Foundations and principles
As you may have noticed, Nokia, Sony Ericsson, Motorola and NTT DOCOMO announced today their intent to unite Symbian OS, S60, UIQ and MOAP to create a new open mobile software platform. Together with AT&T, LG Electronics, Samsung Electronics, STMicroelectronics, Texas Instruments and Vodafone we plan to establish the Symbian Foundation as a means to support everybody who wants to use, and/or enhance this platform. Contributions from Foundation members will be integrated to further enhance the platform. Membership of this non-profit Foundation will be open to all organizations.
To enable the Foundation, Nokia today announced plans to acquire the remaining shares of Symbian Limited that Nokia does not already own and then contribute the Symbian and S60 software to the Foundation! Sony Ericsson and Motorola also announced their intention to contribute technology from UIQ, and DOCOMO has also indicated its willingness to contribute its MOAP(S) assets. The Foundation will make selected components available as open source at launch. It will then work to establish the most complete mobile software offering available in open source. This will be made available over the next two years and is intended to be released under Eclipse Public License (EPL) 1.0.
Now let’s think a bit what this means. The S60 on top of Symbian is by far the most widely used smartphone platform. If you then add technologies that Moto and SonyE run on top of the Symbian OS you get a pretty good market coverage. 200 million phones shipped already! This all will now be available with very favorable terms – mostly under EPL. And what is most important is that this particular software really works. It is not a specification exercise or a strategy statement. It is real. It runs already in 235 different phone models. And it will be available to all.
Linux @ Nokia will go strong
This is now Nokia’s next step in the smartphone front running Symbian. But this is by no means a sign of us abandoning the work with Linux, Qt, Gstreamer, Mozilla, WebKit, Debian, X org, and so fort. Now, more than ever, we will strengthen our efforts within the upstream projects we already participate in – as well as around the maemo.org. And we will keep on developing most interesting Linux based products also in the future.
Some further comments
Which leads me to comment some of the recent discussion that – let me say – went pretty much where I didn't expect. So as said, we are 100% committed to expand our work with several open source projects, contribute even more code, collaborate, and learn. By doing this we expect to be able to create better Linux and open source base products.
We are by no means in a position to “educate the Linux community” or any other project for that matter. I never used those words, of course. Also, I do not like DRMs, Simlocks or any of that stuff any more than you do. I always want my music DRM free if humanly possible. I buy a laptop and remove Windows to put in Ubuntu and so forth. I also claim that we have been pretty careful in maintaining a proper division between open and close on our software to make it possible for open source portion to grow and get more significant. We have replaced many significant closed components with open ones over the years.
To illustrate my point, let me try to list some of the key principles I hold dear when developing Linux based products around the maemo.org.
-Play by the rules. Respect the projects you participate in. Respect the license fully.
-Be open. Communicate even the difficult topics. Release your roadmap us much as you can and you know. (ours @ maemo.org)
-Contribute code. If not, shut up.
-When closed code is used, make the borderline clear. Respect the licenses used.
-Maximize the use of open source; select a copyleft license if you can.
-Respect the different motivations and agendas. Tell yours and be open about it. (We build products to make money)
-Don’t get intimidated if somebody disagrees with you. Just do what you see right. ( ;-) )
-Ship good products. (sure trying hard!)
These are some of the things we try to do the best we can around Maemo and even more importantly … in the various upstream projects we participate in.
posted by Ari Jaaksi at 7:32 PM
18 Comments:
Interesting comments.
It will be interesting to see where Nokia proceed with the Linux offerings especially as it is clear the acquisition of Symbian is to directly compete with Google's android. Lets hope Nokia can manage to develop both offerings at the same pace and ensure Linux doesn't get left behind. I'm sure Nokia can do it.
I have mixed feelings about this. I had kind of hoped Linux with Maemo or Qtopia would creep in to Nokia phones at some point, this is unlikely now. Good news for those involved in Symbian though.
I just hope Nokia remain motivated to continue with Linux, how does Linux now fit in with Nokia's roadmap for devices? Presumably Symbian will remain on the phones, with Linux on tablets and other mobile computers.
Rich
... "Ship good products" - speaking of it: the N8x0-hardware is 1 1/2 years old now. come on! i want you to have my money! ;) give me something to buy.
We are by no means in a position to “educate the Linux community” or any other project for that matter. I never used those words, of course.
So we shall expect a lawsuit against the journalist and/or the newspaper who put those words in your mouth, right?
Pete
My forecast for Nokia Linux Phones:
At the moment Nokia is not able to produce such feature rich phone based on linux. So they are opening Symbian, porting linux frameworks to it and change their software base to be linux compatible. Then (~ 5 years) they simply exchange the kernel and subsystem.
Things I'll hate to see Nokia doing is binary blobs in their offering, like kernel modules, codec etc.
Those are the number one things which come in way for Open Source success for Nokia. For these reasons you can never form an upstream community around your open-source project and you are left with only the folks you christened with discount codes of hardware, but not necessarily folks who could re-use your code of feel tempted to submit a patch.
My point is the way you guys work and deliver, for another hundred years SMS will be 60 chars, goingforward email from phone will be per MB, phone calls will be free but freedom will cost more. I am scared not being able to understand if Nokia and most others could understand what could be a fair business model for them in future, all you are doing by using FOSS is cutting down your cost of production. I bet you guys don't believe in giving back actually !
Let me point out one or two things here straight, that I think no one else put that straight to you so far.
One, you pickup wrong role models, so I think you look up at Ubuntu as your role model for Open Source. In that case you are about to jump a cliff without knowing and you might break your knees at most. Know for sure that Ubuntu does not believe in Upstream and Ubuntu does not give back ! maybe you will like to look at OpenSuse or Fedora Project to learn how to build a truly FOSS & upstream community above your product made on FOSS.
Two, I hope you learn fast or your mojo will be off your own control sooner than later.
Three, you will never win unless you promote sense of freedom and open standards. So be sure using FOSS only like a pet might only scratch you in wrong spots.
Empowering your offerings with FOSS means great responsibility and demands to extend that empowerment to customer in true sense.
If you want to be a leader by empowering your customers with FOSS, make sure you have a plan to influence other peers in your chain of business who are missing it.
I'll say things are simple to do, start believing in true usptreams. Make a list of roadblocks you have those would be generally drivers, codecs and SIM locking laws or telco offering models. Now go talk to people who are not getting it like ODM/OEM, Telco authorities, Telco financial advisory, ISV for preferring FOSS codecs etc... make them change their ways and fairly charge for service not for technology because very soon everything will be FOSS.
Heck, I am giving you lot of tips .... but sure something you can do .. I sure know you are a great Evangelist !
Hi, thanks for the comments. I start to really miss names behind anonymous. You are not member of Le Resistance, aren't you. Keeping the dialog is much easier when you know who you are talking to and where to hind hin/her the next time.
Anyway, for those of you who care: https://wiki.maemo.org/Task:Mapping_openness. See you there!
> I buy a laptop and remove Windows to put in Ubuntu and so forth
That's how "freedom" from MS point of view works. You have to pay to MS for some stuff you do not need to have at all. Then you're absolutely free to trash it if you want. Can you imagine I will buy bread and will be forced to buy milk or have nothing?
As for border lines, I'm surely promise to obey licenses. That's not an issue at all in modern world. If I do not like some crippled stuff or nasty rules, there is always another stuff to chew on, buahahahaha. For example, if I dislike sim locks and DRM, there is OpenMoko thing out and yes, it is WITHOUT this crap so it is just NOT "defective by design" and hence worth of my efforts. In contrast to some another crippled thingies on the market. So, that's simple: those who will stick to defective and crippled rules will not gain too much from open development models. Just because there is inherent interference between (clear and open) vs (defective and crippled).So, open business model is when you're buying what you want.Without getting tricked and fooled. For example, I'm failed to send GPLed Jimm java IM program to another phone.License of program explicitly allows me to distribute it, but Nokia has overtaken my rights and declared that "law is we are". So no, my Nokia phone is not willing to send GPLed Jimm to a friend. While this is completely legal, Nokia has crippled my legal rights.Furthermore, they "forgot" to mention such restriction on main page of user site.Effectively tricking customers since you're about to discover such "features" only when phone is in your pocket and it is a bit too late so I'm surely feeling myself cheated. Can you imagine I will ever buy another Nokia phone, then?N8x0 fortunately lacks such nasty "features" but hey, how do I know if your devices are defective and crippled or not? Should I play Russian Roulette with Nokia?How incredible! So, if we are about bright lines, come on. Draw bright line. Put on first page of Nokia site for all models something like: "this device has built-in DRM" and "this device is not willing to send .jar files over bluetooth because we're consider you as pirate for YOUR OWN MONEYS, dude!".That will be BRIGHT line which clearly shows how Nokia treats its consumers. So consumers will have clear opportunity to evaluate all conditions before making decisions.
> the N8x0-hardware is 1 1/2 years old
Furthermore, while there is video playback acceleration in hardware, but Nokia + Ti did an incredible job in losing hardware features.So, you can enjoy with slow and jerky video playback instead.And if TI is not willing to license this feature at acceptable conditions, as long as bunch of other neat features, there is bunch of other CPUs (for example, Freescale) which vendors are less restrictive so FOSS-based solution could be much more features rich than with Ti's "open" OMAP which is really one of most "closed" CPUs in the market.There is no even datasheet on these OMAPs and it is a top secret how CPU starts.Surely great and open solution from Ti.
> -Contribute code. If not, shut up.
So, in short, it looks like in summary:
"You're free to code and do some other (unpaid) jobs for Nokia or you're also free to shut up".
Argh, and looks like there is already too much freedom and opennes for people even with this :))). I'm hardly can imagine what you're trying to achieve with such comments but none of open source developers are Nokia's personal slaves (except Nokia's own paid staff of course) so such wording is not seems to be friendly or motivating or even acceptable as for me.Sorry for publishing my humble opinition, according to you I'm better about to shut now :(
"Communicate even the difficult topics. "
Good. Where is the communication on the difficult topics of a FOSS patent pledge, vorbis support in products and support of phone products under Linux?
Dear anonymous (6/29/2008 11:16 AM),
When Ari wrote (in his list) "-Contribute code. If not, shut up.", I think that he was talking about his own principles, not ordering you to be the slave of someone (disclaimer; I am not native english speaking person and neither is he, I belive).
When it comes to the principle itself, it might be the healthy one for many that currently seem to use their energy to make comments that have no sense whatsoever.
Ari,
I challenge you to take a small step to build Nokia's rep in the o-s community. Each of the Betalabs creations that is passed over for productization is a prime candidate to be transitioned to SourceForge or Freshmeat. Let the developer choose whether or not to lead ongoing development on Nokia's dime.
Failing this at least let the apps move into an unsupported realm and continue to live on in slight chance that the public will look kindly upon them and give the company a second chance to evaluate product potential.
Too bad about the Symbian thing though. It would have been a great move 2 or 3 years ago but now it leaves linux fans questioning Nokia's commitment to transitioning to a new OS. Perhaps Nokia needs a third leg; an Android on Nokia support team.
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