How can we encourage iPhone developers to develop on Maemo?
 

Ok, here's one topic I'm sure a lot of folks can chime in on.

Basically the question is, how can we encourage more (a.k.a. average) developers to develop on the Maemo platform, how can we kick start apps development, and how can we produce a snowball effect of apps?

An interesting blog post from Daring Fireball reveals what looks like Microsoft offering selected iPhone developers to port their apps to the new upcoming Zune. Good strategy?

I saw Peter tweet confirming a talk in the summit on developing widgets, a good option for some to create small, compact, nice looking and helpful widgets.

Quim re-tweeted about Qt's new extended partner program, that applies also to Maemo. A Qt talk is also scheduled at the summit.

There are also the "Harmattan Highlights - Developer Opportunities", "Developing apps with Nokia Web Runtime", "Biz apps on Maemo" talks, all happening on the first day of the summit.

I really don't want to put pressure on th Nokia folks talking on the first day but hey, this summit will be an important one. Maemo hasn't gotten this kind of attention (ever!), and with all the buzz that Maemo will be the next Symbian blah blah, a lot of eyes will be focused on the event. It will be a huge opportunity to show what Maemo is capable of. Sure, the summit has to make users want the new Maemo device, but I think most importantly, make developers want to develop for it.

So, what would make regular developers develop for Maemo? Is the Maemo development environment too complicated? Is there room for web-based apps? Is an 'app store' needed? Should developers be allowed to sell their apps? Are developers more motivated to keep improving their apps if they can sell them? Paid apps equals better quality?

Let's hear 'em.

Re: How can we encourage iPhone developers to develop on Maemo?
 

I think an apps store is a great idea, we could use paypal for our purchases. All apps should have a 30 day trial period. Purchase should include unlimited updates.

Re: How can we encourage iPhone developers to develop on Maemo?
 

I'm not sure i want the average developers of the iphone...

But imho the success of the iphone was in the easy way users are able to buy the developer's apps. Make an user-friendly AppStore and the developers will flock no matter what the hassle is for them as long as the users can find and buy their apps with a click (or a touch ;).

Re: How can we encourage iPhone developers to develop on Maemo?
 

The problem with providing monetisation in App Mgr (or downloads.m.o, or packages.m.o), say via PayPal is the technical restrictions to prevent piracy.

Nothing too invasive, but you want to prevent anything rampant. Would it be enough to just provide a one-time use install link? A "XB-Requires-Payment: 0.99" header in the package (you then have a daemon which prompts the user for payment after 14 days for any packages)?[1] Do users like to pay for the apps on their desktop? Download them there too?

The big initial attraction for developers to the iPhone were, IMHO:

• A compelling user experience: it was a nice device to use as an everyday tool, so they then could scratch-their-own itches.
• Very powerful debugging and development environments which were simple to set up.
• A compelling user experience which gave them a high bar to aim for, and an easy route to getting those same experiences from their own apps.

See also http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eCGTZ-1LGRw and http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J715B63ddfY

That set up a self-feeding circle which got more users, developers and applications - so money and micropayments do seem to be the primary factors now.

I don't know if the same factors will be repeatable now for a relatively "new" platform; which is also competing on the same ground, for similar mindshare and developers with Android and webOS. I suppose we'll see... :-/

[1] Hmm, I seem to have come up with a monetisation/donation system which could make me money without any changes or modification by Nokia. All I'd have to do was to ship this payment daemon; applications which want payment then depend on it and I take a cut of the proceeds. Relatively trivial to circumvent for an advanced user, but for the everyday user, it might make some cash. Anyone want to help? ;-)

Re: How can we encourage iPhone developers to develop on Maemo?
 

simple, make any future device the darling of the tech press...

Re: How can we encourage iPhone developers to develop on Maemo?
 

May I ask who is the 'we' addressed in the question?
And if such AppStore idea is within what the 'we' can do.. or ask for?

Re: How can we encourage iPhone developers to develop on Maemo?
 

I thought Maemo and its users pride themselves on having freedom? Having an app store means you must lock down at least part of the OS so that you couldn't just send over the files installed or the installation package.

I'm all for encouraging people to develop for Maemo (and I always have been), but trying to get iPhone developers on Maemo is the *wrong* choice. They're all about the cash and nothing but... and when they see there's no restrictions and very small installed base in comparison, they'll pass.

We need to get more of the open source community into developing for Maemo. We need to convince them that a Maemo device is what they want to have in their pocket for Linux on the go. We need to convince them that we have a solid development platform with plenty of like-minded developers willing to help.

If Maemo went the way of the iPhone... locked down, 99 cent fart apps, proprietary apps for accessing it... if even one file/folder on my Maemo device would be locked and inaccessable or have some sort of DRM, I would head to Finland and pull the plug on the entire Maemo project myself if I could.

I would much rather kill it and remember it free and open than see the shackles and chains start enclosing around it.

Maemo is something to give to the world, free and open to one and all.

Re: How can we encourage iPhone developers to develop on Maemo?
 

I think that there is a general goal of attracting more developers to Maemo which is quite separate from the specific goal of attracting iPhone developers. I suspect it is more beneficial to work on this general goal (at least in the long run).

Not to over-generalize, but for a mobile platform to be attractive to developers, some combination of two factors is necessary:

1.) Easy to develop for
2.) Rewarding to develop for

I realize that sounds obvious, but the two are inversely related. A developer may be more willing to write an application for a platform that isn't all that rewarding if it's easy to do, and conversely, they will rationalize difficult development in an environment where the reward potential is great.

iPhone development seems to understand both. Developing for the iPhone is fairly easy (I am referring to the actual development, not the process of getting an application approved), and considering the install base of the platform, as well as the public and media attention surrounding it, it is quite rewarding.

Maemo is sort of the worst of both worlds currently. I'd argue that it's not all that easy to develop for (easy being relative, it is in fact not incredibly difficult to develop applications for Maemo), and other than the philosophical satisfaction one might get from sharing their work, not all that rewarding.

Dealing with the second part (rewarding) is entirely dependent on Maemo devices becoming more popular. With the release of the Freemantle device (whenever that is), it appears Nokia is targeting a larger market. This bodes well for developers. While Nokia has said that they are very pleased with the adoption of the current tablets, I would be very surprised if their adoption has been large enough to make them attractive to third-party developers.

Speaking to your specific question about encouraging iPhone developers, I see that as a tough proposition. The bottom line is that the vast majority of iPhone developers are opportunists (I don't use that term derisively), they have no underlying loyalty to the iPhone, they just see it as the best way to get their applications out there (or the way that involves the least amount of work for the most reward). If the story about Microsoft paying developers to port those apps to the Zune is true (which would be a good move on Microsoft's part) than that merely changes the second part of the value proposition (it increases the reward of writing an app for the Zune to be sufficiently greater than the challenge of writing it).

In iPhone App world (a neighboring but not necessarily friendly ally to Free Software Maemo world) developers are primarily swayed by the thought that they can make a bunch of money by selling pretty straightforward apps. While certain examples have borne this theory to be true, a lot of developers find that the "race to the bottom" in regards to pricing dis-incentivizes working on complex or large applications.

I don't see how to make these people want to develop for Maemo (short of Nokia offering them a bunch of money, which I don't see happening). As it stands, there is no commercial market set up (and I suspect if one existed, it would be very unpopular with a lot of the community here), no way to prevent piracy, and no large user base.

I also don't necessarily think that's a bad thing. While people who dismiss the iPhone app store as "a collection of fart apps" are being incredibly obtuse, the reality is that it is predominantly a marketplace with applications that have a fairly simple functionality (albeit implemented in a useful way) or application which allow a mobile experience of something that a company already has established (slingplayer, skype, qik, etc.)

I should also say that I personally use an Android phone (not for philosophical or technical reasons, merely a matter of cell provider strengths where I live) and I find their development process to be about in the middle. Applications aren't as easy to develop as iPhone applications (mostly due to the sdk being in more of a state of flux than the iPhone sdk), but I would say easier than Maemo applications; and they aren't as rewarding as iPhone applications (as Android phones, while increasing greatly in number, still aren't as popular as the iPhone) but have a larger potential than current Maemo devices.

Re: How can we encourage iPhone developers to develop on Maemo?
 

Whatever the path chosen, Nokia has to make enough money from Maemo to make it worth their while maintaining the project to use it in their future products. Be it from hardware sales, revenue sharing of software licensing, content provisioning or whatever.

One of their primary competitor in this segment is doing all of the above. Guess what Nokia has to do to remain competitive? :)

Re: How can we encourage iPhone developers to develop on Maemo?
 

It means that if you want an App Store which isn't trivial for an advanced user to circumvent. But a micropayment system which was obstructive enough for the average user wouldn't need to harm the openness of the Maemo platform.

There are a lot of people who want to get into mobile development now because of the iPhone - and it's presenting Maemo as an attractive proposition to them which needs to be considered.

I don't think "we don't want that kind of developer" is going to work well for a platform which wants to be mainstream (or more mainstream than it is now).

Can't we have both? :-)

If we had to prioritise, I'd want the open source group too; but historically they've not been very good at pulling in mainstream users - with Firefox being one of the sole exceptions.

And if Nokia are trying to push Maemo more mainstream, they've got more to lose and the platform has higher expectations to live up to. We're actually lucky that number of apps and number of developers are actually metrics the industry is caring about - possibly even more than number of users.

I don't think there's any need for a) Maemo to have DRM or proprietary apps to manage it or b) anything to be forced on people. But a glut of 99 cent fart apps shows that there are a lot of developers for the iPhone - and even if only 1% of them produce something good or useful to someone, that's still a lof of good apps.

Besides, a 99 cent fart app may not appeal to you or I; but it may appeal to the 15 year old at school and act as a gateway into mobile programming. And they might produce something more useful. If nothing else, it's viral enough to drive a few sales based off "look what I can do with my phone".

Re: How can we encourage iPhone developers to develop on Maemo?
 

Interesting thread, thanks! Actually users don't go after developers (as they go after musicians, actors or film directors) but after features, products.

From this point of view, a useful question is: what applications do you find interesting in other mobile platforms and you would like to see someone bringing to Maemo?

This is also a way to pass through the 'thousands of apps' noise barrier and see what is really cool but missing for Maemo users.

Looking athe list of such apps/features it is also easier to see whether such apps could fit in the known open source development model or if micropayments are required, or if it's about corporate marketing, online services etc etc.

Do you want to start that list? I can say I was impressed by the imagination and simple execution of the Ocarina when someone came one day blowing in an iPod Touch.

Re: How can we encourage iPhone developers to develop on Maemo?
 

How is there not a need for some sort of DRM or lockdown on the phone in your scenario? If you want to get the important developers (EA for example) over to Maemo, they won't even start to look at your platform unless those kinds of protections are in there. (Believe me, I've tried.) Working in games and iPhone development, I hear so many people telling me that 80-90% of people using their apps have pirated them and they've only made back $20k of the $300,000 they put into developing that game.

Re: How can we encourage iPhone developers to develop on Maemo?
 

Yeah an official requested application list and links/screenshots to the application is a very good idea. Of course we had such lists in the forum previously... but i hope we have something concrete in the wiki which can be a permanent page for requested applications.

Re: How can we encourage iPhone developers to develop on Maemo?
 

Is it possible to pirate the applications from app store without jailbreaking?

Re: How can we encourage iPhone developers to develop on Maemo?
 

Not to my knowledge but the fact of the matter is that there are so many people with jailbroken phones, and it's so easy to do with many teams of people banging away at each new firmware that jailbreaking the phone isn't really a barrier anymore.

Same issue the PSP has, really, except it's so much further down the timeline than the iPhone is at this point.

Re: How can we encourage iPhone developers to develop on Maemo?
 

There were lists of desired applications, being most of the times the reference platform the Linux desktop, or desktops in general. Was it there a list pointing to mobile apps available in other platforms?

Re: How can we encourage iPhone developers to develop on Maemo?
 

Last I read, 'only' 15-20% of all iPhone\Touch are jailbroken... and about half of those use pirated apps on them. That is approx 4 million devices.

Re: How can we encourage iPhone developers to develop on Maemo?
 

Yes, that's absolutely true and that "only 15-20% / 2" is already enough to massively hurt developers on the app store to the point of them closing up shop - something I'm very personally worried about at this very moment.

Re: How can we encourage iPhone developers to develop on Maemo?
 

what about, in order to to keep the applications free and open, developers are allowed to have an advertising banner within it. That way the developers get paid through advertising and don't mind if the app gets passed around for free. Then the developers are getting their money and happy, and we are getting more apps for free.
We(when I say "we", i mean Nokia and Maemo) still need to get the popularity of maemo up so that advertisers feel that enough people see their adds to invest. I don't mind dealing with a few adds for a free app or service.

Re: How can we encourage iPhone developers to develop on Maemo?
 

@icbolsh: my guess is, before the app is passed around, there would be attempt to disable\remove the ad mechanism if there isn't a protection scheme in place.

Re: How can we encourage iPhone developers to develop on Maemo?
 

Yes. Progamming has to be also fun in order to be appealing to younger could-become-developers. If you are 15, you are more likely to enjoy developing fart apps rather than "serious" apps.

After that it comes down to being easy and I think Qt is a good move to get Maemo development a bit easier. You can get started with it quite fast. Then again there's always python..

Maemo also needs a working and easy to use modern IDE. The SDK should be a breeze to install and so on.

I guess my main point is that in order to attract masses everything has to just work without too much hassle.

Re: How can we encourage iPhone developers to develop on Maemo?
 

Sports Tracker, GMail and Google Maps in S60 are cool as well. These apps as free as in beer.

The Ocarina sounds like a type of app that could be conceived as open source project given that there would be enough developers interested.

With this I'm suggesting that you could continue listing apps and considering their business model in Maemo before getting too obsessed about DRM and jailbreaking.

Re: How can we encourage iPhone developers to develop on Maemo?
 

I feel dirty saying this, but until I can develop for Maemo in something besides Linux, I'm really not interested.

If I'm developing for the Pre, I can develop in Windows, Linux, or OS X.

If I'm developing for the Blackberry, I can develop in Windows, Linux, or OS X (although they favor Windows, it's just Eclipse)

If I'm developing for Symbian, I have to develop in Windows (and after using the N97 sdk for about two days, I quickly uninstalled it and vowed to sit this round of Symbian out).

If I'm developing for Windows Mobile, well I suppose I'd probably kill myself. But if I was forced to develop for Windows Mobile, Visual Studio is actually a really nice development environment.

If I'm developing for the iPhone, I have to use OS X.


So basically, with an OS X machine, I can write mobile applications for Android, Blackberry, the Pre, and the iPhone. That's without having to run a VM, or dual-boot. That's a pretty attractive proposition.

While professional software development studios will set up the tools they need, amateurs are much less likely to set up an environment just to write for a single platform (especially a platform which we've already identified is pretty nascent from a commercial app perspective).

This isn't a knock against Linux, it's just that I'm not willing to have a dedicated Linux machine for doing Maemo development. After freemantle is released, if I can get scratchbox working in a VM and actually debug on the device through the virtual usb interface, then I suppose I'll give it another go.

Re: How can we encourage iPhone developers to develop on Maemo?
 

In February of this year, Cydia estimated the number of jailbroken phones to be appox 450,000 - not 'millions'.

That would bring the percentage to approx 5-10% which I see as much more realistic. Not everyone out there is 'like us' and the VAST majority of iPhone users are either a) content with the device as it is and/or b) lack the skill/courage to jailbreak it.

So, taken the assumption above that half of those users pirate software (2.5-5%) I can't see how this percentage out of such an enormous user-base is enough to 'massively hurt' developers.

It's also not as if those 2.5-5% of users would had been 100% committed to purchase application X anyway. Say 1/3 of them would. Now we're talking about, what, a 2%ish drop in revenue.

Jailbreaking is overstated as a reason to applications not selling. The main reason is that the majority of all apps developed for the iPhone is shite and should't be sold at a cost to begin with :-D

Re: How can we encourage iPhone developers to develop on Maemo?
 

And a device with multitouch ...

Re: How can we encourage iPhone developers to develop on Maemo?
 

I had been thinking to this issue for some months; in particular, since I had my Symbian E90 forcefully reflashed and had to re-install everything.

I think that this deserves a new thread at all, where everyone can enlist those apps from other platforms he/she can't live with, wishing the developers will port them to maemo.

For me, I'd love having "audials mobile" (which I presented in another thread) and "shazam id", both symbian apps. I also like the full Foreca Weather, ultimate voice recorder and - of course - google maps mobile.

Re: How can we encourage iPhone developers to develop on Maemo?
 

i suspect this is one of the thing nokia is setting out to fix by switching to Qt.

still, i understand there was a virtual machine image made for the maemo sdk earlier, that would allow one to develop in windows, and then fire up the virtual machine to test.

also, this may be the reason that python have gotten so much interest. besides the gui bits that requires a understanding of gtk/hildon, python is a interpreted language that can be written on any platform where there is a interpreter available. I think there are even people that use the N810 as a development platform directly as they can rewrite the python code on the spot.

but thats just the impressions i have picked up by reading this forum...

Re: How can we encourage iPhone developers to develop on Maemo?
 

Here's the "bucket of money" strategy.. courtesy of Microsoft:

http://www.macrumors.com/2009/08/14/...s-for-zune-hd/

Re: How can we encourage iPhone developers to develop on Maemo?
 

Il ne faut pas seulement encourager le développement, mais aussi le développement de Logiciels Libres.

The problem is that it should develop a system of rewards for developers who want to earn a little money.
I posted an initial idea, based on the donation, on Brainstorm.

-->> See here <<--

One could also imagine a system of payment for access to the copy of a software (Free and Open Source or not). But we only pay to access the copy and no DRM.

It should also Nokia encourages the user to the contribution to Free Software to organizing competitions by category (translation, report bugs, writing documentation, idea in Brainstorm,participation in the community, etc... ) ans by periods (month, year, etc..)

For example:

- The biggest contributor of the month, translation, win a prize.

- The biggest contributor of the year, all categories, win a trip.
rechercher

Re: How can we encourage iPhone developers to develop on Maemo?
 

I wasn't talking about the big/important developers, I was talking about lots of small ones. The power of the crowd etc.

You've got more experience in this area than me, but I suspect there are lots of people who'd start playing with a platform with a micropayments system with the thought it could earn them some cash (whether they are right or wrong).

Re: How can we encourage iPhone developers to develop on Maemo?
 

Yes, a list of most popular iPhone apps is great, but I think it's more than that. We can look at the 'majority' and see what apps most use or look for in an 'always connected' device, but then if we limit ourselves with that, we are missing a great deal of opportunity here.

I think a device should tap certain user groups and these user groups are random. The key here is making a device work for anyone -- this is hard. It becomes harder when Nokia keeps marketing the N-series (and now Maemo devices) for 'cutting-edge' users. This should be stopped and just work hard to target everyone. 'Cutting-edge' nowadays has just become 'the ordinary'.

Now let's go back to the apps and a way to target everyone. Apple is just brilliant with the iPhone/iPod touch "There's an app for that" ads. Before you roll your eyes because I'm praising Apple, think about it for a minute -- "there's an app for that." Now, look at these posts from TUAW (the first is quite interesting):

• 10 cool videos of the iPhone as a music instrument
• Five Apps for the lawyer
• Five Apps for the cyclist
• Five Apps for movie nuts
• Five Apps for the art lover
• Five Apps (Mac & iPhone) for pilots
• eBook Roundup: 8 Apps for iPhone readers

Apple was able to tap to these groups of people because suddenly, apps started appearing that catered to these folks. The addition of a hundred apps per day in the App Store looks and sound chaotic, but majority of these useless apps become gems for some.

I'm sure Apple never predicted that this would happen (or did they?). All they did though is create good enough hardware with a stable enough OS, and development environment that any developer can use.


There's an iPhone app that lets me monitor and control my saltwater tank from anywhere. While it sounds funny, for me, it is one of the main reasons, I (and several other reefers) use the iPhone for. This is another example of a 'group.'

Some random words: community, specialty, connected, collective, emergence, smart mobs

Re: How can we encourage iPhone developers to develop on Maemo?
 

Indeed. I also hope that the more powerful device will allow more people to develop by doing anything which requires a Linux system (such as running and debugging Maemo) to use an actual device rather than Scratchbox or a VM.

Anyway, this is the kind of thing I'll be touching on in my lighning session at the summit (including showing off features of the JVM such as hot-replace).

*nods*. I wouldn't want to write lots of new code on the N810 (want lots of docs, and the keyboard's crap for coding), but I've certainly already done small patches to Attitude on the Tube.

Re: How can we encourage iPhone developers to develop on Maemo?
 

Ha, this topic goes kinda well with my post 'Is Free Fail?' :-)

Re: How can we encourage iPhone developers to develop on Maemo?
 

Re: How can we encourage iPhone developers to develop on Maemo?
 

To make the development easier, one first suggestion is making emacs run as easily as is advertised in the tutorial!... :mad: :p

I would not like to see Maemo turn into the iPhone. I don't want DRMs and all that stuff. I want a GNU machine with one or two "proprietary binary blobs" here and there for convenience of our free lives in this proprietary world (that means flash support and device drivers). A Debian machine with the non-free repo added, just like my desktop machine is! If that turns down companies and developers who I don't like, such as Micros~1, I see that as a positive thing.

It's wrong to ask for more users and more developers before thinking about what applications we would like to see. I liked to hear from qgil that he likes the ocarina iphone application! I was looking for a project to start, and I do know something about signal processing and about ocarinas as well (my girlfriend even brought me one from Chile a few months ago). I am seriously considering to start a Maemo Ocarina application right now! ;)

Myself, I haven't been missing anything. I would just like the hardware to be upgraded, and the current applications to keep being enhanced...

But I have a testimonial to give you. I get sad and then angry when all my iPhone-loving friends say that my N800 has nothing of special or interesting. They all come wanting to pinch my screen to see if the pictures will zoom, they laugh at the lack of animations while I browse through my albums... And if I show them something the NITs do that iPhones don't, thay say it's unimportant. Like, you know, MULTITASKING.

I get upset. But I have suffered this kind of prejudice all my life, and I'm quickly getting over it. No, I don't want to attract the iPhone developers, just as I don't want to attract "the average joe" to Linux.

See, using free software is a bit of an act of heroism. You don't ask people to be heroes, you just present them the situation and let them take the decision to act heroically. So I stopped trying to convince people to use Linux a long time ago, and I'm not going to try to convince people to buy Nokia's tablets.

I am sure this is very bad PR for Nokia. But that's not my problem! I will love to see more Linux based tablets coming. But if it's not economically viable, and Nokia gives up, that's just my bad luck. I am happy now with my N800. I would like to have another machine to make me happy in the future. But if Maemo turns into something similar to the iPhone, that won't make me happy anymore, and I'll just have to be looking for the next N800...

Back in the good old days some people would make the hardware, and some other would make the software. If Nokia puts itself as a hardware provider to me, and let me easily install mer or whatever, then we'll be friends for a long time. If they start to force me into the jailbreaking nonsense, I'm outta here.

I close up with a very popular poem:

Heartbeats they were racin'
Freedom he was chasin'
Spotlights, sirens, rifles firing
But he made it out
With a bullet in his back

Re: How can we encourage iPhone developers to develop on Maemo?
 

When you choose to use Linux and open source, you're taking the red pill. You see all the ugly insides... you see the truth behind software development. You are as responsible for your own experience on Linux as anyone else. The freedom's worth it to me.

For people like your friends that have taken the blue pill... ignorance is bliss. They can stay stuck in that Apple walled garden if they choose to and that's fine. They aren't interested in being anything other than consumers.

And the fact that the application manager in Maemo uses red and blue pills makes me think that someone in Nokia just might think the same way.

Re: How can we encourage iPhone developers to develop on Maemo?
 

I'll try to give my opinion.

- Maemo environment isn't too complicated.... is a hell :D
really don't know how that thing called Scratchbox can work :P
We would need to improve tools like ESBox, Pluthon ecc... and why not integrating QtCreator with Maemo?

There is not story comparing, for example, a well integrated environment like Android one and Maemo one.

- About web apps: there's always room for them. The key is: webservices and well written API we can call in a native way using our bindings an native UI. But companies have to provide those API: for example... is Nokia providing API to manage with OVI website?

- An AppStore would be great! I don't expect this for Fremantle, but they could do it for Harmattan... I think they have lot of time to do it. Giving the possibility to sell apps would mean to have more apps for our devices. Doesn't matter if open or not: if someone creates a commercial apps and community wanna write a free one, they're always free to do it.

- Definetly: developers should be allowed to sell their apps if they want. We cannot impose market rules.

No always payed apps means better quality. Usually well motivated developers write better apps than non motivated but payed developers. This is a fact.

I think we all can give a lot of ideas to Nokia, if they wanna listen to :)

Re: How can we encourage iPhone developers to develop on Maemo?
 

Exactly my thoughts....

There is no reason for nokia to copy the iphone. I personally think no company can compete with apple in terms of advertising and fanboyism. The more nokia copies apple the less innovation there will be. I hope nokia just leaves the casual user and always think about the power user. I know it is commercially not viable to do that... so go on have a eye candy version of maemo ..... but never forget about innovation, open source and empowering the users.

Re: How can we encourage iPhone developers to develop on Maemo?
 

You egocentric prics :D

There's a battlefield to be won out there. If you care about keeping the spirit of opensource and all that it stands alive, you'll have to think about how to get it mainstream where it CAN MAKE REAL CHANGES.

Re: How can we encourage iPhone developers to develop on Maemo?
 

I suggest to create and maintain this list on the WIKI. It would be easier to find, read and to improve. If we write it here we risk to loose it after some time... what do you think about?