I was so excited about the N900 when it was announced - a linux machine in my pocket! I couldn't justify the price, being freshly out of school though. Nokia advertised a competition asking the public how they would "hack" the device to make something cool. I submitted a proposal to make a bike dashboard - it sounds so basic now, but I wanted a simple way to track my ride and proposed fun little additions like using the ambient light sensor to turn on an external headlight, a horn, etc.

They picked my proposal along with a couple others and gave us some budget to buy hardware and components, and about 3 or 4 weeks to complete the project. It was my first time soldering, first time using an Arduino, and I remember being so stressed out about whether or not it would work.

It all came together in the end and looking back with hindsight now, I really owe a lot to that competition and the phone that let me pretty quickly write python apps on it :) Good times.