Love your magazine. I subscribe to the PDF issue. I really liked the article on accessing Linux from a smartphone. I don't have an iPhone or iTouch; nevertheless, I really enjoyed the "howto" aspect of it. I love tinkering with Linux, and I am always looking for good projects that make sense and are fun. I'm going to see if I can get this going on my Blackberry.
Please do more of these. And while you are at it, lean back in your chair and reflect on how the projects you describe will affect the future of computing/communication/getting things done. The article on Moblin was especially interesting for this reason. I am a computer geek, and I am always looking for a way to make my office "paperless." The sys admin stuff is good for some, but I love the projects that give me something to think about and talk to my boss about.
Keep up the good work.
Wayne
| LM |
Thanks the feedback. We're always interested in hearing about which articles work and why. Expect more of these special projects in the future.
I think the idea of free software is slightly flawed. In Nigeria, Microsoft has an office responsible for covering Ghana and Nigeria. They have staff to communicate with. The money partly comes from the charge for the software. In Ghana, I would like to distribute discs. I am already putting my own money in, but if I charged for installing software, I would be able to do more. So I ask the question: "Is the concept of not charging a small fee for the software itself slowing the pace of Linux development?"
Andy Brookes
| LM |
Actually, some vendors do charge for distributing their Linux products. It is possible, but because the GPL requires that the source code be kept freely available, the presence of alternative free Linux systems keeps the prices low. Several of the distros that used to charge for their Linux systems have either gone out of business or changed their business models.
Many Linux users believe that the fact that the source code is freely available is one of the biggest reasons why Linux is such a powerful and flexible system. They would argue that the open source model actually accelerates Linux development. There would be little interest within the community for changing that important characteristic, and anyway, the terms of the GPL make it impossible for a GPL-licensed project to suddenly go closed source. The result is that there is really no way for Linux to adopt a distribution system that is like Windows.
The good news is that people who install and support Linux do make money from it; in fact, support service is one of the most important revenue models for Linux, but the demand for professional support can vary significantly with the geographical region.
In your September issue, you wrote about HTC's Hero smartphone. I was interested in buying this device a while ago, however, the firmware that this device ships with has some serious performance issues. HTC has released newer firmware that addresses these issues, but they do not provide a Linux utility to flash the device with this new firmware.
I wrote HTC's customer support clearly stating that, without a way to update the device's firmware from Linux, I cannot purchase this device. Their response was: "We are sorry for any inconvenience, yet for the time being, we do not have a solution for this. If this mean you will not buy an HTC, that is totally up to you." Unfortunately Linux users are once again left out in the cold. Perhaps it would help if you publish this letter, so a larger consumer base can make an informed decision about buying this device.
Bram Mertens
| LM |
Your letter brings up an important problem that is just coming into focus with the latest new generation of mobile technologies. Although an Android-based smartphone might have Linux on the inside, the PC-based tools designed to sync and interact with the phone sometimes don't even come in Linux versions.
We're glad to print your letter in hopes that all device vendors who make use of the Linux kernel will take the time to create Linux versions of their admin and interface tools. What a great way to give back to the open source community.