In this thread I am not concerned about commercially disruptive tech but rather socially disruptive software and possibly hardware.

In 2011 we have seen the immolation of one man in Tunesia set the whole middle east into a digitally linked human tsunami of revolt against corruption and thug rule.

How can we leverage our Maemo/Meego devices to demonstrate subversive communications that will hopefully be emulated in other smart OS's?

Specifically I am thinking of facilitating communications in a net-down situation like we saw in Egypt this spring and protection during quick police searches of confiscated phones.

*Mesh WiFi with autoconfigure and routing
*Amateur radio voice and data apps which can be used on commercial radios
*TOR, already well implemented
*Encryption, make it dead easy like cut/paste
*Obfuscation, use stenography to hide encrypted confidential information or even applications where they will not be found in quick searches
*Smart sneakernet, if the Internet is down use WiFi or Bluetooth to help a person physically traveling from one mesh to another intelligently deliver mail or info reminiscent of Fidonet
*Embedding data into pirate FM radio streams to be read by smartphones
*Whole device encryption or panic button wipe if there is a possibility the device may be confiscated by police or paramilitary troops.

This is all only brainstorming, some of this tech is already well developed like WiFi mesh for the OLPC, others may be mostly outside the scope of Maemo but some users here might know of another community that can act on these ideas.

This is very interesting and useful, especially the mesh wifi idea when available to all the device ty[es, i.e. including androids, symbian, ios, whatever. Make it peer to peer, cyphered, and f*ck the tyrants!

IMO next disruptive thing is OS that propagates around your everyday life. Car, television, home stereos, laptop, netbook, tablet, desktop pc, home automation, fridge etc. something that is open source and gives hw vendors free hands to modify it and still there is possibility to interaction between all kinds of devices. Forget apps and "shiny" things in mobile device that's past. Next thing is about collaboration of devices on wide range and communities. App possibility on this arena is endless. Think about heart monitor belts combined with mobile phone and your home entertainment system.Think about metering information and app possibilities in your house automation and car system and how it gives endless possibilities for on different platforms. Seamless data exchange trough e.g. nfc...just touch devices and they communicate.

Guess what? Meego is already build up correctly from down to top to take over all consumer groups from poor to rich.

But how does that help when you live somewhere where the government is trying to brutalize protesters and suddenly 3g and telco Internet is cut off by the state?

I think what you're looking for is http://freedomboxfoundation.org/

At last someone who grasps the full tragedy of Nokia abandoning Linux. This will probably delay the development of mobile tools for freedom-seeking people all over the world for a long time.
Sad indeed...

First, kudos to the OP for bringing up this topic
Second, thanks to the poster (lma) for the link to freedombox.org

The move away from Linux OSS by Nokia will slow down the penetration of this socially disruptive technology. What a shame. Freedom to communicate without fetters is a basic human right.

I've long held the belief that improved communication can lead to improved quality of life. Although some worry about the ability to create a flash mob that improved communication can bring I believe that being able to provide rapid and secure communication is a plus. Tyrants beware. When the only thing a tyrant can do to stymie free communication is to cut power to the areas in turmoil they have already lost. No amount of blaming the power cuts on the criminal malcontents will make up for cutting the power to begin with.

I think this thread is moving slowly because I chose a commercial rather then social sounding title.

Does anyone know if mesh and an easy encryption app for IM similar to pidgin OTR are being worked on for the N900?

*Mesh WiFi with autoconfigure and routing - not yet available
*Amateur radio voice and data apps which can be used on commercial radios - some can be implimented with chroot debian
*TOR, already well implemented
*Encryption, make it dead easy like cut/paste - still needs to be easier
*Obfuscation, use stenography to hide encrypted confidential information or even applications where they will not be found in quick searches - a few apps hide the buttons but nothing easy and really secure
*Smart sneakernet, if the Internet is down use WiFi or Bluetooth to help a person physically traveling from one mesh to another intelligently deliver mail or info reminiscent of Fidonet - still a cool dream beyond beaming files over bluetooth or mass storage with H-E-N
*Embedding data into pirate FM radio streams to be read by smartphones - this would still be super cool but dont know how many stations would embed info
*Whole device encryption or panic button wipe if there is a possibility the device may be confiscated by police or paramilitary troops. - again super cool as long as it has a good safety and danger mode switch
*VPN, well implimented but requires a server elsewhere in the world and internet access
*picture and video sharing - well implemented but ssh/ftp uploading to private servers would be useful

I love those ideas, especially mesh networking.
SOPA, ACTA, PIPA - it is not a coincidence that governments wanted to pass all this laws after seeing that freedom of speech became real cause of internet and all riots that happened lately.

I would like to see also application that will make sure that your phone is untraceable(i don't have clue about GSM networks so maybe there is a way) and allows you to change IMEI.
Also streaming a data from camera directly to some independent server (one that won't delete content because cops or court is asking to)might be useful for recording violent cops behavior etc.