Open source – yes!
Thanks for the feedback to my previous post!! I merely described the current situation.
But things are changing. We see many new kinds of devices appearing: Internet Tablets, small PCs, multimedia computers, and so forth. For all these new interesting devices, open source is the way to go. Seriously, what else? A closed sw stack? I do not see any other way to develop these new interesting devices –bundled with interesting services – but to use open source more and more. That is simply the way to build these devices. It is the only approach flexible and powerful enough.
In the traditional phone business, things may be a bit more difficult. Traditional phones have already good operating systems and software optimized for their reasonably narrow set of use cases and for fixed business ecosystems. So, it’ll be more difficult to change that landscape to more open direction. I thought the same was the case with the PC – but Ubuntu may be proving me wrong. So you never know about the traditional phones either. The sure thing, though, is that for all new interesting highly connected devices, Linux and open source is the way to go. This is my opinion.
Then, what can we do to speed this all up? We work very hard on the next highly connected products – to bring new stuff to maemo and develop it further. And I also want to invite you all to do it with us.
So, please, take a look at this. For the next 10 days, we are opening a brainstorm period for the future of maemo.org. The goal is to consolidate feedback from the developers and users in the community, and integrate that feedback into the mid-term agenda of the project.
The work we do with maemo is our practical implementation towards more open environments for mobile devices. In our case, the Tablets provide a challenging new device category that will evolve over time. And open source and community participation are the only means for us to succeed.
We hire people and open new initiatives to get there.
P.S.
Linux phone shipments declining. Why
1) one reason descibed above
2) another reason
3) a third reason
But things are changing. We see many new kinds of devices appearing: Internet Tablets, small PCs, multimedia computers, and so forth. For all these new interesting devices, open source is the way to go. Seriously, what else? A closed sw stack? I do not see any other way to develop these new interesting devices –bundled with interesting services – but to use open source more and more. That is simply the way to build these devices. It is the only approach flexible and powerful enough.
In the traditional phone business, things may be a bit more difficult. Traditional phones have already good operating systems and software optimized for their reasonably narrow set of use cases and for fixed business ecosystems. So, it’ll be more difficult to change that landscape to more open direction. I thought the same was the case with the PC – but Ubuntu may be proving me wrong. So you never know about the traditional phones either. The sure thing, though, is that for all new interesting highly connected devices, Linux and open source is the way to go. This is my opinion.
Then, what can we do to speed this all up? We work very hard on the next highly connected products – to bring new stuff to maemo and develop it further. And I also want to invite you all to do it with us.
So, please, take a look at this. For the next 10 days, we are opening a brainstorm period for the future of maemo.org. The goal is to consolidate feedback from the developers and users in the community, and integrate that feedback into the mid-term agenda of the project.
The work we do with maemo is our practical implementation towards more open environments for mobile devices. In our case, the Tablets provide a challenging new device category that will evolve over time. And open source and community participation are the only means for us to succeed.
We hire people and open new initiatives to get there.
P.S.
Linux phone shipments declining. Why
1) one reason descibed above
2) another reason
3) a third reason
posted by Ari Jaaksi at 7:07 AM
15 Comments:
I think its a joke to say that existing phones already have good interfaces. They have decent interfaces that you are forced to get used to and live with. Some are fairly consistent in a brand, but that is not always the case. The make horrid assumptions and I'd swear the designers never use the stupid things.
The reasons why I think linux is not taking over the mobile phone market:
1) Mobile is CLOSED. They do not want to share, they do not want it customized. It must be the way they want it. Yes, there are hacks, yes smart people tend to find a way around, but it can be so difficult and possibly destructive to the phones that it is not very common.
2) They are scared of the openness inherent within the GPL. (There is a lot to this, much of which is FUD)
3) The ones that do push Linux, don't push Linux. If Motorola wanted to push Linux they would have had a driver ready and available for the HSDPA chipsets at day one. They already had more than a handful of Linux handsets by the time it came out, yet years later still haven't done much to make it happen. Geeks want technology, open or not. We've proven that we would rather have the 3G Symbian phone than the EDGE linux phone. Would we swamp to a tri-band 3G handset running linux? More than likely. Would the general public? They would as long as it was advertised well, put at a decent price point, didn't look like garbage, and it gave them all the regular features they wanted.
4) They don't distribute the phones in enough markets. Look at the Linux community in Europe and North America. Now tell me how many phones have been released in those markets with Linux on them in the last 10 years. Of course its not going to take off. (Yes, some phones have, but not very many)
I've lots of other thoughts on this subject but i should get back to work.
once again... just my opinion.
Is open good? I read this a few months ago:
http://jaaksi.blogspot.com/2008/01/when-open-is-too-open.html
Is it good or not so good??
The days of the open house are over. They still are ;-) So in that particular context -- open is not the way to go.
Ummm... Thanks for the reply, though I am not fully convinced! I think maybe you have changed your stance a little? This is perfectly OK for Directors to do!! Ours changes his mind every few weeks depending mainly on customer feedback.
"I thought the same was the case with the PC – but Ubuntu may be proving me wrong."
And how long has Linux been around on planet Nokia?! The PC has always been mostly open, but the biggest obstacles to actually experiencing this openness have been (1) the vendors taking kickbacks from a preferred software supplier and (2) everyone thinking that "this is just the way things are".
Meanwhile, you want to get people involved in working on software for your hardware platform, but even if the uppermost parts are open source, where's the incentive for people to join when they aren't going to see the end product on anything other than your own devices?
Potential community members detect an unequal relationship very quickly. And, once again, without any kind of patent pledge from Nokia, the relationship looks distinctly inequitable: one gets the impression that one plays by Nokia's rules as long as Nokia desires, and heaven help anyone who strays even remotely close to any other project which might get picked up by a competitor to Nokia. The torrent of software and user interface patent applications filed by Nokia employees does nothing to assuage such concerns.
Why should I as an open source developer buy into that as a community member?
The following news report claims Nokia would publish smart phones running on Linux during next year.
http://www.hs.fi/talous/artikkeli/Nokialta+ensi+vuonna+Linux-älypuhelimia/1135236882376
HS=Helsingin Sanomat.
This is the biggest News Paper in Finland.
Quite confusing, because only few weeks ago it was told the other way by one person in Nokia and even weeks before that an other person gave some clues Linux phones or something like it might, maybe, appear some day (by Nokia).
Maemo was mentioned in the news reported by HS. So, do you know more about this issue?
Why no linux phones?
Simple - you can't buy them at the local shop. If you want a linux phone you must special order it - and you don't usually get any subsidies on them.
How is this an argument supposed to tell us about the quality of linux, anyway?
By the way, you're getting slaughtered on slashdot... :-/
"Jaaksi, Nokia's vice president of software and head of the Finnish handset manufacturer's open-source operations, said: "We want to educate open-source developers. "
I have nothing against closed source software or DRM. I very much have something against closed source software and DRM from Nokia. Why? Because using S60 is a nerve wracking experience and because Nokia is trying to use its control of the platform to force things on me I don't want. I have had S60 phones for the last several years, and their only claim to fame is that Windows Mobile is even worse.
As soon as I can get an Android phone, my Nokia S60 phones are going into the trash. Android may or may not be better than S60 right now, it may or may not be fully open source (I don't care), but it's clear that I can actually fix some of its problems, while with S60, the only option I have is to shell out another EU 400 to get the next phone, only to be disappointed again.
"Jaaksi admitted that concepts like these "go against the open-source philosophy", but said they were necessary components of the current mobile industry."
Ari, you are operating under the mistaken assumption that open source is philosophy driven. By and large, it is need driven: when mobile phone manufacturers, including Nokia, all put out crappy software, then users have to take matters into their own hands.
So, Ari, please stop trying to "educate open-source developers" and educate yourself and your own software developers... in GUI design, real time software, performance tuning, and error recovery, all areas in which S60 needs a lot of improvement.
"Jaaksi, Nokia's vice president of software and head of the Finnish handset manufacturer's open-source operations, said: 'We want to educate open-source developers.'"
Open source community doesn't need Nokia - Nokia needs open source community.
It is not open source developers who need to be educated.
Why Linux smart phones are declining?!!
Well.. need a cellular modem on the tablet to make the numbers. If Nokia doesn't make the numbers who is going to make them?!!
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