Thanks for your perspective Sebastian.<br />
<br />
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.<br />
<br />
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.<br />
<br />
Anyway I'm glad to see quick participation on this subject.  : )<br />
<span style="font-family: Tahoma"><strong><br />
</strong></span><span style="font-family: Verdana"><span><strong>Randall (Randy) Arnold</strong><br />
<span style="color: #ff6600">maemo.org community council</span><br />
</span></span><a href="http://tabulacrypticum.wordpress.com/"><span style="font-family: Verdana">http://tabulacrypticum.wordpress.com/</span></a><br />
<br />
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<br />
> ----- Original message ----- <br />
> From: "Sebastian 'CrashandDie' Lauwers" <crashanddie@gmail.com><br />
> To: "List for community development" <maemo-community@maemo.org><br />
> Subject: Re: A business case for Maemo<br />
> Date: Thu, 15 Oct 2009 16:00:07 +0100<br />
> <br />
> <br />
> <br />
> Hi Randy,<br />
> <br />
> Thanks for starting this thread. It's an idea I believe a lot of<br />
> people have been toying with for some time.<br />
> <br />
> On Thu, Oct 15, 2009 at 3:21 PM, Randall Arnold <texrat@ovi.com> wrote:<br />
> > I started thinking about this before the Summit and it really <br />
> > gelled for me in Amsterdam, sharing excitement and energy with <br />
> > everyone there:<br />
> ><br />
> > There are so many unemployed and underemployed people in this <br />
> > community, and so much potential with Maemo.  Maybe it's time at <br />
> > least some of us consider creating a global, virtual cooperative <br />
> > with common goals and find some way to make a living at what we <br />
> > enjoy.<br />
> > While at Nokia I found myself driving to work every day (especially <br />
> > at the factory) thinking "I can't wait to get to work and get back <br />
> > on the project waiting for me there!".  As crazy as it sounds, I <br />
> > was constantly engaged while employed with them and despitre the <br />
> > occasional frustrations really, really loved working there.<br />
> <br />
> I understand the feeling, as, I'm sure, a lot of others do.<br />
> <br />
> > My current job inspires no such excitement... but being around you <br />
> > guys and experiencing the thrill of discovery with the N900 made me <br />
> > realize THAT is where I want to be.<br />
> > So... am I the only one thinking like this?  Is it "wrong" to want <br />
> > to wrap a career around Maemo device support?  And if it isn't, <br />
> > what value could a potential virtual team provide?<br />
> <br />
> I don't think you are. I think a lot of people would love to be able<br />
> to have a career working on these devices, but like always, it's a<br />
> limited platform, with a limited quantity of resources, so not<br />
> everyone is going to be picked. Of course, this is for the scenario<br />
> where people would be working for Nokia directly, in one way or<br />
> another, which would suit them. How many of those are actually<br />
> possible? How many people could fill in a position, or how many new<br />
> positions could we create that would be in direct relation to what<br />
> they do in the community? Only a limited number, I'm afraid as well.<br />
> <br />
> The main issue I see with "virtual team", is that a lot of people<br />
> don't work well in a "virtual" world. It's easy to get demotivated<br />
> (even easier than when you're in the same office day-in, day-out), and<br />
> it's just awful when coming to the human inane ability to get<br />
> side-tracked. I for one, and I'm sure other people are exactly the<br />
> same, if not the majority, hate to work from home. I think it's fine<br />
> for a day or two, or maybe even a week every couple of months, but<br />
> longer than that, and I start shaking like a stick, like a junkie in<br />
> need of his fix. My "humanity" fix. I'd hate to start hating Maemo, or<br />
> any work I'd be potentially doing for Maemo because I have to stay<br />
> home alone day-in, day-out.<br />
> <br />
> So if we were to base something on Maemo, and try to make a living out<br />
> of it, my first point would be: get an office.<br />
> <br />
> Again, this is something that has been toyed with for some time. I had<br />
> this discussion with a few people, quite plainly asking "Should we<br />
> have a Maemo office in London?" (replace with any part of the world<br />
> you want). Not for Nokia employees, or people who work on the tablets<br />
> professionally in any way or another, but just people who want to hack<br />
> and slash at the devices. People who enjoy coding and working, but<br />
> who'd prefer doing it in a place that is friendly, and healthy.<br />
> Doesn't require much. Enough desks to accomodate people, maybe a few<br />
> Linux-based terminals with scratchbox or whatever the flavour of the<br />
> month is pre-installed, and internet/wifi. I could also some of the<br />
> administrative stuff happen there. Officialise the Maemo Community<br />
> towards the Government, have a central location which could be used as<br />
> the "main address"? They're all ideas which tend to go into the same<br />
> direction. Why do they go into the same direction? Because they<br />
> generate the same questions:<br />
> <br />
> People don't live off love and water, only our devices run off nearly<br />
> free electricity. What would the business model be? What kind of<br />
> remuneration would be provided? How do we select people who<br />
> (potentially) get employed? What projects are prioritised? What kind<br />
> of work would we do? Management? Supervision? Low-level programming?<br />
> All of the above? All of these come back to another pretty single<br />
> question: is this a community effort, or do we "become a division"?<br />
> Separate from the main tree, start our own route and grow our own<br />
> leaves, while still living on the same roots?<br />
> <br />
> Loads of questions -- not to say they aren't interested -- which are<br />
> all very hard to answer without upsetting people.<br />
> <br />
> <br />
> --<br />
> question = ( to ) ? be : ! be;<br />
> -- Wm. Shakespeare<br />
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><BR>
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