Gimme a shoulder to cry on?

Last I checked, we're the consumers, believers and users of Maemo products. If people get disenfranchised in mass numbers, then there's a solid reason behind it. Identify the core of the problem(s) and then raise awareness.

Either it will get fixed by Nokia or this community (for a pending community supported product) will fix it. If neither happens, the vitriol towards Nokia and especially this community is warranted.

If there's no plan to get behind the bugs that are considered fixable, addressable or patchable, then why even have this community? Look to the Diablo Community SSU for cooperation, communication, testing and open discussion as it should be.

Why are we here? So we can gush over the latest Nokia product? So we can gush over the N900 or N810? So we can remember that we're social beings that like to be heard?

Or because this community should be taking the helm away from Nokia, do so in a cohesive and direct way and start solving problems as opposed to creating new ones?

Commiseration and cooperation are parts of what makes a community. At the moment, neither are truly happening.

So perhaps that is what people would like to see done... things actually get done that benefit their investments. Not praise. Not product placement. Not a reminder that folks will have a new option to buy in Q4 2010. Identify and fix the bugs as a community should.

Just my thoughts.

Bashing community members who have endeavored to do exactly that is counterproductive to that goal.

Note: that was a general statement, not aimed at you, gerbick.

I think these constant goodbyes are silly. At the end of the day this os is no different from the rest. What do you need nokia to support? They pretty much got everything right the first time. led camera stuff, great screen res, keyboard, so on and so on. You need apps? why? you have a great browser that can do all the things the apps claim to do.

If you say good bye... you'll be back, just like world wars.

cheers.

Well that thread was positively nuclear, so I am not sure about that.

The goodbye post reminds me of a software developer version of Hit em up by Tupac.

edit: he is 16?! that's mad

I don't disagree.. but my understanding is most of peoples complaints are revolved around closed source components. Both within Maemo itself and also apps they see from android/iphone that we can't access.

From what I've seen the community around here has been pretty good at building feasible apps that people request. Someone wanted a call blocker.. someone else wrote a script for it.. someone else either showed the writer.. or took the script and made a deb for it IIRC.

We got told we couldnt have flash 10.. so several people found out how to trick flash into thinking it was 10..then someone else made an easy package for it. Is this the perfect solution? No.. but it's the best we can do as outsiders to both Nokia and Apple.. at least until someone figures out how to use the Android binary.. and then it may not be legal.

Then there is qwerty12.. he was very good at taking the closed components and managing to reverse engineer them and make them do what we wanted.. such as the volume keys to skip in his exit, or the fmtx thing he worked on.. or the pulseaudio hacks to get apps to register themselves properly.

etc.

So as a community.. I think we're doing ok.. that is: if you can find the decent threads amongst all the noise like this one. And yes, Ill say it, even the dev thank you thread in response to this one.

Now the ATMOSPHERE is different... that sucks here. The thing is.. we are responsible for our own attitudes.. we can't blame Nokia for our inability to not piss on our own floor. Can we get mad at Nokia? of course.. can we get angry with their policies? yes.. But screaming about it fixes nothing. We should instead be asking ourselves if WE can fix this problem ourselves. Sometimes yes, Sometimes no.. and in that case we go "that sucks" and move on.

So, from what I understand, some people here are saying that we (yes, we the one's buying Nokia products) should just accept Nokia's inability or unwillingness to support a product that we paid at least US $500 for?
At least a couple of years of support / updates?
Is that so much to ask?

They decided to drop Maemo and develop Meego. Fine, but at least make your only Maemo device work with Meego.

I won't even start talking about Flash 10.1 because some people here are just too thick.

Edit:
And another thing that annoys me is that I convinced a couple of workmates to buy the N900. I now feel responsible for making them buy a $500 brick. Should have let them get an iPhone.

So much to ask? Of course not.. we feel the same way. There's nothing we can do about it.

As many have said.. go complain to Nokia.. we here.. we need to focus on how to make the best out of what we have. If you don't want to do that/don't care to work that much for your device that's perfectly acceptable.. sell it if possible, and get another platform that is a better fit for you.

Complaining here (especially repeatedly).. does nothing.

Not exactly, it bites on Nokia reputation which is a cornerstone of business.

No. Don't accept Nokia's incompetenance but don't pollute a forum with pointless rants and whining making it a pain for everyone else. And worse the fanboys easily take the bait and start defending Nokia making this look like a Nokia apologist site.

I said it before and I'll say it again. Nokia does not pay attention to this site. And Qgil (one of the few Nokia employees) that once frequented this site likely can't do anythig to change orders from higher up. You think it's easy? Why don't you go to your boss' boss and tell them they are screwing up.

You want to get Nokia's attention? Do something constructive than destructive. Alot of people are discontented on this site, so gather them up. Get them to mass e-mail major tech blogs about Nokia's failure. Get stories. Talk to customer support and pass it onto blogs. Bad press will get Nokia's attention, not whining on a forum they easily ignore. All whining does is make people less likely to help you. It pushes away the developers in this community from publicy posting on this site and makes people who were willing to help turn away in disgust.

This is not directed at you personally H3llb0und but at what I think part of this community has become. And I'm sadden that what I see as the useful group in this community continue to disintegrate due to Nokia and what this community has become.

Not really. You only know of this community because.

a) You own a maemo device
b) You were considering a maemo device

And the community of people who want to buy or own a maemo device isn't that big. Most people buying Nokia phones out there are buying dumbphones and Symbian phones. People here would do more damage Nokia's reputation if they organized and actually got some help from bigger voices out there.

I had always thought that one (the only?) point in having a 'Council' w/in a community that is so tied to a commercial entity is to have that Council be the liaison between the community and the corporation.

Reading here http://wiki.maemo.org/Community_Council it does state that "The Council's mission is to "represent the Maemo community's best interests to Nokia".

So when you, as you have repeatedly done in this thread, *** what WE have done to 'fix things' I'd like to think that one answer is that 'we' bring up issues w/in the community forum and, hopefully, the 'Council' then realize these issues and brings them to Nokia's attention.

[Rant On]
I have however said in the past that I find the Council to be powerless, unstructured, incompetent and ineffective - and now, months later that SUBJECTIVE sentiment still stands.

I don't recall ever seeing a project plan with actual dates for anything the Council 'resides' over - or have listed as 'Hot Topics'. Nothing seems to get resolved and issues are either completely ignored or just sits in limbo for a year until it fades.

If anything I would vote for the 'Council' to be abolished next term as I bet no one would be able to tell the difference a year later.

It would however, I'm sure, be traumatic for some people to not have that dinky-toy title associated with them so there would be some resistance.
[/Rant Off]