Eg:

“The result is that different application developers pick the environments they want to target, forcing users to either run multiple window managers, or choose between different groups of Linux apps.”

No, not really. If one runes Gnome as a window manager I can run KDE applications virtually seamlessly. The two caveats are: The applications won’t use the same gui theme, and they will use seperate libraries. Eg, a KDE network application will load its own network library rather than use the Gnome ones.

For non-KDE / Gnome applications, they will similarly use different libraries and not use any services provided by Gnome. (If that is the running window manager.) However, all applications will run in the same Window Manager.

I think you also misrepresent Linux developers with the statement.

“Linux represents a confederation of many individual groups working at cross purposes, like a convention of volunteer militia minutemen with thousands of guns all pointed at each other’s feet.”

Yep, there are prima-donna hackers in Linux but you will get that in every o/s. The vast majority of developers want to get things done. And not all Linux developers are hobbyists.

As you state some companies like Apple support Linux initated projects, and to a lesser extent, many bug fixes have submitted by corporate developers.

Firstly the vast majority of cell phones are of the GSM standard and the GSM USA usage is a very very small percentage of worldwide users. So the phone is very relevant to the rest of the world which does follow the GSM standard.

Secondly the two phones cater for two very different markets, the iPhone for people who don’t want to be able to substantially modify their phone and the Neo1973 to those that do.

The wish list on the OpenMoko website clearly indicates that there are people who wish to modify the way their smart phone operates. Many of the suggestions on the wish list are not that crazy and I have long desired those features too. The point is that the people who wish to use an iPhone will purchase the iPhone and those that wanted more configurability of their phone have not really had the choice before. Now they do.

I doubt that the OpenMoko phones will sell in the quantities that the iPhone will, however there appears to be a market for the phone and I for one am glad that i get the choice to choose between an iPhone and a Neo1973.

The GPRS/Edge/3G debate is somewhat mute, given that this phone is in development and that a 3G version is planned for the future. No doubt Apple will upgrade the iPhone to 3G in the future too.

I don’t dislike the iPhone and it appears to be a nice device, however I have a choice and when the 3G version of the Neo1973 is available I will purchase one. The community on OpenMoko appear to be progressing and the phone will be stable very shortly, and once it is I can modify the system to my hearts content. I have a hacked Tivo operating in a country never supported by Tivo – and that community like the Openmoko one is very active and provides me with choices a closed platform does not.

I enjoyed the article and the very valid points it raised, sadly however it was somewhat biased. That a device can run windows or linux is somewhat irrelevant or that it has a lineage from a windows mobile device, even the apple can now run microsoft windows …..

first of all, i’m sitting here typing this message on a brand new apple wireless keyboard .. which i, incidentally, got working quite easily through participation in the neo1973 ***community*** ..

it is vlc’ed into my mac pro, which i have decided to start leaving *AT HOME* and discontinue use as a main ‘laptop’ bring-with-me device.

because the apple bt keyboard+neo1973 is **all i need**.. and whatever i *want*, i just hack up myself.

sure, you can backflip on the consumer bandwagon, but there is nothing sweeter, or more satisfying, than to sit on the tip of the wave. neo1973, gta01, whatever you wanna call it .. is up to you.

get the message?

Nice!…