So, the first project I am going to work on is v0xb0x.
What is v0xb0x?
It is a project I thought of after the Egyptian revolution of 2011, I wondered how data and information could be transferred easily between members of the protests without the need for infrastructure. Since Raspberry Pi machines have been so popular and the Raspberry Pi Zero W can be run on battery power I mixed these two things together and started learning about "Pirate boxes". None of the ones I found were actively maintained nor did they have a recent release, so I decided to start one myself.
What is a Pirate Box?
A pirate box is a device that can be used to share files and chat with people around you without the need for an internet connection. It is a device that creates a local network that you can connect to and use to share files and engage in chat with other people connected to the same network.
What does the name mean?
The name of it comes from the Latin word vox, which means voice, and the 0 (zero) instead of the letter o is referring to not having a voice to speak with. The idea is that this device will give a voice to people who don't have one and allow them to share their voices with other people regardless of the situation.
The current status of the project
First of all, I am making shell scripts and an "installer" of sorts to run and make a ready and workable v0xb0x. But at the end of the setup I plan to host an ISO file that can be flashed to an SD card and used to boot a Raspberry Pi Zero W into a v0xb0x. I am also planning to make a web interface that can be used to manage the pirate box and make it easier to use later down the line.
I am not looking at supporting other devices than the Raspberry Pi Zero W at the moment, but I am open to suggestions and pull requests in the future.
At the moment, I'm trying to get my head into the same place it was when I started the project over 4 years ago, so I'm reading through old code and trying to remember what I was thinking when I wrote it. I am also trying to get my focus, well.. focused on the task at hand. This will be my first ever opensource project, so I've got no idea how to do things "according to the book", but I will try my best to make it as good as I can.