The phone network is one of society's greatest inventions, a vast federated network connecting nearly all of the world's inhabitants. But the tools we commonly use to interact with it are some of the most prone to interfering with our freedom and privacy. Soprani.ca is a collection of free software projects that aims to replace these tools so we can continue use the features of the phone network (such as calls and text and picture messaging to any phone number) without the adverse side effects that plague most phones. In this session, Denver will describe the existing voice, text, and picture messaging functionality of Soprani.ca, as well as plans for creating new distributed physical networks to extend and eventually replace the centralized physical networks of the phone network that exist today. He will also discuss ways you can help build the remaining pieces of Soprani.ca that will bring this vision to reality.
Speakers: Denver Gingerich