Tag Archives: future

MeeGo Nowhere

Posted on by

2

My previous blog post about MeeGo was completely off-base. So it looks like Nokia decided to go with Windows Phone 7. Personally I don’t see the point, but then again I don’t run a Fortune 500 firm either. Apparently there are still plans for a MeeGo powered handset/mobile computer. Sometime in May, maybe? However it does not bode well for us from the Maemo community.

So what about the dreams of having a real Linux running on handsets, netbooks and all that jazz? Well it looks like WebOS gets that privilege and honour. Maybe others will run with MeeGo, but this all is starting to all look a lot like the OpenMoko or LiMo. In other words, a Linux + GCC + X + Gtk + Qt stack is something that for now will remain in the corner. Something that the free software idealists, early adopters and researchers will run. But otherwise, rather irrelevant to the rest of the world. I’m also worried that closed, locked down garden walled ecosystems will prosper rather than something totally free and flexible. So Stallman’s dystopian future of the Luna colonies looks all the more real, each and every day.

So what about our man, Nokia, jumping off a burning oil platform into the “safety” of the North Sea, as CEO Elop so eloquently quipped? Hope they don’t die of shock. The North Sea is not exactly a safe and nice place to take a pleasant dip into. I wish them the best and hope they don’t end up washed up on the shore of some strange mobile country as a frozen corpse. Because baby, it is cold outside (the mainstream mobile ecosystems).

So where does that leave us? Knowing Qt is still a good idea for other reasons. The Maemo user and developer community should prepare to become self-sufficient because there probably will not be anymore Maemo-like devices out there. As for MeeGo? Come back in May and we’ll see if anyone gives a damn. The most widely adopted, open and flexible mobile OS right now is Android. At least thats how I see things playing out.

News – The Future of Nokia N-Series Phones, IP for Libertarians, Animating the Death Star

Posted on by

1

Once again, Dorian has dropped off the side of the Internet to work on stuff.  So instead of an update, Dorian sends some interesting bits of news he found on the Internet.

Maemo is the Future of the Nokia N-Series

Just when you thought Nokia planned on using Maemo only for their experimental line of phones… future N series phones will run Maemo!  This is great news for all the Maemo fans out there.  And it looks like this will be happen in 2012.  So all you who follow the Mayan calendar, while be able to ring in the new Mayan calendar cycle with nice Maemo-powered phones. 😀

Intellectual Property from a Libertarian Perspective

This is not news so much as a well written article by Stephan Kinsella discussing Intellectual Property from a Libertarian perspective.  So if you’ve been following the news concerning the mess that is intellectual property, this article premises that it doesn’t make sense to have it, makes sense.  Patents cause the most amount of problems, being so broad in scope.  But at the end of the day, it comes down to the question should or should not the owner of a physical property have exclusive rights to their property.  The fact it cause loss for a content creator or it is not acceptable behaviour by “society” is a moot point.

Dorian’s thoughts: Thats why all that I publish is under the Creative Commons license.  I’d rather just putting things in the public domain. Unfortunately there is a double standard of what an individual’s rights to that of a corporate entity’s, and thats why some restrictions to protect myself are needed.  I’d hate to go to court over something I originally published, being picked up by a corporation and then being hunted down by their lawyers for some IP infringement.

Animating the Death Star in Star Wars

Think computer animation is hard nowadays?  Then check this video of animating the attack on the Death Star in the old Star Wars.  Amazing.

Linux… the Future of Computing

Posted on by

I’m a Linux user.  So I always like to strain my ear to hear news about Linux.  But this I didn’t expect.

Caroline and I did a bit of computer shopping before going to watch a film together on Saturday.  While we wandered the aisles in the nearby Futureshop, she turned and asked me what I knew about Linux.  I was surprised.  Caroline is a very smart and talented girl.  She finished statistics at the University of Toronto after all. But she is not a person who follows computer tech.  She further told me that her mother told her that Linux was the future of computing.  And then she asked whether Linux was for her.  To top it off, we bugged the local salesperson… and I had an intelligent conversation about what computer she should get.  (No offence to the smart Futureshop employees out there, but a good chunk of your coworkers are not all that knowledgeable about computing as they should.)  And the salesperson, said he that his life would be easier if PC came pre-loaded with Linux.  I took this all in… amazed.  After some thought on what she would be using the computer I told her to stick with Windows for now.  Why?

Linux and Linux-related technology looks like very much the future of computing.  Thanks to the free software licensing, active communities and flexibility of open source development methodologies, many vendors are looking toward using Linux.  For a vendor Linux provides a way out of the per unit licensing problem.  Also it lets the vendor to control the build out of  a product from top to bottom.  Linux appears creeping into non-desktop computing platforms.  We hear about Linux competing with Windows in the netbook market.  We hear of Linux taking on cellphones with projects such as LiMo, OpenMoko and Google’s Andriod.  The hyper-fast development pace makes Linux progress in leaps and bounds past its competitors.  Nokia heavily invested in Linux with their Maemo-powered Internet Tablets.  Intel invests in Linux with drivers and Moblin.  nVidia and ATI both crank out graphics drivers like no tomorrow.  Dell and HP are each trying to outdo each other selling Linux servers and laptops.  News articles compare Ubuntu Linux on the same level as Windows XP & Vista and Mac OS X.  So forth and so on.  Five years this was unimaginable.  When I installed Linux on my laptop and desktop machines in 2002 and 2001… I could not imagine Linux being more than a cool minor alternative.  Something to play with, and use for fun computing.

So with all these cool developments, why did I not sell Linux to Caroline?  I could of.  Linux could work for her.  But I didn’t because Linux is the future of computing.  Linux exists in the present of computing, but the technology is still in a transitionary stage.  The next few years is where we leap the chasim from novel innovator toys to mainstream consumers.  However along the way there are growing pains.  Graphics and sound need to get up to par.  Support companies need to spring up around the technology.  We are getting there.  But right now, I feel uncomfortable offering Linux to a mainstream consumer and leaving them to their own devices.  If I were to support the system, I could easily setup a Linux system that Caroline could use and enjoy.  A Linux system could be setup to let her do her surfing, watching TV, connecting her digital camera and media organization.  But she could only turn to me for help if something goes wrong.  This is not something I want to inflict on either her or myself.  In a few years time, yes, Linux will work for her.  But it will most likely be everywhere and work for everyone.

Exam Sideeffects, TV Online and the Pursuit of Rest

Posted on by

Exams. One word says it all. If you ever taken one you know what I mean. If you never had the “pleasure” of taking one, let me just name some of the side effects: anxiety, dizziness, confusion, insomnia, sleepiness, panic attacks and memory loss. In extreme cases, exams may cause serious injury or even death of: marks, chances of passing, hope of finishing university and getting a degree.

I finished my last exam today, so please forgive my lapse in blogging punctuality. This temporary insanity only lasts for a few days fortunately. I think I passed two of my four classes. 😉

Instead of studying – the ultimate goal is to pass not excel – I contracted a recent meme-virus going around the Internet, videoblogging. After watching a number of videos on Google Video (including the feature film Dr. Strangelove), I kind of like the idea of watching videos online. It passes the time between exams and the split of Stargate Atlantis Season 3. Videoblogging reminds of watching the news, only way geekier, fun and with better looking hostesses (it’s a guy thing). The best ones I watched so far: Rocketboom and MobuzzTV.

Rocketboom, hosted by Joanne Colan feels like watching Slashdot on TV (minus the comments left by good willed gentleman – I love you guys – all trolls, except for one pleasant guy but he’s a troll too). The vlog delves into the wacky and zany antics, those creatures called humans come up with: shoverboards and the Boston Type Writer Orchestra episodes being great examples. The lovely Joanne Colan hosts the week-daily show, bringing a light-hearted humorous feel. The excellent overall quality of Rocketboom, makes me want to call it less of a videoblog, and more of a short on-line show.

MobuzzTV, raises the bar even higher than Rocketboom for videoblogs. I liken MobuzzTV to an on-line tech tv show. MobuzzTV deals with current tech-related events in a humorous, fun light. The presentation: sleek, sexy and professional. If more videoblogs of the same calibre of MobuzzTV start sprouting up, old fashioned TV will die almost overnight.

Videoblogs seems like the future of TV, and even governments seem to think so. Just check out France’s new France24. Impressive, but not surprising. I am wondering with such wonderful show and sites out there, how can a lowly “text” blogger such as myself compete for attention. Maybe some old-fashioned folks, prefer text sometimes.

I fear I must hasten to my assignments, and then I shall experience freedom from university!