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Meet the Firmware Lead For Google's Project Ara Modular Smartphone (Video)

Posted by Roblimo on from the build-it-one-piece-at-a-time dept.

According to Wikipedia, 'Project Ara is the codename for an initiative that aims to develop an open hardware platform for creating highly modular smartphones.' Google is the sponsor, and the project seems to be moving faster than some people expect it to. There's a Project Ara website, of course, a GitHub repository, a Facebook page, even an Ara subreddit. During his conversation with Timothy Lord, Ara firmware project lead (and spokesman) Marti Bolivar said it won't be long before prototype Ara modular phones start user testing. Meanwhile, if you want to see what Marti and his coworkers have been up to lately, besides this interview, you can read a transcription of his talk (including slides) from the January Project Ara Developers Conference in Singapore.

25 comments

  1. Meet King Frosty, First of his Name! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Bow to me!

  2. Aggressive schedule by itzly · · Score: 4, Funny

    Google said it is working on an aggressive schedule to have the project fully cancelled before 2017.

    1. Re:Aggressive schedule by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      +1, because Googlers are almost entirely employed on the basis of being wide-eyed, naive dreamers who don't realise they're being sucked up by one huge, indifferent ad broker which can't be trusted and doesn't give a fuck.

    2. Re:Aggressive schedule by StikyPad · · Score: 5, Funny

      Which is still 5 years before this kid's 18th birthday, by the looks of it. And here I thought sweatshops were the only ones using child labor.

      --
      https://www.eff.org/https-everywhere
    3. Re:Aggressive schedule by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      Which is still 5 years before this kid's 18th birthday, by the looks of it. And here I thought sweatshops were the only ones using child labor.

      2009 MIT Grad, he is about 29 years old, not that it should matter - https://www.linkedin.com/pub/marti-bolivar/a3/537/375

    4. Re:Aggressive schedule by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Which is still 5 years before this kid's 18th birthday, by the looks of it. And here I thought sweatshops were the only ones using child labor.

      2009 MIT Grad, he is about 29 years old, not that it should matter - https://www.linkedin.com/pub/marti-bolivar/a3/537/375

      And discoverer of the fountain of youth.

    5. Re:Aggressive schedule by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Experience does matter.

    6. Re:Aggressive schedule by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      As opposed to... ?

    7. Re:Aggressive schedule by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Came here for this. Was not disappointed. Jesus Christ he's fucking young.

  3. Boy meets Google by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    This kid looks like he just hit puberty and hopes to vote Democrat one day. Is this a joke?

  4. facebook? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    If it is sponsored by google, where's the the google+ page?

  5. Project Ara by Megahard · · Score: 1

    Hopefully not like Project Ava. Helpful hint: ok to meet the project lead, but don't spend a week with him.

    --
    I eat only the real part of complex carbohydrates.
    1. Re:Project Ara by I4ko · · Score: 1

      That was a hugely successful project. Screw the project lead anyway.

  6. Is he really chewing gum... by richrz · · Score: 1

    during a webcast? Must be a slashdot mod.

  7. Why slashdot videos are shit by risc8088 · · Score: 3, Informative

    1. Pretending they aren't sponsored content is both sleazy and insulting to slashdot users

    2. The production quality is shit. The average youtube amateur does a better job. And that's just fucking sad.

    3. The content presented is boring and not compelling. Video should be compelling, if we want to absorb raw tech info, that is what text is for.

    And lastly I hate to say it but these people on the videos are just so unlikeable to me. This kid here just gives me the impression of a tool/brat/hipster and makes me annoyed before I even watch the video. Dunno, that's just my natural reaction, maybe I'm just an asshole.

    I like slashdot because of the quality of information and debates by users in the text comments. Quite often I skip the articles entirely and just read the comments because of the excellent summations users provide. I read slashdot almost every day. This is my first post in years, and I came out of lurking just to say that shit like these videos and slashdot beta has been seriously corrosive to the value that this site provides. Have you fucking idiots doing business development at slashdot not learned anything from what happened to Digg.com ??? I could be wrong but I feel like it is only a matter of time before your users jump ship.

    1. Re:Why slashdot videos are shit by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      That's OK, you're too unlikable for a lot of us too.

    2. Re:Why slashdot videos are shit by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Then jump ship already!

    3. Re:Why slashdot videos are shit by risc8088 · · Score: 1

      Hahah, is this the kid's mom and dad? Don't get me wrong, I think that this modular phone technology is very interesting and has a lot of potential and the kid seems bright and hardworking and capable. This stuff could really go somewhere. I will be following this technology to see where it leads. I think the ability to piece together your own mobile phone part by part is an inevitable demand that must be satisfied by the marketplace and provides obvious benefits that can be clearly seen and understood if you've ever put together your own desktop pc. As far as being unlikable, its really more due to slashdot doing a poor job on these videos overall and leaving a bad impression on the whole matter. I wouldn't take this stuff too seriously, just keep at it. And get different glasses or contacts so you don't look like a tool. :)

    4. Re: Why slashdot videos are shit by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Hmmmm: what are we interested in here? The man's age, appearance, voting demographic, like-ability and workspace or technical/market analysis about the actual project? #disappointed #youcandobetterfolks

    5. Re:Why slashdot videos are shit by LinuxIsGarbage · · Score: 1

      This kid here just gives me the impression of a tool/brat/hipster and makes me annoyed before I even watch the video.

      I was more distracted by the person on the left with the hipster haircut flipping their hair around, looking out the window, looking at the camera, etc. Then the guy that came in with the French press, started untangling his headphones, twirled around in his chair, poured coffee out of the french press.

  8. Blah Blah Fuck Google by Jack+Griffin · · Score: 1

    World biggest advertising company now advertising here. Fuck Google.

    1. Re:Blah Blah Fuck Google by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      That's advertising? At work we have pictures on the walls and our office doesn't look like a bomb shelter.

  9. highly Modular smartphone by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    highly Modular smartphone made me think of something I saw years ago

    band-in-my-pock

    http://www.notcot.com/archives/2008/09/band-in-my-pock.php

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