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Motorola's New Open Source Resource

Posted by ryuzaki0 on from the moving-slowly-in-the-right-direction dept.

illogict writes "Among with their new A1200 GNU/Linux-based mobile phone, Motorola unveiled yesterday its new community-based development platform, http://open source.motorola.com. It is primarily aimed at developers who are willing to contribute to Motorola's GNU/Linux-based mobile phones, either directly on firmware, or creating programs (native or Java) who are aimed to work on those phones. It currently features phone kernels, SD-TransFlash card reader drivers, Java MIDP3.0 draft. Such commitment on open source-development could be seen as a good step, and may show the way to other companies."

5 of 76 comments (clear)

  1. Lets see how they handle things by moore.dustin · · Score: 3, Interesting

    I think it is a great move, but I just wonder how people who actually contribute will be treated by the company down the road. Often times, little or no credit is given to someone who makes a successful and meaningful contribution because they could easily just take the idea and release it as a feature on the next iteration of the phone. Either way it is a great move on the companies part - they can rest now and let other people come up with the next ideas that will sell the phones next iteration.

    --
    Invexi - a Phoenix, AZ based web design and web development company.
  2. My solution by Council · · Score: 2, Interesting

    My open-source mobile phone development solution: Verizon Broadband, Ubuntu, VoIP, and an ultraportable Fujitsu Lifebook P1510. And with the number of unsecure networks around, I can probably drop the Verizon Broadband one of these days.

    Yeah, I may look silly with a laptop against my ear, but it's no sillier than a boombox back in the day. I hope it conveys similar street cred.

    --
    xkcd.com - a webcomic of mathematics, love, and language.
  3. Please let Motorola get it right.. by moreati · · Score: 4, Interesting

    Motorola showed actual thought and innovation for the V3 RAZR and it's ilk. Thin flip-phones makes so much more sense. I hope they can do it again with the software.

    Other than an old Ericsson T39m, the V3i is the best phone design I've ever used. That is, except for the software - which is.. quirky, to say the least. Games consoles get much of the attention in terms of reverse engineering and modding, each generation is designed to be more locked down and 'trustworthy'. However phones seem to have fared infinately better against the modding crowds and this sucks. Mobile operators get away with charging 15p for a 20 byte SMS and other restrictions that would leave Sony/MS XBox division drooling.

    I wish it were possible to rip the Motorola supplied firmware and replace it with something buggy but useful. I wish I could sync to anything and actually run real software, that does real things like access bluetooth and the camera. I wish my current phone could run programs written in C, C++, Perl, Python, Ruby, Java, C# and AIML. I want my phone to make a Star Trek communicator noise every time it opens. I want it to work in landscape mode and allow input from a bluetooth keyboard and to log GPS. I want it to do all the things Motorola didn't think of or didn't have the budget for.

    So please, if anyone from Motorola is reading, do this properly. Open up more than just a few smartphones or far east only models. Let your geek users break from the shackles of MIDP across everything. I note from TFA that you've released an open source mmc+sd driver, that's a great move - make it the first of many.

    Thanks

    Alex

    1. Re:Please let Motorola get it right.. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Interesting

      The problem is that even if Motorola puts all those great features in their phones, US carriers are going to force them to disable most of them to make their money. I still remember Verizon's crippled V710, and think that trend is likely to continue. Of course, you could import a phone, but then you forgo the subsidized pricing.

  4. That's What FOSS is All About by RichiP · · Score: 2, Interesting

    Under the FOSS philosophy, software developers really are reduced in value. Basically, any work a FOSS developer does will not translate to much personal value for him/her. If any money is to be made, it is in services that set up and customize said FOSS for paying customers. The programmer gives whatever value he/she had away. FOSS developers only hope for a sustained source of income from developing software is to setup a donations-based system (think PayPal) or work for a company who takes the zero-value software and make money off of it from services.

    Which is why companies who make money off of FOSS should not be frowned unless they do not contribute anything back to the developers (either by hiring them or donating money).

    What FOSS developers gets is 1) recognition, 2) satisfaction knowing he has contributed something to the greater public and 3) should the FOSS community grow, he/she will have the benefit of using all that available FOSS software. (Admittedly, there's not much there that translates to man's basic necessities of food, shelter and security.)

    As a software developer, I can (and do) charge money for that one-time development of FOSS. From there there'll be no recurring charges nor can I sell it again. My hope is that if there's a groundswell for this kind of development, I can make money off of other people's work as well. In that sense, it's a cross between capitalism and communism.