Josef Wolf wrote, On 20/12/06 09:01:
Unfortunately, the details about the neo hardware are not disclosed yet.
But AFAIK, the module in question is a separate "modem" communicating
via AT-commands over a serial connection with the main CPU. I don't
see a big difference to the types of modems that were common two decades
ago. You ever blamed trailblazer/us-robotics/zyxel for their sources
not beeing GPL?
<soapbox>
You should have seen what happened when Telebit/ITK/Digi abandoned the
Telebit Fastblazer within the warranty period for the unit I purchased
for AUD$1850. I had no joy from the manufacturer and eventually won a
small claims case against the distributor/retailer who sold me the unit.
If parts of the firmware are closed, as I imagine would be the case,
there needs to be some kind of code escrow and a commitment that if the
developer of the closed code is no longer supporting the code, that the
code gets released.
Other projects involving some open source software/parts and some closed
source parts (e.g. hardware from a single supplier) have failed when the
supplier of the closed source parts ceased selling those parts. Having
just had to ditch a Nokia 3810 handset after 9 years of use due to Nokia
no longer supporting them, I would hope that the OpenMoko platform would
be ongoing, so that if some hardware parts become no longer available,
there would be other hardware available that the existing software could
be ported to, so that developers and users don't lose the use of the
software they have developed and become accustomed to.
</soapbox>
Arthur.
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