next smartphone thoughts

[geoffrey mendelson]

On Aug 26, 2011, at 1:10 PM, Erez D wrote:

>
> 1. iphone - not gnu/linux nor open. actually this is the closest as  
> can be in terms of free as speech.

It's also in terms of availabilty and likelyhood of apps. There are a  
lot more iPhones in the world than any other smart phone, and if you  
are expecting an app to be developed commercially, it will be there  
first.

It may not matter to you, it might. There are the usual apps that  
people use, such as a web browser, telnet, ssh, etc. But also a  
wonderful Hebrew-English (or vice versa) talking dictionary, apps from  
you kupat cholim and bank, etc. So in terms of use, an iPhone may be  
the more useful device.

It also scales nicely to an iPad, so you can have the same Apps on a  
more comfortable to see and type platform.

> Android - live and kicking, actually the most popular. it is somehow  
> open, and linux kernel. not gnu though. Most popular linux, btw,  
> IMHO there are a lot more iPhones.

Yes, but how long is google going to be so nice and what will they be  
adding to promote their main business, advertising? Does it have the  
apps you want? Will it?

What does Google being in competition with all the other Android  
vendors mean? Will Samung develop their own device and drop android?  
Samung was a big linux device vendor long before Android.

LG? All the other little cell phone companies?

>
> So i have to choose one of these.
> I thought about android (galaxy s2). but i do not like it that i  
> need to program only in java, and that when i install apps, even  
> simple as "clock widget" - they require full access to my  
> addressbook, to my setting and to the internet.

It's too much like an iPhone for my taste. A friend brought one over  
and I could not tell it from my kids' iPods Touch. Too much copying  
and not enough inovation.


> I would love to block it via other ways (selinux/apparmor/iptables  
> etc...).
> I miss my linux apps. (can run in any way a gnu/linbux dist under  
> chroot ?) can i write non java apps and give to my friends ?
>
> what are your thoughts on the issue ?


It's no help to you now, but I think the market being narrowed down to  
iOS and Android is a great thing for the world. There will be a lot of  
people who can "do better" and while almost all of them will crash and  
burn, a few will actually produce something better and people will buy  
it.

Geoff.

-- 
Geoffrey S. Mendelson,  N3OWJ/4X1GM