Re: Rant about not getting a decent linux handheld
 

I'm more upset about the sheer lack of communication from Nokia. You put something out that's Linux based, have an active community and don't exactly communicate with that community... that's a big problem.

Re: Rant about not getting a decent linux handheld
 

Yeah, you can't really compare Android and others to Maemo, because they are built on top of Linux whereas Maemo is Linux.

That's true. Even if there are jailbreaks and ROMs and what ever available, I want a device that's designed to be used freely. I really don't like the idea, that after every SW update I need to find a new crack to my phone just to use it the way I like.

Re: Rant about not getting a decent linux handheld
 

I kind of understand Nokias position on this. I still want to believe that they're doing everything they can. It's just that nowadays when even a slightest rumor or picture surfaces Engadget and others are swarming all over it... I can imagine what kind of PR nightmare they could find themselves if they were as open as the OS community wants. Think about for example the disclaimers after the first MeeGo release. They made damn sure everybody knows exactly what it is and especially what it isn't.

The competition being as fierce as it is, I've accepted that there are some questions that just aren't answered. Sadly ''will you be releasing a 4,5" tablet soon or are you even planning one'' is one of them.

Re: Rant about not getting a decent linux handheld
 

That would require

a) a consistently fast mobile internet connection
b) a consistently fast home connection
c) a computer to be powered on (or WOL) which is also associated with power costs

Entirely possible, but it's more cost effective to just carry around a pocket computer that runs Linux for me.

I completly agree.

That's one thing I'll have to carefully watch for if I buy an Android device in a few years. Probably, let the market release the devices, then look at which ones are rooted and can boat Cyanogen ROMs.

Re: Rant about not getting a decent linux handheld
 

Don't laugh, but I'm looking for Amazon to come up with something to my taste.

The new update to the Kindle had some subtle but significant changes, and I think they have to go color and maybe even stay with free or low-cost Internet. These days, I sometimes use my Kindle to answer email or read the NY Times because I'm using it as a reader and it's quite easy to use it rather than the laptop or N900 that are sitting close by. And I like the Kindle keyboard better than the N900 keyboard.

P.S. The Kindle is Linux-based!

Re: Rant about not getting a decent linux handheld
 

I would not be surprised at all to see Amazon ultimately switch to MeeGo for that.

Re: Rant about not getting a decent linux handheld
 

I'm really not into Linux, but still...

Could you people please explain to me why the N8x0 or the N900 is not a decent Linux handheld?

Re: Rant about not getting a decent linux handheld
 

The Kindle is interesting, but mostly valuable as a book reader. Their use of DRM and remote-delete to remove people's copies of 1984 was supremely ironic and removed my urge to ever buy one.

And while the Kindle is Linux based, it too (like Android) does not offer what one would expect from a Linux environment, intentionally so as it's built from the same perspective as the iPhone (the underpinnings are invisible and inaccessible to you.)

They:
- use common Linux toolkits and libraries, instead of reinventing the wheel
- don't hide the underpinnings from the user, allowing access not only to the console but to the root user account

They falter on:
- not being nearly open enough, thus inhibiting the ability for users to truly "roll their own" should they desire (see Cyanogen.)
- Tiny screens and small keyboards are uncomfortable (but better than none)

Re: Rant about not getting a decent linux handheld
 

Note that I'm talking about the next Kindle, not this one; some of the problems you mention can be solved. In fact, Amazon has gone a long way towards making its DRM useless -- I am reading several Amazon books on my N900. And with Kindle for PC you can read its books practically everywhere, plus of course Kindle for iPad and Kindle for Android, etc.

In fact, I have suspected Amazon of finding a way of weakening its DRM deliberately so it doesn't have to confront the book vendors with the fact that their books are becoming less and less protected.

Interesting fact: It's now almost as easy to read the NY Times for free on your Kindle as it is to pay for the NY Times on your Kindle...

On the 1984 issue: I'm not sure that you can escape the basic problem that as cloud-like storage gets more widespread, lightning strikes from the clouds become more common. The users fought back against what happened to 1984 (which, by the way, you can get for free right now from the Australian Gutenberg site) and Amazon is not that likely to repeat their gaffe.

Re: Rant about not getting a decent linux handheld
 

I would love to hear a rational reason for the lack of communication from Nokia pertaining the Maemo/MeeGo platform. I'm sure one exists; I just cannot figure out how it's beneficial or even a halfway good thing. Hell... even Balmer communicates every now-and-then. Might not like a damn thing he says, but he does communicate.

I do too. But now? Nokia has to prove it to me. And so far, they're really lacking.

Any speculative coverage in this part of the game... is good coverage in my eyes.

To be honest, that was calculated and I understood why. It was for developers only. So as it stood, I watched the developers response... which was rather minimal.

My problem with MeeGo - and I hope you all don't mind me sharing it here - is that it's with Intel. Intel combined with Macromedia to help bolster Shockwave and introduced Shockwave3D. Guess what happened? They didn't do anything else with that platform... I mean, they preceded damn near everything else, could have been scripted with JavaScript or Lingo - which, if you had a C background, it looked damn similar - and it was downright powerful including OpenGL and DirectX (for Windows) acceleration... in 2000! And yet... they didn't push it, they didn't support it, and years later, it was never pushed, nor supported, nor updated.

It's nothing more than just... right now, Nokia isn't communicating, they feel as if they will show something that will wow people - that invariably won't happen (sorry Nokia fans, but I doubt I'll be wow'ed) and ultimately it casts a serious doubt on prior iterations of their products. Nokia's stop-go-stop-restart method of product generations just plain sucks.