Tuesday, October 21, 2008 Limpag: The (mobile) future is open By Max Limpag Celltalk
RELEASES. Two significant free and open source software projects have just or are scheduled to release major versions this October — the month when the first phone to ever use the open source Android mobile system is shipped.
Open source is a software license that not only allows but also encourages the sharing of software and building or improving on it.
You can go to jail for sharing your CD copy of Microsoft Windows XP or Microsoft Office but not Open Office. In fact, you are even encouraged to share installers of open source software like Open Office so that you can help spread its use.
Last week, Open Office 3 was released. The new version of the Microsoft Office alternative comes with three years worth of improvements, bug fixes and enhancements. Among the new features is the ability to read docx files generated by Microsoft Office so you don’t have to worry about not being able to open this recent document format.
At the end of this month, my favorite Linux distribution, Ubuntu, is scheduled to release its latest version. The release comes with a lot of improvements, including more stunning desktop eye candy and usability improvements.
As I said earlier this year, if you still haven’t tried using Linux, the latest Ubuntu releases are the best way to get introduced into the open source operating system.
Constant improvents. I tried the first versions of Open Office several years ago and I can tell you that the current one is a massive improvement. When I first tried it, I wanted to immediately get back to using Microsoft Office.
But two years ago, I completely shifted to Open Office and never found any reason to go back to Microsoft Office and its very expensive license.
Last year, I completely shifted to Ubuntu Linux in my laptop and found no reason to come back to Windows and its prohibitively priced license. In fact, I only realized after the shift that as a writer, blogger, editor and web developer, Linux was the perfect laptop and netbook operating system for me.
I’m still forced to use Windows in my office desktop, however, because of print publication software that still aren’t available in Linux (but come to think of it, it could be run using Wine but that’s for a blog post).
My first attempt at installing Linux was just that, an attempt. Back then (before Google became a verb), Linux was a bit harder to install and making peripherals work was a nightmare. I never used my first Linux install for more than a week.
Now, a few short years later, installing Linux is generally easier than installing Windows and you can even run it on a CD to test the system without having to install it first.
Mobile. What’s all of the above got to do with mobile phones? Open source development, for most projects, is the best type of development model to foster innovation.
I believe the strides we are seeing at such projects as the Linux kernel and its various distributions will be something we will see on the mobile phone. I believe that we will see open source mobile applications that will be as exciting and useful as Firefox or Open Office.
Yes, the iPhone is all the rage right now but give it a few more years and I’m willing to bet that the top mobile phones will either be running open source firmware or will have key applications that are open source.
We can get a glimpse of that in the T-Mobile G1 that is shipping soon (see photos). It is the first Android-powered phone and, with Google starting this mobile initiative, comes integrated with key Google services: Google Maps Street View, Gmail and Google Talk and YouTube.
The device is a techie’s wet dream and garnered relatively positive reviews from a lot of publications. Not bad for the first commercial model.
Should you snap one up if you get the chance to buy it? Unless money is not an issue for you, I’d have to say no.
Let the early adopters figure out the bugs first and buy an Android phone when the third or fourth models have gone out. By then, you’d have not only a better Android unit but more third-party applications available.
The question on the impending dominance of open source systems, such as Android in mobile phones, is a matter of “when” it can happen and not “if.” It may take a couple more iPhone releases but it will eventually get there.
