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DoCoMo To Use Linux On Their 3G phones
ilbrec writes "Looks like NTT
DoCoMo will be using Linux on their 3G phones next year. This
actually was reported yesterday in Japan (here), but I could not find
any article in English until now. While it's not clear who will
be making the Linux phone for them, I would certainly be interested in
seeing them once they are out. No word on this anywhere at
DoCoMo's website at all, however." Reader paku adds links to similar coverage in Forbes and in Japan Today.
How does this work as far as distributing the source code? Is that available for modification and if so is it possible to upload a self-improved OS to the phone?
Does that open up the possibility of doing clever things or am I being ignorant? If the former then this could be great, if the latter - hey, I only wrote telecommns code for two years, what do you expect?
Aide-toi, le Ciel t'aidera - Jeanne D'Arc.
We all know Microsoft is trying to be the "standard" for cell-phone operating systems much in the way that they took over almost the entire desktop and workplace market, but will there ever be a Linux standard? I know Symbian is also trying to create a standard for cell phones that already is quite strong in Europe, but there really should be a consortium where Linux developers can get together and set standards, instead of them being scattered across the internet proposing a few ideas.
If there's going to be standards, they should always be open source and free as in beer. Corporate control of standards only creates monopolies. Even in America, a lot of people are dropping their landlines for cellphones, and if there's ever a Linux standard for it, it should be created quickly before it's too late.
I mean this seriously. Would a good sign of Linux becoming more mainstream be when it's no longer news that a company is using Linux in their products?