Ideation Of The genshi.box

Genshi.lab Founder and Product Architect Craig Anthony Perkins believes that everybody in the world should have access to the world's information via free internet access, while at the same time having complete control of their own digital life. And so, the genshi.box was born...

The genshi.box solves the following problems we all seem to experience in the online world today: 

• The Social Networking sites selling your personal information and browsing habits to advertisers 
  
• Web and Email Hosts leaking your information to spammers 
  
• Photo Sharing sites and online Cloud Services losing your data or "accidentally" deleting your accounts 
  
• ISPs over-charging you for internet access
  
• And the Privacy issues we all have from over-reaching governments as well as hackers...
  

With the genshi.box, you can finally take back control of your entire digital life!

In More Detail...

The basic idea of the genshi.box is that it's an easy to use consumer device that replaces your current social networking page by allowing you to upload all of your photos and compose your daily posts directly onto the genshi.box that is sitting right next to you; giving you complete control over all of your content.

Why is this important? Because, as we all know by now, the social networking sites make their money in two ways. First, by posting advertisements all over your page and in your news feed, polluting what was once an ad-free browsing experience. Second, by selling all of your personal information, as well as your browsing habits, to advertisers that can further target you and track you as you navigate the world wide web... not to mention surrendering your private data to over-reaching governments without cause or warrant!

So the genshi.box is your solution to bringing back control of your digital life and maintaining your privacy. 

At it's core, the genshi.box is a simple to use file storage drive and web server which you can access from anywhere in the world using a web browser or the genshi.box app on your iPhone or Android device. But it's more than that...

• A simple to use consumer friendly device to store all of your digital content
  
• A built-in blogging service which you can share securely with just your most trusted friends, or share with the global network of genshi.box users as well as the World Wide Web
  
• An online hub for genshi.box users to gather and chat
• Wireless connectivity
  
• Battery operated (with induction charging if we meet our first stretch goal)
• Create private networks between your friends; use multiple genshi.box devices for Mesh Networking (can be used as a FreedomBox)
• Completely secure through AES 256-bit encryption
  
• For advanced users, complete access to the Linux-based file system 

And if we hit our biggest stretch goal, we want to provide free internet access to all genshi.box users via our own Satellite Network. (We've researched it, and it's actually doable. We are looking into several partners to help with this as well.)

What We Need & What You Get

We're asking for $250,000 to take our proof-of-concept prototype to production ready status. Currently, the genshi.box is using off-the-shelf parts and open source software. We'd like to keep most of the software open source, but we want to make our own proprietary circuit board to boost the current specs of what our working prototype has. (Our current prototype is based on the Beaglebone Black with a few upgrades we've added, such as wireless connectivity, a long lasting battery pack and additional storage.)

This amount will also allow us to make a small run of the genshi.box for our indiegogo supporters. But we want to do so much more! 

STRETCH GOALS:

• If we reach our $500,000 stretch goal we will be able to add induction charging to the genshi.box so you never have to remember to charge it; simply place it on it's pad and it's always charging.
  
• If we reach One Million Dollars, we can take this to mass production, bringing manufacturing costs down and lowering the retail price to $199 (the current retail pricing is estimated at $249).
  
• If we make it all the way to Five Million Dollars, we will be able to work on our Satellite Network plan and create the genshi.box Satellite Modem/Antenna Package option; allowing all genshi.box users free internet access with no monthly fees and no advertisements, ever! (Separate purchase of the Satellite Package would be required.)
  
• And one of our long term goals, to go along with our Satellite Network goal, is to create a Non-Profit Organization which will allow us to provide a genshi.box to underprivileged people around the world that could not otherwise afford this technology or who are cut-off from the internet by their repressive regimes; in order to help them become part of the information age by joining the global online community. We hope to accomplish this by donating a genshi.box for every one that is sold, as well as partnering with other Non-Profits and NGOs that can help get the genshi.box out to people with the need for this technology, but without the means.

The Importance Of The genshi.box; Why Everyone Needs This!

We here at genshi.lab know this is an important and much needed device for everyone. With the recent news stories of social networking companies collecting, selling and abusing our personal and private information, to the constant bombardment of advertisers and spammers all over the internet, now more than ever is the time that somebody should do something about this, and we have a solution that can really change things and make the online world a better place. 

This project is so important to us that, even if we do not meet our target goal, we will continue to seek funding through Angel Investors and Venture Capitalists until we can get the genshi.box made and into the hands of everyone. Just imagine, rebooting the internet; creating a new "World Wide Web 3.0" free from advertisers, spammers and unscrupulous prying eyes, the way the internet was supposed to be!

This can be done, and one way or another, we will make it happen... hopefully with your help!

Where We Are In Development

We've been working on this since August of 2013 (showing the internal workings publicly in September 2013, with LCD Touchscreen for debugging) and we are now at a point to add additional key members to our team to take this proof-of-concept working prototype to a streamlined, production ready product. 

The next steps will be:

• Designing our own proprietary circuit board
  
• Refining the OS
  
• Refining the industrial design of the genshi.box
• Developing the Software Packages and Apps (we will have a free iPhone and Android app to access and post to your genshi.box)
  

Then, when we have a production ready product, we'll move on to:

• Designing the retail packaging
• Getting product certifications (FCC, etc.)
• Designing the supply chain process
• Tooling
• Materials procurement
• Production (we are currently looking at two U.S. manufacturers for the genshi.box)

Our target launch date for indiegogo supporters is 1st Quarter of 2015, and for Retail/Web sales by 2nd Quarter 2015.

Other Ways You Can Help

If you cannot contribute financially, we ask that you get the word out to as many people as possible using the indiegogo share tools. We have a chance here to make the online experience safe and secure, and back under your control, but we can't do it without having as many people as possible believing in this project as much as we believe in it. 

Help us help the world take back control of their digital lives!