Greetings all!<br />
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Many thanks to the Maemo team for really stepping up in the Maemo Developer event this past week in Santa Clara California.  Everyone with whom I spoke was really enthused at the opportunity to learn more, share ideas and realize they were being fully engaged by Nokia.  This event was a true sign of positive progress for both the open source and commercial communities!<br />
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Some takeaways:<br />
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- Nokia understands the concerns expressed by individual contributors who want to find success in Ovi Store.  No fine details to reveal at this time but be encouraged by the fact that they are listening!  New member code177 expressed gratitude at the chance to get his needs in front of people willing to listen.  He is also appreciated for volunteering to be the lightning rod here.  ; )<br />
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- Nokia is receptive to the "gotchas" that have been hot topics in talk.maemo.org.  Particularly, support for feedback, donationware and app testing functionality on the device.  After some really stimulating discussion I corralled the ideas into what I think is an actionable plan to accomodate these wants and needs.  More on that soon in Brainstorm and on my blog (so subscribe to the latter!).<br />
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- I was particularly relieved and excited to hear Ashley Walker's (Forum Nokia) support for local events in the US.  Details need to be hashed out but I feel now that the push for this is no longer stalled.  As with most things, it was simply a matter of navigating the Nokia matrix and connecting with the right facilitator!  So I will begin a little recon work and report back when some plans are formed.<br />
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I commend Quim for having the foresight to get maemo.org into the mix.  The contributions by code177 and epage (Dialcentral guy!) were invaluable.<br />
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In summary, I came away confident that open source and commercial interests in the Maemo ecosystem need not necessarily collide but can collude.  I am beginning to see Nokia's longterm strategy in this space bear fruit now and offer solid promise going forward.  Let's maintain the momentum, think positive and not let any roadblocks stand for long!<br />
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More info soon!<br />
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As always, your community council is your bridge to Nokia.  Take advantage of us!  ; )<br />
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Cheers,<br />
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<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>
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