Boot2Gecko - Open Web Device

[Marcelo E. Magallon]

On Fri, Apr 06, 2012 at 11:48:59PM +0000, elf Pavlik wrote:

> "The heart of the system is Mozilla's Boot2Gecko, which has
> always been open and opensource. The Open Web Device is also
> using a Linux Kernel (the same one used by Android devices)
> which is also open. This is a 100% open project where, for
> instance, operators and OEMs can actively and openly contribute
> to the code, instead of Mozilla developing internally and
> making code drops available."

 Are we falling into the same trap *again* (and by "again" I mean
 "the 6th or 7th time in a row")?

 The fact that the site has a *flash* video should tell you
 something about the level of commitment to openness and
 interoperability, but even if you choose to ignore that, this
 sentence:

    The Open Web Device is also using a Linux Kernel (the same
    one used by Android devices) which is also open. This is a
    100% open project [...]

 should fire up all the alarms.  Sure, the kernel is open.  What
 about the drivers?  Are we going to be playing the "open shim to
 closed drivers" game again?  Is the video driver open?  Is the
 modem driver open?  Is the audio driver open?  Is the GPS driver
 open?  Are *ALL* the drivers open?

 If this is the measure of openness they are using, Android is
 100% open, too.  Manufacturers throw a couple of closed drivers
 underneath and a couple of closed "UI differentiators" on top,
 but hey, the stack is open.

    operators and OEMs can actively and openly contribute to the
    code, instead of Mozilla developing internally and making
    code drops available.

 The keyword here is "can".

 I'm sorry to sound bitter, but I've seen variations of this for
 the last 15 years, and I don't blame manufacturers, I blame
 users who have consistently accepted "90% open" for "100% open",
 praise the manufactures for throwing them a bone, and then come
 back complaining to the developers of the actually open stuff
 because the other 10%, which is what they actually care about,
 doesn't work as well as they demand it to.

 Marcelo