Can Someone Please Explain To Me..., I don't understand how this is considered "Open Source" Options

[dn8]

Hello Everyone,
I am new to the whole embedded linux and open mobile idea. However I am no stranger to open source and GNU licensing.

I have recently been researching the different "open" mobile platforms. Qtopia, Openmoko, Android, and they all seem to have one thing in common.. You can't download the source! All you can do is download sdk's to interact with the API.

Now how is this considered open source?

This is no different than downloading the sdk for BlackBerry or any other proprietary device, Or programming/interacting with the Win32 API...

Please correct me if I am wrong, or point me in the direction to the open source download pages...

Thanks,
Paul

[Capn_Fish]

I kind of agree with you, but they are open source, just not conveniently. You have to get the source through the SDKs AFAICT (I may be wrong and that the sources just aren't published in an easy-to-find place)*.

I agree with you in that it is a PAIN. I know when I was working with the Xomap X server for the N810 that you can't get the patches to Xorg; you have to use a single Xorg SVN release that they have modified, so you can't patch the latest source and upgrade. It's lousy. Other than that, the Maemo stuff isn't TOO bad.

I hope that answers your question.

*QT is the exception: http://trolltech.com/downloads/opensource is just one source of the source.

[pelrun]

It took me all of 30 seconds to find the source for openmoko and qtopia with google; and android is simply not released yet (and should be under the Apache License when it is.) So I'm not sure what the problem is.

[laan]

and android is simply not released yet (and should be under the Apache License when it is.) So I'm not sure what the problem is.

Sincerely this is like telling windows is not open source yet when it is released it will be open source until then it is closed source

[dn8]

It took me all of 30 seconds to find the source for openmoko and qtopia

Are you sure you aren't talking about the openmoko image, you do know the difference right? Please link me to the direct source code download page.

Capn_Fish already informed me of the qtopia download page and also informed me of the source code being buried inside the sdk on most of these platforms, which by the way, IMHO is not by mistake.

and android is simply not released yet

What's the holdup? If I am not mistaken, Google purchased android in 2005. Hrmmm positioning maybe? Hey lets have a 10 million dollar give-away, and get everyone on board. I don't think Google plans on releasing android.

[pelrun]

Sure, there have been developer previews of Android, but there isn't one phone actually on sale running it yet. I doubt they'll call it "released" until after that happens.

And the Openmoko repository is at http://svn.openmoko.org/.

[desertrat]

Hey lets have a 10 million dollar give-away, and get everyone on board.

Not everyone. There's that debacle over how the latest SDK was available only to the "top 50" developers (as judged by google).