[maemo-community] A business case for Maemo

[From: Randall Arnold]

Thanks for your perspective Sebastian.

I am just going to address the virtual issue for now.  I agree working
virtually can be problematic for some, but I doubt that's true of many in
this crowd.  Of course I can only speak for myself, but my last role with
Nokia was global/virtual and after a brief adjustment I found that
working that way suited *me* very well.  Toward the end I was mostly at
home, working an odd schedule designed around the people I led/supported,
with occasional visits to local Nokia facilities as well as international
travel.

I am just speaking from my own experience and opinion, but if I created a
role around Maemo device/OS/app/etc support, I would lean toward highly
mobile, ie virtual.  That said, I also see value in offices but I have
grandiose ideas there too that are a separate dream for another
discussion :D.

Anyway I'm glad to see quick participation on this subject.  : )

Randall (Randy) Arnold
maemo.org community council
http://tabulacrypticum.wordpress.com/




> ----- Original message -----
> From: "Sebastian 'CrashandDie' Lauwers" <crashanddie at gmail.com>
> To: "List for community development" <maemo-community at maemo.org>
> Subject: Re: A business case for Maemo
> Date: Thu, 15 Oct 2009 16:00:07 +0100
>
>
>
> Hi Randy,
>
> Thanks for starting this thread. It's an idea I believe a lot of
> people have been toying with for some time.
>
> On Thu, Oct 15, 2009 at 3:21 PM, Randall Arnold <texrat at ovi.com> wrote:
> > I started thinking about this before the Summit and it really
> > gelled for me in Amsterdam, sharing excitement and energy with
> > everyone there:
> >
> > There are so many unemployed and underemployed people in this
> > community, and so much potential with Maemo.  Maybe it's time at
> > least some of us consider creating a global, virtual cooperative
> > with common goals and find some way to make a living at what we
> > enjoy.
> > While at Nokia I found myself driving to work every day (especially
> > at the factory) thinking "I can't wait to get to work and get back
> > on the project waiting for me there!".  As crazy as it sounds, I
> > was constantly engaged while employed with them and despitre the
> > occasional frustrations really, really loved working there.
>
> I understand the feeling, as, I'm sure, a lot of others do.
>
> > My current job inspires no such excitement... but being around you
> > guys and experiencing the thrill of discovery with the N900 made me
> > realize THAT is where I want to be.
> > So... am I the only one thinking like this?  Is it "wrong" to want
> > to wrap a career around Maemo device support?  And if it isn't,
> > what value could a potential virtual team provide?
>
> I don't think you are. I think a lot of people would love to be able
> to have a career working on these devices, but like always, it's a
> limited platform, with a limited quantity of resources, so not
> everyone is going to be picked. Of course, this is for the scenario
> where people would be working for Nokia directly, in one way or
> another, which would suit them. How many of those are actually
> possible? How many people could fill in a position, or how many new
> positions could we create that would be in direct relation to what
> they do in the community? Only a limited number, I'm afraid as well.
>
> The main issue I see with "virtual team", is that a lot of people
> don't work well in a "virtual" world. It's easy to get demotivated
> (even easier than when you're in the same office day-in, day-out), and
> it's just awful when coming to the human inane ability to get
> side-tracked. I for one, and I'm sure other people are exactly the
> same, if not the majority, hate to work from home. I think it's fine
> for a day or two, or maybe even a week every couple of months, but
> longer than that, and I start shaking like a stick, like a junkie in
> need of his fix. My "humanity" fix. I'd hate to start hating Maemo, or
> any work I'd be potentially doing for Maemo because I have to stay
> home alone day-in, day-out.
>
> So if we were to base something on Maemo, and try to make a living out
> of it, my first point would be: get an office.
>
> Again, this is something that has been toyed with for some time. I had
> this discussion with a few people, quite plainly asking "Should we
> have a Maemo office in London?" (replace with any part of the world
> you want). Not for Nokia employees, or people who work on the tablets
> professionally in any way or another, but just people who want to hack
> and slash at the devices. People who enjoy coding and working, but
> who'd prefer doing it in a place that is friendly, and healthy.
> Doesn't require much. Enough desks to accomodate people, maybe a few
> Linux-based terminals with scratchbox or whatever the flavour of the
> month is pre-installed, and internet/wifi. I could also some of the
> administrative stuff happen there. Officialise the Maemo Community
> towards the Government, have a central location which could be used as
> the "main address"? They're all ideas which tend to go into the same
> direction. Why do they go into the same direction? Because they
> generate the same questions:
>
> People don't live off love and water, only our devices run off nearly
> free electricity. What would the business model be? What kind of
> remuneration would be provided? How do we select people who
> (potentially) get employed? What projects are prioritised? What kind
> of work would we do? Management? Supervision? Low-level programming?
> All of the above? All of these come back to another pretty single
> question: is this a community effort, or do we "become a division"?
> Separate from the main tree, start our own route and grow our own
> leaves, while still living on the same roots?
>
> Loads of questions -- not to say they aren't interested -- which are
> all very hard to answer without upsetting people.
>
>
> --
> question = ( to ) ? be : ! be;
> -- Wm. Shakespeare
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