FirstBrick will gather in a simple, reliable and energy efficient server all the tools you MUST have for the quick launch of your project. The best of Cloud and of Libre Software combined thought for small businesses and demanding project igniters.

MOTIVATION

Getting a quick start for your project or your business is often challenging : That is why FirstBrick was born. What tools should you choose to collaborate ? How to organize them ? How to handle getting the necessary infrastructure ? Answering these questions often requires heavy brainstorming and may eat up a lot of valuable time, even for experts.

Most tend to hide these complexe issues by passing them on third-party providers : the storage, the software and the infrastructure. They provide their customers only a mere access to a network service called the Cloud.

The Cloud seems to be an answer by helping project igniters focus on their project. It is actually far from perfect especially in relation to guarantees for your entrusted data : private information hosted by a third party, beta versions lasting for an unspecified time, random data loss, reduced customisation potential, confusing updates, etc...

Libre Software offers a better approach. They are solidly built, thoroughly tested, fully adaptable to your purpose... This said, these solutions are little known or require specific skills to master the installation infrastructure.

We are deeply convinced that the appropriate answer is to connect those two worlds together in a simple, evolution ready manner : a private Cloud, based on Libre Software and providing every guaranty needed by the demanding businesses and users.

THE INTENTION

Our solution is FirstBrick : a simple, reliable, energy-efficent server designed to make small businesses’ and project igniters’ life easier. This, of course, based on 100% Libre and Opensource Software.

Instead of shying away from the Cloud, create your own ! As well as with the Cloud, your data will be available wherever you go, yet hosted on your site, under your control and you will be the only one to decide who can access it.

You’ll only have to plug FirstBrick in, choose your collaborators, define your project and you’ll be ready to get to work !

FirstBrick will use only a few Watts, that is to say 10 times less than a classic computer. A quick calculation based on legal rates and the consumption of a classic computer (a 150W average is taken) left on all day long : 1300 kWh a year are used. That’s 160 €. FirstBrick offers to lower this cost to less that 30 € a year.

DETAILS

FirstBrick will include the services you most frequently use, from the most general to the most specific. Each software will only do one thing, but will do it right. We’ll make the software interoperable, so that when an action is done, it’s done once and for all (ex : project creation common to the ERP, the project manager etc...).

Moreover, when it is about your data, you should have the most reliable services. With FirstBrick, you will have the choice between saving your data locally or remotely, and software will automatically be updated !

Finally, FirstBrick will fully respect your freedom. It is developed through a selection of the best Libre and Opensource Software. The product can evolve according to your needs as well as benefit from the community’s help and the full support from our team !

All the work and development we will provide will be put under a Libre and Opensource license, so that the entire community can share FirstBrick’s technological steps. Anyone can benefit from it.

FirstBrick will be based on a GNU/Linux system offering the following features :

• Email :

‒ Email address management

‒ Mailing lists and newsletter management

• Project management and issue tracking

• File sharing Between computers of your local network

‒ Over the internet

‒ Document version management

• Account management

• Client relationship management

• Local or network saving

OUR ROADMAP...

Once this funding is done, we will first work on the software part of FirstBrick and fit it to pre-existing low consumption devices. Their design will be proprietary, as there is no existing Libre equipment adapted to what we want to offer yet.

What we aim to do, eventually, is to make FirstBrick a 100% Libre design product : software, electronics and case design (that is to say OpenHardware).

This said, designing equipment costs a lot of money... And to get to this next goal, we need 55.000 € to fund the project. If we get to this sum, we will extend the project up to electronic design and industrialisation of this totally Libre FirstBrick . You can help us get there !

WHO ARE WE ?

We are three engineers who met at college, ten years ago, waiting in front of the door of a physics class. We had numerous interests in common, and all shared an interest in network technologies, embedded systems and their innovative uses. Combining our respective skills and working together appeared to be an obvious choice. Our collaboration became clearer in time and we recently created a company, specialised in development, consulting and training in Libre and OpenSource computer science.

We are already committed and have developed other Libre or OpenSource projects, such as the search engine Vocabulari.se, the mobile experiment-game Générateur Poiétique and even a RepRap 3D printer (in progress). You can check them out on GitHub.

FirstBrick is one of our R&D projects we care a lot about. We need your help to make it treal.

Glenn Rolland

Passionate about distributed systems, networks, new uses, poetry, collaborative economy and changing the world ;-)

Roland Laurès

Nuts about low consumption embedded systems, remote control systems, low energy sensors, smart networks and revolution geek.

Sebastian Schawohl

Web’s bearded man, plays with standards, new technologies and their uses, music addict and t-shirt collector.

MORE QUESTIONS ?

For more information, you can also :

• Check the project’s website : http://product.gnuside.com/firstbrick/ !

• contact us on Facebook !

• follow us on Twitter !