Anyone know why Google prefers to start applications competing with > existing FOSS projects (and then freeze them) rather than collaborating > with and strengthening the existing applications? They hit Openmonko > hard with their Android announcement and then tarpitted the developers, > so now both Openmoko and Android are sufferers. I'm concerned that a > Google browser announcement would end up migrating Firefox developers > in the thousands to that platform, for a product that is nothing but > vapourware right now and which no one knows when will see the light of > day. >
It is very tempting to agree with your argument. But, for a moment, forget that we are talking about google. Isn't this how every new open source project comes into being? Say, a bunch of developers think that an existing application should be built differently. They work on their ideas, make use of existing open source code, and build a competing open source application. In the end, their application may turn out to be better than other options and get adopted by users. It is also possible that it just evaporates in thin air as soon as it comes out. That's the way it is. We can't frown on google for developing parallel open source projects. Are you then going to say that kde team should contribute to openoffice.orgrather than trying to develop koffice? Or tell gnumeric developers to forget about it and work on openoffice calc? Also, I doubt if it is entirely correct to say that google does not support existing open source applications. Give them their due. If FOSS makes any sense, it has to be able to derive strength from freedom to create one's own thing. If creation of a new open source application can weaken existing FOSS applications, we are not going to get anywhere. Vikas _______________________________________________ ilugd mailinglist -- [email protected] http://frodo.hserus.net/mailman/listinfo/ilugd Archives at: http://news.gmane.org/gmane.user-groups.linux.delhi http://www.mail-archive.com/[email protected]/
