Nokia Confirms Symbian Is No Longer Open Source 246
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Unknown Lamer
from the two-plus-two-equals-closed dept.
from the two-plus-two-equals-closed dept.
theweatherelectric noted an article on the H. From the article "Nokia has confirmed that it has closed the source code for the Symbian smartphone operating system. It says that despite it describing its new model for Symbian smartphone operating system development as 'open and direct' the 'open' part did not refer to 'open source' but to being 'open for business'. The 'open and direct' model is designed, according to Nokia, to 'enable us to continue working with the remaining Japanese OEMs and the relatively small community of platform development collaborators we are already working with.''"
Borg assimilation in progress (Score:5, Interesting)
This is exactly what happens when a Microsoft mole takes over a company. Past example:
-Rick Belluzo: while at HP, he announced to the press that HP would be "dumping HPUX" in favour of Windows NT (it wasn't true, and it did cause a panic of sorts). Windows NT 3.1, no less. Later, the mole moved on to SGI where he did precisely that: threw IRIX in the trash and attempted to shove Windows NT where it didn't belong. After thoroughly destroying SGI, he then moved to the Borg Cube itself, I'm sure with a big fat reward.
Good move! (Score:2, Interesting)
Closing the source of such a poor operating system as Symbian may be a clever move. People might start to think that there is now some value in it. I used to program in it quite some years ago and my impression at the time (not changed since) was that it owed its position to being owned by Nokia, and being at the time was the only smart phone system on the market. Programming in it was not easy and took at least 4 times as long as programming Windows. I remember any kind of memory leak was forbidden, or the software wouldn't work. When I eliminated all the ones in my code I discovered that the OS calls I was making were themselves leaking. At that point I threw in the towel.
Re:Next (Score:3, Interesting)
Actually, they are following this guide: http://lwn.net/Articles/370157/ [lwn.net]
If Nokia close Qt, the community win.
If Nokia keep Qt open (but make it sucks), the community is destroyed.
Re:just.. wow (Score:0, Interesting)
Idealogically, GPL is like giving a gift and demanding gifts in return, BSD is like giving a gift for the simple joy of making somebody happy with a gift. Neither one is technically better than the other; it's just a matter of personal values.
GPL is like giving a gift but demanding that the gift is not used to harm anyone else rights to enjoy of it.
BSD is like throwing out own stuff and someone might find a something from it to give someone without the rights or joy.
It really matters that _everyone_ gets same freedom rights and no one can rip it off.
So actually:
GPL is like everyone are free and slavery is not allowed as slaves are not free
BSD is like everyone talks that they are free, but some people makes others as their slaves and keep them in slavery but same time talking how they are allowed to slave others.
Which one is freedom?
GPL is like world without slavery where every person has same rights and there is no difference between rich and poor, healthy and sick, old and young etc.
BSD is like world as southern USA was 1600-1800 century with black people who were brought from africa to work for white people fields because they were free to be taken from their homes in africa and white people did not want to do hard job in fields.
Heck, even today USA is very young at the slavery thing. How long it has been when black people did get any kind a rights in there? It was 1955 when single black women toke the stand (seat actually) against race law. It is JUST 66 years ago!
Or 1962 when first black man got rights to study in the Mississippi university and that demanded even John F. Kennedy to send a millitary on the place. And that has happended just 49 years ago! And even today, too many people believes that black people does not have same rights!
For some twisted minded people, freedom is that people who has leverage to other people, has rights to take their freedom away and use it for own benefits. And BSD is exactly a great example for such twisted minds!
BSD might be a open, but in this situation I stand on same level with RMS (even that I dont like him personally) that there is difference with open source and free software. And free software is much better (I prefer "Libre Software" definition) for the humanity than what todays marketing definition "open source" is.