Hacking the O2 Joggler – FreeBSD and SecurityBSD

The O2 Joggler is a pretty powerful piece of kit. It features a dual core Atom processor, 512 megs of RAM, 1 gig of storage, wireless networking, Ethernet and USB connectivity and a touch screen. You’d assume that this machine would be a good computer for the kids or for the kitchen, able to handle most tasks with ease.

You’d think wrong, as it’s actually an incredibly locked down piece of kit with sub standard piece of software with limited functionality. Built on Ubuntu 8.10 with O2 branded OpenPeek software, it features a calendar, video, photos, a Sky News RSS feed and a Sudoku game… And that’s about it. Such as shame, as it’s such a decent piece of kit. It’s also a very hackable piece of kit, and affordable too, being only £50.

It’s already been hacked, with Ubuntu Netbook remix and Android running on it. I’ve decided to buy one, and try to get FreeBSD and SecurityBSD running on it, ideally without turning it into a very expensive paperweight. In a couple of weeks, when I return home from Newcastle, I’ll be hacking the Joggler and posting about it here.

Tags: 02 joggler, FreeBSD, joggler, linux, netbsd, o2 joggler, openbsd, openpeek, SecurityBSD, ubuntu, unix