# Key Points from #hplusroadmap IRC Discussion - February 8, 2014

• Open hardware phone projects were discussed, including the Neo900 (a replacement mainboard for N900) and the Jolla phone, with emphasis on community-oriented approaches and potential for hardware extensions through i2c backpacks.

• The Serval Project was highlighted as a technology enabling mobile phones to communicate without cell towers, offering critical functionality during disasters when traditional infrastructure fails.

• A technical discussion on 3D printing revealed advanced work on depositing diamond-like carbon onto aluminum to create printer hotends capable of extruding aluminum, demonstrating the channel's focus on cutting-edge DIY fabrication.

• Participants debated access barriers in open-source biology, specifically noting that BioBricks (standardized biological parts) are difficult to obtain for non-institutional iGEM participants, and that DNA samples from iGEM have only about 50% reliability.

• The conversation included practical synthetic biology advice, with ParahSailin suggesting that amplifying promoters directly from an organism's genomic DNA is more effective than using distributed samples.

• A philosophical tension emerged between those focused on direct technological development versus those concerned with broader social issues, particularly regarding how wealth inequality impacts the ability to pursue transhumanist projects.

• The channel was described as "the longest-lived, most active transhumanist channel ever" with an unusual "concentration of raw talent in the transhumanist scene," indicating its significance in the history of online transhumanist discourse.