July 2009 Archives

Just a quick note to mark the finishing of OSCON 2009 - the O'Reilly-backed Open Source Convention (21-24 July, in San Jose)

There are a lot of 'news' items and presentations stored on the official site, http://en.oreilly.com/oscon2009/

For example, from the News section there is:

• Intel official touts netbooks at open source conference
• Commercial open source's awkward teen years
• When freedom isn't free (software)
• Pigs do fly: Microsoft unleashes 20,000 lines of Linux code

Andrew Shikiar, Director of Global Marketing, LiMo Foundation

• PART I: What is "openness" and where does Linux fit into an open mobile landscape?
• PART II: Key requirements for a successful open mobile ecosystem
• PART III: Pulling it all together:  Linux as a catalyst for open mobile innovation

PART III: PULLING IT ALL TOGETHER: LINUX AS A CATALYST FOR OPEN MOBILE INNOVATION

Part I of this series on how openness and Linux are unlocking innovation outlined the many definitions that can be applied to the term "openness" and examined how Linux is impacting the evolving mobile ecosystem, while Part II examined the critical building blocks needed to build a truly successful open mobile ecosystem. This final segment will discuss how each of these factors is interrelated as Linux continues its role as the catalyst for innovation in the open mobile ecosystem.

Perhaps the most critical question for a developer is the size of the target customer base - for developers, the ideal platform would allow them to sell to the whole base of mobile phone users, not just a single brand or model.

Currently, iPhone developers are able to make money, as the number of developers is still relatively limited. However, even with the launch of new iPhones such as the 3G S, it is unlikely that the Apple subscriber base will grow at the same rate as the developer base and therefore, developing for the iPhone may no longer be financially viable for a hungry developer community.

Thanks to Engadget for this one. The gadget site writes:

A dedicated duo of hackers has been hard at work porting Google's other operating system to x86, and they've just released an .02 version of their Android LiveCD build.

That means you're now free to boot and run the 'droid from your optical drive, install it in a virtual machine, install it for real on your old laptop, whatever -- just don't get upset if it bugs out on you. Anyone gonna do some 'sploring?

The read-me file for the download

Andrew Shikiar, Director of Global Marketing, LiMo Foundation

• PART I: What is "openness" and where does Linux fit into an open mobile landscape?
• PART II: Key requirements for a successful open mobile ecosystem
• PART III: Pulling it all together:  Linux as a catalyst for open mobile innovation

PART II: KEY REQUIREMENTS FOR A SUCCESSFUL OPEN MOBILE ECOSYSTEM

Part I of this series on how openness and Linux are unlocking innovation, outlined the many definitions that can be applied to the term "openness" and examined how Linux is impacting the evolving mobile ecosystem. However, to fully appreciate that impact, a greater understanding of ecosystems, particularly the open mobile ecosystem, is needed.

For openness to successfully generate innovation, it has to create a rich ecosystem that both attracts developers and enables them to thrive and prosper. Currently, various platform providers are vying for the attention of the third-party developers by revealing APIs and providing software marketplaces.

The developers themselves seem to be gravitating towards platforms they believe are "cool" and which will eventually generate profits. However, the history of some prominent web and mobile platforms such as Mobile Java, Palm, and Windows Mobile has shown that if the open ecosystem is not consistent, the developer community collapses.

Andrew Shikiar, Director of Global Marketing, LiMo Foundation

• PART I: What is "openness" and where does Linux fit into an open mobile landscape?
• PART II: Key requirements for a successful open mobile ecosystem
• PART III: Pulling it all together:  Linux as a catalyst for open mobile innovation

PART I: WHAT IS "OPENNESS" AND WHERE DOES LINUX FIT INTO AN OPEN MOBILE LANDSCAPE?

The term "openness" can be defined in a number of ways within the mobile industry.

• An operating system is said to be open if it exposes its APIs to third-party developers.
• If these third-party developers can develop services without undue reliance on device manufacturers and operators for certification, verification and signing, it can be said that the development model is open.
• Open distribution occurs when content providers and developers can directly market and deliver applications to the consumer without requiring approval from the network operator or device manufacturer.
• In a broad sense, "openness" also refers to the extent to which the platform, interfaces, and development language are standardized and easy to understand and use.

Perhaps most important is an open market in which third-party developers can have a free and viable opportunity to capitalize on their efforts.