous photos of naked people using technology. (There, that ought to stress-test my new server!)"
If you want to read a great story about Burning Man then read this, from Kuro5hin. One of the best stories from that site in a while.
The problem with VoIP is that whenever the power goes out, your phone cannot work. If you have a regular phone (as in anything not cordless or doesn't need charging) then the phone company powers the phone through the line. If you get solar power... then it might be a very interesting idea indeed.
Most ppl that I know that have gone to burning man focus on the lack of technology, or at least a misuse of current technology, as a gateway to experimentation. This turns that ideal on it's head...I wonder, did he stick around the phone, or just set it up and watch from a distance? I'd like to see the reactions of folks when they realize that the phone worked, and wasn't just a prop.
CB^%&*(__.
free ipod and free gmail!
A satellite/wi-fi booth seems cool, but somehow lacks something the old wired booth had.
Brad, Thanks for installing the booth. I didn't see it during the week, but I did come by your camp for the save-the-man protest, and you showed it to me and had me make a test call (nobody was home). I came back later and was able to get through to my parents who informed me that I had become a first-time uncle (of twins!). It was a great way to get the news. Thank you!
What I want to know is what sort of satellite link did they use???
I am only familiar with the Hughes Directway system and that has such a slow round trip that I doubt it would work for VoIP. Often times the uplinks are slower that a 14.4 modem on a bad wire... Are there better products on the market? I didn't see any mention of what they used. There was a cursory explaination that he tweaked the equipment to work with slower speeds, but how!?
Does anyone know of a more reliable sat connection than the directway? Maybe something that uses Low Earth satellites rather than geosyncronous... or pose the threat of burning flesh of anyone walking in front of the transmitter?
"...with cheap VoIP people were able to call all over the world."
I'm sure the VoIP solution could be cheap to implement, but what about "...and a satellite IP uplink.".
I think this last bit would make the cost of this solution go up a little, wouldn't it?
Think of it as population control in a post-modern society. Its not like someone could not add a GPS + VOIP module to there service in the future, for those that seem to be scared shitless of not being able to contact 911.
I think you have too much invested in telco stock, I would suggest diversifying your portfolio.
I've noticed that reaction in art people.
A fair sample of the CS people I know have a minor in humanities.
Myself, I play music and have a german minor.
German English requires shades of meaning that are inexpressible in code, thats for sure!
Which is an interesting thought WRT AI, but I digreess.
Your point seems to be more correct than not.
/b
|f(x)dx = F(b) - F(a)
Eh. You mean Music over IP or Voice over telepathy.
We'd love to contribute to the EFF. The bad news is
that until a while back I was homeless and out on
the street. Sorry. Still broke.
I'm still struggling to come to terms with being able
to laugh about it.
Wish you well.
It's a little odd to talk extensively about your own experiences on a technical message board, but it's downright strange to view Slashdot as your outlet for caustic rants about how much you hate the people around you.