On 22/01/07, Marcel de Jong <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
On 1/21/07, Dave Crossland <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > If more people are aware of why freedom and community matter, then > they will buy more products that support freedom and community, like > more Neos. How does adding three more letters and a / increase people's knowledge on free and open software?
I like to be accurate and know what I am talking about, and I like others to be too :-) If you name the system "Linux", you suggest a version of the system's origin, history, and purpose that is not true. If you call it GNU/Linux, you present a more accurate idea. This is explained in depth at http://www.gnu.org/gnu/why-gnu-linux.html
Joe Schmoe goes into a store to buy a new phone. He sees a large selection of phones in the store. He's in the market of a smartphone, so he choses the department of smartphones. And then goes looking at the specs and the software bundled with the phone. He sees that he can choose between phones that run Microsoft Windows Mobile, Symbian, PalmOS, Nokia proprietary OS, Sony/Ericsson proprietary OS, and GNU/Linux. Then looks at the software. Okay, Windows has a nice layout, and has some really nice apps. PalmOS' UI is nicely integrated, all apps look decent, though the input system is something to get used to. Symbian looks dated and both S/E's as well as Nokia's system look clunky. The GNU/Linux package looks nice too, and look this one even has GPS built-in, and has all accessories added in the bundle for merely $350! That looks like a great system. I'll take it.
Joe is judging these phones on purely practical values. The Free Software concept is that there are things more important than practical values - although it does not say that pratical values are unimportant, they clearly are very important. What is more important than practical values? Community and freedom.
Joe Schmoe doesn't care whether it's GNU/Linux or 'just' Linux. It's not as if he's going to Google "GNU/Linux" while he's in the store to find out the core-principles of the software.
It is exactely as if he is going to do that :-) RenaissanceMan has posted in this thread that he has done just that.
What he does care about is that It Just Works(tm).
If he has never had a smartphone before, he is likely to only care for practical values like if it "just works." But if he has owned a smartphone before, he will likely be frustrated with the restrictions that it has imposed on him, because of its proprietary nature. That is why there is such buzz around OpenMoko: At last, a chance to escape proprietary restrictions and get the same freedom and community we are used to with our desktops and laptops :-)
If he takes it out of the box, and charges the unit does the phone work, can he call his buddies to tell about his new acquisition, can he text his mates, can he use the calendar? It should just work, and easily without having to hack the system. (this should especially hold true for the 'consumer phone' that was announced in Openmoko's press release)
Calling the system "GNU/Linux" instead of "Linux" will not effect this, at all.
Sure, credit where credit is due, and I don't see any problem with having the manual refer to GNU/Linux (but I also have no qualms if it doesn't).
It would be unfair if it didn't. I like to be fair.
But I think it's a bit farfetched to attribute 3 letters and a / to all-customer awareness of the principles behind it.
For many years the idea of a free software operating system was far fetched. These principles are quite potent, I'd say :-)
If someone buys the phone merely on the grounds that it runs Linux, chances are he or she is already aware of the history and ideals behind GNU and Linux.
I disagree. The ideas behind the GNU system and the Linux kernel are very different, and many GNU/Linux users believe the system was started in 1991, by a student, for fun. This is sustained by calling the system "Linux" instead of "GNU/Linux."
Let's not get lost in this bottomless pit of misconceptions and well-intended suggestions.
Yes, by remaining polite and rational :-)
And let's focus our efforts on making this phone a device which Just Works! :)
I have no doubt about that :-) -- Regards, Dave _______________________________________________ OpenMoko community mailing list community@lists.openmoko.org https://lists.openmoko.org/mailman/listinfo/community
