FAQ
From VillageTelco
The version control system that this project is using sucks. Why are you not using GIT, MERCURIAL, CVS ... (add your favorite version control system here)?
Since version control systems are mainly used by creative people writing code there is a multitude of different VC systems out there, naturally. We are happy to use a VCS that many people are familiar with, even if it is not the latest and greatest. As of today many projects use Subversion, so chances are you may already have a SVN client installed on your workstation and know how to use it.
Why GPL?
This is a open-source and open-hardware project. We want to see the MP deployed in the wild for the sake of the people using it, in the hope that it will be useful. Like the OLPC project we hope to create something that could improve the way people are living. We are asking people to publish their improvements (if any), rather than taking our work for free and never making contributions. I (Elektra) like the GPL with this regard. However this is a matter of personal opinion and taste, and I'm not willing to dive deeper into this well-debated issue.
If this is a open hardware project, where are the schematics and board layouts?
The current MP schematic is available in the SVN repository . For several reasons it is unlikely that the PCB layout and other CAD information will be published. However the schematic should be enough for any one who wants to hack the MP hardware. The schematic is a reference AR2317 design plus some custom FXS and "Africanisation" work to make the ports of the MP robust to environmental and human abuse. During development the david/sch and elektra/sch directories were used for version control of the FXS and Africanisation hardware designs. These directories and the blog posts document the designs.
Why are you maintaining a fork of OpenWRT instead of doing everything in OpenWRT mainline?
When we began the project we used a tip of OpenWRT trunk that worked for us. We are still including updates and patches of trunk, or use a certain release of a software package if we see that these changes improve things, fix bugs, avoid headaches etc. We are making sure that our version of OpenWRT works and compiles. Working with OpenWRT tip can be cumbersome because what compiles today doesn't necessarily compile tomorrow. The latest is not always the greatest. However we are working together with OpenWRT developers to include it in mainline.
Asterisk sucks and is too big. Why are you not using Linphone/Freeswitch/my_favourite_soft_switch?
Asterisk was chosen as David knew how to design hardware that worked with Asterisk. The size of Asterisk has not been a practical problem, and the flexibility has been very useful in testing. For example to test a MP no extra soft-switch is required - we can connect SIP phones directly to the MP, or we can make a MP play and record a prompt without any other hardware. David has written a channel driver for Asterisk which supports the Mesh-Potato hardware.
If you want to volunteer for porting Freeswitch/Linphone/your_favourite_softswitch plus the channel driver to the FXS hardware we'll appreciate your efforts. Even if Freeswitch may not become the default in our firmware releases some people may be glad that we can offer Freeswitch as a working installation package. This is open-source, after all...
How can I contribute?
Check our How to contribute page.
