On Sun, 2007-01-21 at 23:55 +0000, Justyn Butler wrote: > I agree that something, anything, that will help me justify upgrading > my phone every six months is needed. In my case I particularly feel > the need for 3G but I want to get building right now, on v1. > > I'd personally settle for a minor discount on the next version for so > called "early adopters". But then I don't know what profit margin FIC > is selling these things at. > > Justyn
It is cool that Sean is an honest guy and I believe that the project has good intention. The one thing this list can do is figure out the clear aims/goals of the community. Please help do this on the temp wiki: http://www.linuxtogo.org/gowiki/OpenMoko/Community I think good sections would be Mission/Goal (1 sentence) and then also ways people can get involved. Jon > On 21/01/07, Steve Grevemeyer <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > > It would be nice to know if Sean's aim is > > 1. to satisfy his and our need for open source toys like Neo > > or > > 2. to earn money like almost everybody on this planet while > exploiting > geeks like us to achieve his goal :-) > > > > I bet the second will prove as true... > > > > Milan > > > The great thing about a free and open platform is that these > two aims > are NOT mutually exclusive! > > Frankly, I can't wait for one of these things -- and I hope > that Sean > and FIC make so much money they get compared to Microsoft! > > It costs a ton of money to design, test, and build > hardware. It costs > even MORE for software. :) > > The open approach dramatically reduces this cost, improves the > product, > and increases the overall profitability to the manufacturer. > And just > WAIT until the as-yet-unimagined killer app shows up! > > Anyone who thinks these devices are going to be cheap needs to > wake up. > (I'll avoid the banal "free as in beer" vs "free as in > speech" > converstation) What these devices need to be is > "affordable". $350 w/ > accessories? That is actually CHEAP. My Treo cost more then > that > base, then I had to buy accessories! > > The one idea I did see in the last couple of days that I think > NEED to > get some serious attention is that of an upgrade path for > developers. > > I have zero problem with the cost of the device or its > capabilities for > Rev1. The old "Don't worry, be crappy" philosophy is perfect. > That and > "churn, baby, churn". Upgrade the unit continuously. > > The problem is that it gets REALLY expensive to try to keep > up. Need a > way to recycle the units. > > I'll throw out the following (going to need asbestos underwear > for the > flames THIS will generate): > > a) a formal developers program. Maybe modeled on the M$ > partner > program. A small yearly fee and formal registration. Not > that > developers are riff-raff or anything but motivation is a huge > portion > of this kind of development. > > b) Formal developers get first crack at new hardware. This > concept is > already being espoused -- I just think that it will need to be > formalized at some point. > > c) An Upgrade path to > facilitate continued development. Basically, when the new > version > comes out I send the old one back along with a "reasonable" > upgrade fee > and I get the new model. > > > Benefits to the Developer: > - access to the newest, best hardware > - preservation of investment $ > - credit and recognition within the community > > Benefits to FIC: > - information on active developers > - targeted audience for feedback/evaluation. I like open > forums but sometime you > need things a bit more focused. - Beta-test system! Both > for FIC and > for the community in general. > > Of course, I'll get the obvious "what about all the developers > that get > excluded since they don't/won't/can't spend the money". > > The advantage of a formal program is that it is very easy to > create an > "informal" program. FIC/Some Vendor/Somebody can easily > "sponsor" a > developer. I.e. Somebody buys one of these units and shows > they they > rock, someone can step up and help them out. I've already > seen stuff > about "getting units in the hand of select developers"... > > The single hardest think in open source development is > "keeping the eye > on the ball". Everyone has their own pet thing, and ensuring > that the > overall project is not derailed by a single aspect is > incredibly hard. > I think the recent thread regarding WiFi is an excellent > example. > > The communities biggest challenge will be getting applications > done and > fielded at the best possible rate. "Someone" is going to have > to take a > lead role and try to identify the applications that have the > biggest > need from the myriad of great ideas. A little focus goes a > long way in > getting things DONE. > > Well, I've babbled enough for now. :) > > -seg > Steve Grevemeyer > > > > _______________________________________________ > OpenMoko community mailing list > [email protected] > https://lists.openmoko.org/mailman/listinfo/community > > _______________________________________________ > OpenMoko community mailing list > [email protected] > https://lists.openmoko.org/mailman/listinfo/community -- Jon Phillips San Francisco, CA USA PH 510.499.0894 [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://www.rejon.org MSN, AIM, Yahoo Chat: kidproto Jabber Chat: [EMAIL PROTECTED] IRC: [EMAIL PROTECTED] _______________________________________________ OpenMoko community mailing list [email protected] https://lists.openmoko.org/mailman/listinfo/community
