Hi,
I was just wondering if MeeGo Harmattan was more Open Source than the stuck version of Android which can be found on the Nexus Phones?

I mean both OS'es is being deveopered behind closed doors.
They both have an open source Linux core and a closed source phone part.
But however the vanilla UI on Android is open source on while the UI on Harmattan is Nokias close sourced Swipe UI.

So is MeeGo Harmattan really more Open Source than stack Android?

People mean so many different things in the open/closed, free/proprietary, ... context when they say "open" or "open source".

I believe that technically, if you say open source, it's Android that has the better cards for the reasons you've already given.

OTOH, even for its "open source" code, Android has a licensing scheme that I think abuses the idea of openness. (But then again, that's only me... and I don't like the whole phrase of 'open source' at all. I'm the free software guy.)

What matters to me and what I like about Maemo/MeeGo/Harmattan/whatever they name it today: Other than Android, they use a lot of what you find on a Ubuntu/Gentoo/Fedora/openSuse/...-Desktop (while Android doesn't even use the mainline Linux kernel any more). This is the base of Maemo/MeeGo, and the closed components only sit on top. What Nokia coded for these base components went "upstream" (if the respective prohect accepted it) and does get used today on people's laptops or desktop PCs.

Nope. It's not. Sure, folks will say that one is more open than the other; however both are pretty damn closed off.

UI is closed. Browser is closed. I'm sure there's more, but those two surprised me - especially the Webkit2 based browser being closed.

...And, thanks to Aegis, N9 isn't hackable more easy than Your average Android phone. As opposed to N900, where you only need to install sudser, rootsh or something like that.

All of Android is being developed behind closed doors except for the kernel. When Google says "this time we're not realeasing the source", they really mean it.

Saying that all of Harmattan is behind closed doors is quite an overstatement thought. Virtually every component that is open is developed fully in the clear, right here: http://meego.gitorious.org/meegotouch/ (or in qtproject, or etc. etc.) . See the commit dates, or the branches. Submit your patches. This is a real plus that is often overlook.

However, Android as found in its pristine configurations _is_ more open source than Harmattan. This pristine configuration is not found in many phones, though, they all have its "propietary additions".
If Harmattan was purely a Meego derivative I'd say that Harmattan is also a layer of propietary additions on top of a purely open source layer (Meego). However, it isn't.... and a lot of core stuff that there's virtually no reason left for it to be propietary (because real Meego has fully working open source replacements) is kept propietary.


I also concur with benny1967's observation. Android's favoured license is a BSD-derivative, Meego and Harmattan's favoured license is the LGPL2. Not much of an improvement, but a tangible one. Also, Harmattan is a GNU/Linux distribution after all. Android is on a different game; the only remarkable component of it that comes from another open source project is the kernel, and they're not very good at it.


Regarding "hackability"/lack of tivoization the N900 used indeed to blow all other Android phones out of the water. The N9 is much worse due to Aegis, on the level of other Android phones that also let you replace the stock firmare with e.g. AOSP (say, all of Google's offerings for example).

Aegis is (from what I'm reading) software updates to prevent tinkering.

Basically its like Apple updating to higher iOS numbers and fixing patches that were used for jailbreaking.
Or more easily like HTC and Sony Ericsson who make it difficult to get root on Android phones (Samsung is the easiest, Motorola makes it impossible, unsure about LG/ASUS/Dell etc).

I think Google's approach is superior to Nokia's.
They develop it in-house. When they feel its ready they deploy it.
All the goodies (Market, G-Mail, Maps, YouTube, newest browser etc etc) are closed-source proprietary. They leave you with enough things to do mostly what you like to do, and even create a device from scratch (see Chinese android phones) or the Amazon Fire.

Nokia is an actual open-source community much like Fedora etc. There's barely any regulation and things are (nearly) always delayed. You have everything, but those random closed-source software "blobs" (stacks) make it difficult to complete your own rom. When you get to the repositories to find a fix, its usually not on the agenda (your the first to spot it) or its pending.

With Google's approach, it gets sh it done, son. And you still get your half-freedom.

With MeeGo you are free, but your also a peasant that's on the verge of starvation that makes you think you would've been happier as a slave.

I think Honeycomb never coming out fully left a bad taste in a lot of folks mouths.

If/when Ice Cream Sandwich is released, then perhaps the issues will go away.

Who really cares? If you want one handset or the other get it. There is no 'true' open source platform anymore.

No. Litmus test: which one can be ported to run on other hardware?

Well, microb was also open source engine/closed UI so no surprises there. What really annoyed me was the closed email client, at least until I saw how bad it was.

Well, I think it is a really interesting question.

I was planning to fork 600$ for a N9, even if it was going to be a dead platform, to get the same enviroment as with the N900: open source compatibility, ability to tinker, and mainly, improved ROMs by the community like the CSSU.

But with so many closed components it will be difficult. So I don´t feel the need to spend so much money anymore.

Android doesn´t ring my bell exactly too, so after my n900 dies I will recycle some old phones I have going around :P