The beer issue
Seems like I forgot to mention an important point in my good free software happenings list:
Andrew Haley of GCJ/Red Hat/GNU fame integrated the to looked-for libffi closure API support for the ARM architecture. Seems like I owe him a beer now (Is vbeer.com already up and running? :-) ). What this addition means is that GCJ can now be run fully featured (aka native compilation) on all those tiny little ARM devices that everyone uses for the next best GNU/Linux-based embedded effort today ... :-)
Trolltech and OpenMoko
First of all I think it is not good to talk bad about someone else's work, even (or especially) when it is not perceived useful under one's own criterias.
I probably made myself guilty under this premise when commenting on a blog post of Lorn Potter (Trolltech). As I see it he wondered why the OpenMoko project is valued with such high expectations. He regards Trolltech's own GNU/Linux-based mobile phone already an "open-source project" and OpenMoko would be nothing one should be thrilled about.
Because of my strong opinion on free software my comment on this was a bit to harsh and became a bit to near to mean discrediting someones work. For that I am sorry.
Today people still go nuts when you tell them you think in the GNU way (call you zealot, fanatic and whatnot). That is why I took the extra care and made my mistake public. :-)
Stilll I am not interested in proprietary efforts: I decided to help the cause of free software by joining GNU Classpath. I wanted that other's will be able to implement the software they always wanted. Even if that means that those people have to tear GNU Classpath apart and reassemble it in a different way. I have experienced so much good things happen because of people doing it this way (not only software wise but also socially).
Many people that are now crazy about OpenMoko at least think similar. Lorn, do you really think your efforts can make the grade for such thinking?
