On Sun, Dec 26, 2010 at 2:30 PM, Clark, Joel <[email protected]> wrote: > > Anyone who looks at www.meego.com can easily see there are several MeeGo > releases which do not say (or include) "Google Chrome Browser". In fact the > Chrome Browser choice is at the bottom of the list. >
Yes, it's helpful that there are choices besides the Chrome browser. I seem to recall that in one of the first iterations of MeeGo, both the Free and non-Free builds got equal billing, so I think it's good progress that we're seeing a little clearer delineation between the default build and the Google build. > Each product/device/vertical is free to choose whichever browser they want. > What the netbook folks have chosen as an optional release for MeeGo 1.0 > (Chrome) has little bearing on what the other devices or Meego derived > products may choose. What the netbook folks choose may not influence what other MeeGo developers choose, but it may influence what visitors to the site see and what they perceive about the project. I think that's the primary concern when people see the name "Google" associated with certain builds of MeeGo, and when people see a non-FOSS build. > Several browsers have been included in MeeGo including firefox, chromium and > fennec. However as everyone has noted, those browsers did not required a > EULA, so they have not been as noticeable as Chrome is for Netbooks. Yes, Firefox, Chromium, and Fennec do not have a EULA on them. But that's not just a coincidence: those browser are FOSS, while Chrome is not. > Just take a look as some of the other device releases and you will see this. > I'm sure the option for a Chrome download is only there because it was highly > desirable to many folks. That seems like a possible explanation for the Chrome build, but I really don't know the who-and-why of that decision. Does Chrome provide significantly more functionality than Chromium? > We should be happy MeeGo appeals to such a diverse community and champion > inclusion over exclusion. > I agree that we should try to make the MeeGo platform as flexible and inclusive as possible. But if there is brand confusion about MeeGo and Google here, it may be prudent to examine the inclusion of software that leads to such confusion. I also think that it may be helpful to define what proprietary software may be included into official MeeGo builds. The MeeGo "About" page says that "MeeGo is an open source, Linux project which brings together the Moblin project, headed up by Intel, and Maemo, by Nokia, into a single open source activity." If the project decides to include a proprietary component in an officially-provided build, then it would be nice to provide some justification for the departure from (as others have called it) "pure Open Source." Cheers, --R _______________________________________________ MeeGo-dev mailing list [email protected] http://lists.meego.com/listinfo/meego-dev
