View Single Post
danramos's Avatar
Posts: 4,672 | Thanked: 5,455 times | Joined on Jul 2008 @ Springfield, MA, USA
#36
Originally Posted by allnameswereout View Post
[1] Nokia is still learning from the open source model. Examples are then mentioned.
True! Although I feel there have been others that appear to have done more, I haven't given Nokia proper credit for as much as they have done, which isn't insignificant by any measure. I continue to purchase Nokia branded products because I like the brand primarily for their tablet. (I bought the NaviCore kit, got the Nokia BH-501 BT headset, etc.)

Originally Posted by allnameswereout View Post
[2] Nokia asserts the open source community has to learn from proprietary model. In a proprietary model (or business model) you cannot just ship ffmpeg or mp3 decoder becaue you believe its useful to the user, or because its open source. You need a code review e.g. to search for copyright infringement, patent infringement, or EULA infringement (think w32codec here). I'm a Fluendo customer for this very reason. Then, examples are made.

What he essentially says, between the lines, is that neither Nokia or the open source community can change overnight, but we have to adapt and learn to each other. Sometimes that means making sacrifices instead of idealism. This is called being pragmatic, practical, something a negotiator knows very well.

An example for this is a SIM lock. This part cannot be open source because this lock is necessary in the current ecosystem. The way phones are sold demands this. I don't like this either, and the protection is laughable, but it exists. Nokia cannot afford to change this (overnight). If you don't like this behaviour I'd say that right now Nokia is not the right corporation to do business with.
Well said, although the preferred intention should be that we are tolerating these things--not that we should embrace them. The problem is lock-out and closed hardware access as well as closed-source software that needn't be closed at all. Especially when we're talking about things like the wifi driver and media player source code and so on. The idea that we can't use the hardware to its potential is infuriating and no amount of 'we can't ship mp3 decoders or win32 codecs' explains that. Back to giving credit, at least I see that the wifi driver will finally been opened up--that's a BIG deal among other things Nokia has been doing right... but the statement made is still something of an ominous agitation to folks that want to be able to truly use the thing that they opened their wallets and vomited bills to purchase and it effects future purchases and brand.

Hell of an image there, eh?