Friday, February 18, 2005

More BizMo Source Code

I haven't specified my bizmo in great detail because my plan is to field test a standard issue model, not a one-off, so that lessons learned have wider application than to just my team.

That being said, a Google recruiter with family aboard wouldn't have the same features as a roving clinic and dispensary, or environmental quality tester. I imagine a typical class hierarchy per Java, with bizmo interfaces extending various subclasses of RV and touring coach, known quantities from whence the bizmos derive.

Likewise I likely wouldn't own said bizmo. I envision the fleet having corporate ownership, with scheduling and maintenance more centrally managed. Just amassing a personal fortune, buying an RV, and outfitting it accordingly would unnecessarily delay the evolution of shared infrastructure, complete with control rooms providing OnStar-like support services. The whole point is to grow a fleet within a larger deployment plan. Bizmos do real work, after all. I'm not planning an early retirement.

To the extent our source code remains a public good, early adopters such as the UN, various NGOs, could port, customize, and further develop the software. Competitive commercial ventures might add proprietary features. Making much of the infrastructure free, including access to relevant GIS, would stimulate the corresponding hardware market, with many multiplier effects.

Given the USG has a history of strategically encouraging investments with ripple effects, I could see the NSF getting involved, among other agencies. Or maybe we should look at pioneering this whole business in Japan. There'd be a large export market. I'd be happy to field test various Made in Japan technologies. Nor must we think either/or. And yes, I hear you Korea. Let's all play world game.