[linux-elitists] FAT is the new GIF?

[Dave Crossland]

2009/2/27 Jim Thompson <jim@netgate.com>:
> On Thu, Feb 26, 2009 at 4:38 PM, Dave Crossland <dave@lab6.com> wrote:
>>
>> I don't know anything about TomTom's GUI stack, but I assume that
>> alll GNU/Linux embedded device developers are either directly or indirectly
>> vulnerable to this patent in the same way.
>
> TomTom was staring into the abyss anyway.  Standalone GPS devices are a
> dead-end, subsummed by... everything. (Phones, PDAs, netbooks, etc.
> They'll all have GPS devices embedded soon.)
> Given the Android stack, I doubt most companies would go down the road
> followed by TomTom, were they to start today.

Maybe, maybe not. Seems to me, the point of software freedom is, who can tell?

>> And it will make embedded device startups think twice about building on a
>> free software stack (and publishing free software).
>
> Not if they can put someone the size of Google alongside them.

So startups get choice between Windows Mobile, Google Android, or
(say) a Novell-Microsoft blessed/branded derivative of GNOME Mobile,
but not actually software freedom?

(Ps, thanks for the enjoyable thread, everyone :-)

-- 
Regards,
Dave