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lma is offline lma
2009-01-12 , 02:54
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#31
Originally Posted by fms View Post
There are just two major sources of motivation:
  • Material (money, toys, food, free travel opportunities, etc. with money easily leading the list)
  • Psychological (seeing results of your work everywhere, crowds of people coming to you for advice, groupies sending you flower baskets, etc.)
There's a much more important (IMHO) one: scratching an itch. People contributing to Free software on their own time generally do so because they can enjoy the fruits of their labour immediately on their own computers.

Originally Posted by qole View Post
Perhaps a big part of the problem is that we're in a real state of limbo right now.
Exactly. Maemo is a bit different to, say, Debian or Fedora in that you can't hack on and use the development version until the hardware that supports it is available. I would expect participation to increase dramatically once people can buy RX-51s.
 

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Frank Banul is offline Frank Banul
2009-01-12 , 03:01
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#32
There are indeed many things that will be obsoleted by the new hardware. But there are more things that won't. And I would also guess that many of the fundamental concepts in code development will transition.

If you hildonize an existing application, I would bet that would run with a recompile on the new hardware/software platform. And what you learn doing it will make it that much easier next time around.

I was initially hesitant to continue before learning more about the next iteration. But it all came back to what about my existing tablet makes my life more convenient. If there's something I can improve, I do it (or try to). Heck I recently dusted off the OS2006 compiler because I wanted a paint program for the 770.

I've got some things that I'm looking forward to on the next hardware/software platform that my current application can take advantage of. But I don't plan on waiting on anyone. Things get delayed or changed.

Frank
Last edited by Frank Banul; 2009-01-12 at 03:57.
 
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lcuk is offline lcuk
2009-01-12 , 03:27
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#33
well, i haven't been idle.
i have been beavering away splitting liqbase up into two distinct halves.

One half is the new libliqbase (yes, its a mouthful)
The other part is the apps themselves.

I am hesitant to release updates to these for the very short term due to the api being incomplete.
as soon as I import existing liqbase functionality into the new framework I will be releasing a completely standalone set of core applications. I will need help to make them and I might make some mistakes along the way, but we might just get something really nice out of them.

They will be small, simple, incomplete examples of doing interesting fullscreen applications which with guidance and teamwork we could shape into a decent set of dream apps for this platform

Its possible to install enough of the dev kit directly on the tablets and compilation time is quick for most programs.
You can edit your files and store the source directly on the tablets if you desire.
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namtastic is offline namtastic
2009-01-12 , 03:51
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#34
Originally Posted by Matan View Post
This is exactly the point - I can fork FBReader, I can fork debian (another analogy that came up in this thread), but I can't fork OS2008.

The problem I discuss here is not that the system is closed (that's for another discussion) - but that some people claim it is more open than it actually is.
Pretty much the point I was trying to make in the previous thread, too.

Nokia is finally getting the closed-source parts opened, but there's been a lot of frustration building up behind wanting (or even being able) to patch/fix things that simply wouldn't survive an official update that will hopefully diffuse once we get Mer.

"Building up" being the keyword here; It's not that running into off-limits parts alone is the problem, it's the length of time doing so.
 

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sachin007 is offline sachin007
2009-01-12 , 04:14
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#35
We used to have a lot of interest in the it line because of the constant upgrades it recieved in hardware and software. but after the n800 there has been no actual hardware revision and with the ssu no great software upgrade. This gap has brought the community to think negatively. if nokia would just have released the new hardware with updated diablo by this cwe wouldn't have had this discussion
 
Frank Banul is offline Frank Banul
2009-01-12 , 04:17
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#36
Originally Posted by sachin007 View Post
We used to have a lot of interest in the it line because of the constant upgrades it recieved in hardware and software. but after the n800 there has been no actual hardware revision and with the ssu no great software upgrade.
Isn't it a positive thing that the hardware platform has been stable this long to allow a vibrant software platform to develop?

Frank
 
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Texrat is offline Texrat
2009-01-12 , 04:33
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#37
Originally Posted by lma View Post
There's a much more important (IMHO) one: scratching an itch. People contributing to Free software on their own time generally do so because they can enjoy the fruits of their labour immediately on their own computers.
Granted, but the discussion revolves heavily around a community context, and that example can actually serve to work against the concept.
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Texrat is offline Texrat
2009-01-12 , 04:35
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#38
Originally Posted by Frank Banul View Post
Isn't it a positive thing that the hardware platform has been stable this long to allow a vibrant software platform to develop?

Frank
Yes and no.

It would be without question IF the tablet products were not being killed off so quickly without direct replacements. It's getting rather difficult for customers, for example, to buy new N800s.

So while the hardware may be stable, the releases are not.
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Last edited by Texrat; 2009-01-12 at 04:44.
 

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Texrat is offline Texrat
2009-01-12 , 04:43
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#39
Originally Posted by Lord Raiden View Post
Texrat, when you talk about hardware uncertainty, are you talking about the rapid pace of obsolesce right now? I've been seeing that too, but then again, it's not at all unexpected. Especially since we're nearing the top arc of a tech boom period. It goes in cycles and has since the first steam engine, although the peaks and valleys are getting slightly closer together as time progresses.
I understand all that, but that's only part of it. I was definitely using "uncertainty" very broadly for economy of verbiage (imagine that ). It also includes the irregularity of releases from Nokia, the delays from planned release dates and the lack of continuity. By the latter I mean (as I've said often lately) that I strongly believe there should have been a direct N800 follow-up, for example. There wasn't and doesn't look like there will be. I find that exasperating and I see that other users as well as developers share that with me.

There is a void in the market where an N800-like tablet would sell and I suspect it's hurting the tablet platform's prospects. Then again, as I've also said, that may be largely moot given the economy...
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fms is offline fms
2009-01-12 , 05:58
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#40
Originally Posted by lma View Post
There's a much more important (IMHO) one: scratching an itch. People contributing to Free software on their own time generally do so because they can enjoy the fruits of their labour immediately on their own computers.
It is true but only partially so. Depending on the effort required to scratch an itch and the frequency of the event, you either try to fix it or you move to a platform that does not itch that often (and this can be highly personal for we all itch at different spots). So, yes, an itch can motivate you, but only this far.
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