It all started with a Gift and an Arguement

Thank you for both!

Link time;

B bought me:
http://www.scottevest.com/v3_store/40_Tactical_System.shtml

So my plan is to set up a wearable PC to record the day-to-day conversations whe we can never seem to recall who said what and when.

I want it to record ALL THE TIME and try to graph GPS of where I am. Perhaps even video.
This requires encryption for the safety, privacy, and security of myself, and everyone within distance. So that requires a PC. a SMALL PC.

So the question is to use off-the-shelf consumer stuff or get nitty gritty with embedded systems.

Since the two seem to be getting MUCH closer to each other, i figure a hybrid approach is needed.

here are some examples of main units:
Consumer---
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ASUS_Eee_PC (already runs linux, cheap, needs bluetooth)
My old tiny thinkpad (celeron 300 /w ide, 192mb ram, 1x USB, 1xPCMCIA, 800x600)
Hp pocket PCs (runs windows, so this is pretty much ruled out.)

Embedded---
http://gumstix.com/ (have not configured it yet, does their site hate FF?)
http://www.compulab.co.il/x270em/html/x270-em-datasheet.htm (nice! maybe sans display?)


So still problems to solve,

Storage - Most solutions have little or no storage. some have IDE but that can suck power (does flash use more or less than laptop IDE?) I could also set it to auto-stream over the net (EDGE, GPRS, 802.11a/b/g/n, Bluetooth) but what if net was down, or i was far from it, cell phone charges threatened home, etc? Also need to worry about going thru airport security (x-ray, magnets) as well as the jacket already having small magnets.

Display - Glasses mounted HUD is cool, but very expensive, and fragile. I want to be able to do what I always do without worry of breaking a 1200$ pair of shades. Next thought was to use a watch as a screen (use old camcorder display?) but still no interaction... Finally I hit upon what I think is the best idea... Use my existing s60 bluetooth -enabled cell phone (nokia 6620) which I would already be using for EDGE based internet connectivity when wifi is not available. I found out I could install VNC with little or no trouble. I had heard that this was possible before ( http://sourceforge.net/projects/symvnc/) but now they have created a POSIX environment for S60 devices that allows a MUCH better port of TightVNC ( http://developer.symbian.com/wiki/display/oe/P.I.P.S.+Home ) so as long as I can figure out how to route the traffic over bluetooth to the device, i'm golden. This also partially solves the issue of controlling my wearable and provides a familiar and non-obvious method of control.

Power - I must admit, I have not even attempted to tackle this one yet. It mainly depends on the platform i use. Some will have their own power, but might end up powering aux devices, so additional batteries may be needed. I'm also interested in using power generated from natural movement (shoes, stride, etc), Solar or other radiated energy, and also trying to harness modern outlets of all size, shape, and output. (i.e. phone, POE, USB, Xlr Phantom, AC (110v, 220v), DC (3v-24v unfiltered), Audio jack (saw device that pulled power from airline headphone jacks).

GPS - This will be interesting to implement. Maybe I should settle on recording what cell tower is nearest for now, but gps would be awesome! Real time maps, logs, and weather!

Reproduce ability - I might make this system available for sale once most of the bugs are worked out. If I cannot doe to patent/copywright/GPL etc. I will sell the process of implementing it. It would be great to work on this stuff and help others realize common goals.

Interface - I feel this represents the biggest hurdle in computing today. Machine Human Interaction is still hopelessly awkward. I want to be able to pull up stuff from voice cues, which might contain audio of voice cues i recorded, and not freak out. I want o say "pull up conversation from friday around 6" and be greeted with A/V and a Map of what happened. failing that, at least a simple fast, 1-step process for recall.

Security - This PC must be aware and tolerant of viruii, hackers, and theft. All data should be encrypted and cleared from memory. Due to limiteds space, secure transmission (via multiple channels) . Perhaps a IDS for my PAN. This will be a chore due to all the networked systems and different communication technologies needed for this to be useful and trustworthy.

To Be Continued ...