Sean's Aim...
Jon Phillips
jon at rejon.org
Mon Jan 22 09:13:49 CET 2007
On Sun, 2007-01-21 at 23:55 +0000, Justyn Butler wrote:
> I agree that something, anything, that will help me justify upgrading
> my phone every six months is needed. In my case I particularly feel
> the need for 3G but I want to get building right now, on v1.
>
> I'd personally settle for a minor discount on the next version for so
> called "early adopters". But then I don't know what profit margin FIC
> is selling these things at.
>
> Justyn
It is cool that Sean is an honest guy and I believe that the project has
good intention.
The one thing this list can do is figure out the clear aims/goals of the
community. Please help do this on the temp wiki:
http://www.linuxtogo.org/gowiki/OpenMoko/Community
I think good sections would be Mission/Goal (1 sentence) and then also
ways people can get involved.
Jon
> On 21/01/07, Steve Grevemeyer <seg at tsmservices.com> wrote:
> > It would be nice to know if Sean's aim is
> > 1. to satisfy his and our need for open source toys like Neo
> > or
> > 2. to earn money like almost everybody on this planet while
> exploiting
> geeks like us to achieve his goal :-)
> >
> > I bet the second will prove as true...
> >
> > Milan
>
>
> The great thing about a free and open platform is that these
> two aims
> are NOT mutually exclusive!
>
> Frankly, I can't wait for one of these things -- and I hope
> that Sean
> and FIC make so much money they get compared to Microsoft!
>
> It costs a ton of money to design, test, and build
> hardware. It costs
> even MORE for software. :)
>
> The open approach dramatically reduces this cost, improves the
> product,
> and increases the overall profitability to the manufacturer.
> And just
> WAIT until the as-yet-unimagined killer app shows up!
>
> Anyone who thinks these devices are going to be cheap needs to
> wake up.
> (I'll avoid the banal "free as in beer" vs "free as in
> speech"
> converstation) What these devices need to be is
> "affordable". $350 w/
> accessories? That is actually CHEAP. My Treo cost more then
> that
> base, then I had to buy accessories!
>
> The one idea I did see in the last couple of days that I think
> NEED to
> get some serious attention is that of an upgrade path for
> developers.
>
> I have zero problem with the cost of the device or its
> capabilities for
> Rev1. The old "Don't worry, be crappy" philosophy is perfect.
> That and
> "churn, baby, churn". Upgrade the unit continuously.
>
> The problem is that it gets REALLY expensive to try to keep
> up. Need a
> way to recycle the units.
>
> I'll throw out the following (going to need asbestos underwear
> for the
> flames THIS will generate):
>
> a) a formal developers program. Maybe modeled on the M$
> partner
> program. A small yearly fee and formal registration. Not
> that
> developers are riff-raff or anything but motivation is a huge
> portion
> of this kind of development.
>
> b) Formal developers get first crack at new hardware. This
> concept is
> already being espoused -- I just think that it will need to be
> formalized at some point.
>
> c) An Upgrade path to
> facilitate continued development. Basically, when the new
> version
> comes out I send the old one back along with a "reasonable"
> upgrade fee
> and I get the new model.
>
>
> Benefits to the Developer:
> - access to the newest, best hardware
> - preservation of investment $
> - credit and recognition within the community
>
> Benefits to FIC:
> - information on active developers
> - targeted audience for feedback/evaluation. I like open
> forums but sometime you
> need things a bit more focused. - Beta-test system! Both
> for FIC and
> for the community in general.
>
> Of course, I'll get the obvious "what about all the developers
> that get
> excluded since they don't/won't/can't spend the money".
>
> The advantage of a formal program is that it is very easy to
> create an
> "informal" program. FIC/Some Vendor/Somebody can easily
> "sponsor" a
> developer. I.e. Somebody buys one of these units and shows
> they they
> rock, someone can step up and help them out. I've already
> seen stuff
> about "getting units in the hand of select developers"...
>
> The single hardest think in open source development is
> "keeping the eye
> on the ball". Everyone has their own pet thing, and ensuring
> that the
> overall project is not derailed by a single aspect is
> incredibly hard.
> I think the recent thread regarding WiFi is an excellent
> example.
>
> The communities biggest challenge will be getting applications
> done and
> fielded at the best possible rate. "Someone" is going to have
> to take a
> lead role and try to identify the applications that have the
> biggest
> need from the myriad of great ideas. A little focus goes a
> long way in
> getting things DONE.
>
> Well, I've babbled enough for now. :)
>
> -seg
> Steve Grevemeyer
>
>
>
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--
Jon Phillips
San Francisco, CA
USA PH 510.499.0894
jon at rejon.org
http://www.rejon.org
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