[maemo-developers] Fw: [0xffff] maemo - bug 1584 (and 1585)

[From: pancake]

Robert is not in this list, so I forward her mail here:

Begin forwarded message:

Date: Mon, 25 Jun 2007 23:14:03 +0200
From: Robert Schuster <theBohemian at gmx.net>
To: 0xffff at lists.nopcode.org
Subject: [0xffff] maemo - bug 1584 (and 1585)


hi,
I have a Nokia N770 and N800 Internet Tablet and do not like being
forced to run proprietary software. I hope that some day I can install
Angstrom or some other nice distribution on that device.

I met Quim Gil, Nokias product manager for the IT devices at LinuxTag.
In his talk he said something like: If you have a problem with X (and X
belonging to Maemo) then file a bug report. Here[0] it is. I filed the
lack of DFSG/FSD/OSD-compatible licenses for the core applications and
libraries of the N800 and provided a rationale for why it is neccessary
to have those.

If you have a different rationale feel free to add it to this bug report.

Btw: You are requested to create an account to even read the bug report.
:| I filed this a bug 1585[1] ...

[0] - http://bugs.maemo.org/show_bug.cgi?id=1584
[1] - http://bugs.maemo.org/show_bug.cgi?id=1585

For those who do not want to create an account over there, here is the
PR's text:

title: provide system management software under free software licenses

Several applications and libraries found on the N800 internet tablet/IT OS
2007.10 are distributed under restricted and non-free license terms
according
to the Debian Free Software Guidelines, Open Source Definition and Free
Software definition.

I hereby politely ask for distributing those components under terms that are
acceptable to the above mentioned guidelines.

The applications of interest are:
from the initfs: activate_panel, bt-cal, cal-tool, fb-chaimage, text2screen,
wlan-cal, wlan-fw-update, retu-time, show_image, dsme, battest, bootstate,
dsmetool, dspctl, waitfordsme and the script linuxrc

the libraries of interest are:
libbmeic.so, libcal.so, libdsme.so, libppu.so, libactivitymonitor.so,
libcalmodule.so, libhwwd.so, libinactivity-blank.so, liblifeguard.so,
libperipheral.so, libprocesswd.so, libstartup.so, libstate.so,
libtemperature.so

There may be other software artifacts which are of interest for which I will
file separate bugreports if there is a need for them.

Rationale:
When Nokia/Maemo decided to use a variant of the GNU operating system
and Linux
as its kernel for implementing the Internet Tablet OS they profited from a
wealth of knowledge and work invested in various software projects. With the
help of free software licensing they were allowed to create a unique
software
environment which exactly implements the Maemo projects' goals. Maemo has
gained and still gains from those software projects because they are
independently developed further giving Maemo more possibilities in the
future.

One of the key goals of the GNU project is to give its user's the freedom to
implement their own ideas. This goal is to be reached by writing free
software
and sometimes (in the early days often) replacing proprietary software.

The non-free bits in the core infrastructure of the IT OS 2007 are a
road block
for efforts to create free operating systems/distributions besides IT OS
on the
N770/N800.

The reason for why it is helpful to have other operating
system/distribution on
the N800 is simple: There are hundreds of GNU/Linux distributions out there.
Each one exists because there is a userbase that exactly likes their
flavor of
GNU/Linux.

For the N770/N800 Internet Tablets there exists only one such
distribution: The
Internet Tablet OS. With the sheer amount of GNU/Linux distributions for
desktops/workstations/servers/routers/PDAs on the one hand and the single OS
solution for the Internet Tablets on the other I doubt that it can
handle all
the possible uses people have.

By releasing the above mentioned programs/libraries under free software
licenses people will be given the same possibilities the Maemo project
had in
the first place.

Let us be free.








  --pancake
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