On Mon, 2002-06-24 at 21:34, Simon Brown wrote: > My crystal balls says that RMS will be without a mobile for quite some > time. I also think that he may soon have to do without a car. AFAIK, he doesn't have a car either. But don't quote me on that. > what do you reckon Alex, is my crystal ball in need of a clean? I don't see your argument at all, I'm afraid. Yes, things are becoming more complex and more like computers we have on our desks. No, that doesn't mean more non-free software. Think about it: the more complex the software becomes, the longer it takes to develop. Why reinvent the wheel? Companies don't do that for no good reason. This is even more the case in the embedded/firmware scene, since the software isn't the product; it's just a component. If it's a component that happens to be Free, so be it. The only thing which acts against this trend is the fact that companies can be reticent to give away open code to proprietary hardware - but, generally, these are only a few markets in which this is the case. I would say mobile phones is not one of those markets: the software wouldn't do anything sufficiently technical or interesting for it to be worth the bother. The reason you don't currently see open systems is because of the utter specialisation of the hardware - eventually, things will be more standardised. You mentioned car engine firmware - well, people fiddle with that already. Go look on the 'net, there are hundreds of firms selling firmware upgrades, patches, tweaks, etc. If there's demand, software will find a way. Cheers, Alex.
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