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--- content:tech:serval_mesh [14/05/2013 23:18]
127.0.0.1 external edit
+++ content:tech:serval_mesh [21/05/2013 00:27] (current)
Andrew Bettison [Why Wi-Fi?]
@@ Line 1: / Line 1: @@
 ====== Serval Mesh (app for Android) ======
-The [[content:servalmesh:|Serval Mesh]] app for Android is Serval's flagship software product.  It is freely available from [[https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=org.servalproject&hl=en|Google Play]].
+The [[content:servalmesh:|Serval Mesh]] app for Android is the [[:content:about|Serval Project's]] flagship software product.  It is a [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Free_software|free]] app that
+provides [[VoMP|voice calls]], [[MeshMS|text messaging]] and [[Rhizome|file sharing]] directly over Wi-Fi links between mobile devices.  The app communicates with distant devices via intermediate devices using [[mesh routing]], and uses strong [[crypto|elliptic curve encryption]] to guarantee privacy and identity even though some phones in the mesh network may not be trusted.
-For more information:
   * [[:content:servalmesh:|Serval Mesh]] -- current, past and forthcoming releases, download and installation, and user documentation
   * [[:content:servalmesh:development|Serval Mesh development]] -- copyright and licensing, source code, technical documentation, testing, and issue tracking
+==== Why Wi-Fi? ====
+[[:content:about]] made the obvious choice of [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wi-Fi|Wi-Fi]] for wireless communication in disaster situations because:
+    * it has widespread regulatory availability -- most countries have allocated the Wi-Fi frequency bands for short-range domestic use
+    * the Wi-Fi [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/802.11|IEEE 802.11]] standards are mature and broadly adopted
+    * Wi-Fi is supported by very many existing devices, including mobile [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Smart_phone|smartphones]]
+    * the Wi-Fi **Ad Hoc** mode is well suited to mesh networking, although it is not perfect and is poorly implemented by many manufacturers
+==== Why Android? ====
+[[:content:about]] chose Android as the mobile platform for developing [[:content:servalmesh:|Serval Mesh]] for the following reasons:
+  * [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Feature_phone|feature phones]] generally do not support Wi-Fi, or do not support Wi-Fi Ad Hoc mode
+  * the [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IPhone|Apple iPhone]] is priced far too high to be afforded by the majority of the world's citizens
+  * the operating systems and development environments for feature phones and the iPhone are [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Proprietary_software|proprietary]] and therefore:
+    * are expensive, or
+    * have restrictive license terms, or
+    * are inaccessible to the general [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Free_and_open-source_software|free and open-source software community]], or
+    * all of the above.
+  * Android permits the Ad Hoc Wi-Fi mode to be enabled (although most commercial handsets must be “rooted” in order to do so)
+  * Android's terms and conditions on developers place fewer obstacles to the kind of freedom-oriented development that [[:content:about]] is pursuing
+  * many manufacturers are making and selling Android smart-phones, so there is a wide choice of hardware
+  * there are free Android distributions like [[http://www.cyanogenmod.org/|CyanogenMod]] which offer alternatives to the locked-down firmware supplied by many manufacturers
+  * the price of Android smart-phones is continually dropping, making them more ane more accessible to remote and disadvantaged communities

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