Valtteri Halla -- Nokia employee and one-half of
MeeGo's Technical Steering Group -- has blogged up a storm this week about the first baby steps that'll get the platform off the ground from its
Moblin and
Maemo roots, and from the sounds of things, we'll be able to get our first glimpse at it on production hardware before the month's out. Currently, the plan is to open up MeeGo's code repository to all comers "by the end of this month," targeting both
Atom boards and the
N900. Now, we certainly wouldn't say that MeeGo's decision to use the N900 as an early target device is indicative of an official upgrade down the line -- but this is particularly interesting in light of the fact that we've never gotten a commitment out of Nokia to bump its latest MID to
Maemo 6. And besides, considering that the average N900 customer is a bit of a hacker in his or her own right, let's be honest: a code repository that supports the phone is just about as good as an official gold build anyhow.
posted March 4th 2010 7:12PM
@Lucas
You can compile .deb (Debian) packages out-of-the-box, no hacks needed. Have to be root, but that's not a problem.
I don't care because I will never buy one, but so it can be popular to spur competition, and for the sanity of the human race, CHANGE ThE NAME!!
Very, very smart move. Keeping Maemo 5 stuck on the N900 without the possibility to upgrade to MeeGo (which in a lot of ways substitutes as Maemo 6) would have been a mistake. Props to Nokia.
@AndroidFreewareORG Not necessarily. They may not be compatible between Maemo/Moblin/Meego directly, but since they are all straight Linux and X11 based, they could probably be fairly easy to port.
Tmobile, i beg you, please get your 3g network in order so i can get an n900.
Ya, it's ok in some places, but others it's like swiss cheese.
@jcar302 yeah i know what you mean its gotten stronger in dallas,tx though i wish i could get a 3g.5 signal every where though kinda comes and goes but when it come in comes fast (cue jokes)
The N900 is in concept a great device, and its browser is fantastic, along with native support for Divx and Xvid.
The problem is that, due to a dearth of available applications, there's not much else you can do with the thing, that can't already be done on another smart phone, say an E72. It's analogous to a technological case of blue balls; so much promise, so much tease, yet so little pay off.
@Johnny Tremaine BS. You can recompile many existing open source linux application for ARM and they should run. That is the main idea of open source - portability.
@Johnny Tremaine Meh there's already more than 600 apps downloads and extras. Considering that Palm Pre broke 1000 just some months ago.
And if we count extras, downloads, extra-dev and packages i'm sure there's much more than 1000 already.
Thought the thing is that i don't think too many big development teams are in because why jump to Maemo 5 when you can jump in when Qt is totally integrated and the apps can be used in all MeeGo devices, all Symbian^4 devices and so on.
@Pdexter Not sure Palm is a great comparison for a thriving community considering analysts are downranking them into oblivion and anectodal evidence is sales are falling off a cliff.
Good thing Maemo/MeeGo has an 800-lb gorilla(s) behind them, because no other company would be able to put 4 years of "beta" out there without a commercial paypack. Wishing Nokia all the best, put all the hackers here need to fill up that Ovi store with apps if you think it's so easy or this isn't going anywhere.
@MrPointedHelix Just to make it clear, I have no doubt that both Maemo and Moblin are somewhat close to each other code-wise and eventually will both merge into MeeGo. My point is that Android is a way different from the mentioned trio: Android apps are written in Java and sit on top of DalvikVM, MeeGo stuff will be C++ code written spefifically for QT libraries. Doesn't look like easy porting to me.
Considering Maemo5 & 6 are based on Debian while Moblin & MeeGo are based on Fedora that sounds like a clusterfuck in the making unless you do a complete re-install of the phone and lose access to tons of available stuff..
@MikeZ Oh boy... One more that has not read properly the FAQ.
Just for you I will have patience to explain okay?
Breaking news: Maemo 6 is MeeGo. Repackaging of Apps isnt that much of a work anyway and besides, everything will be Qt.
meego.com is your friend
@MikeZ, You will not be losing access to tons of available stuff. You can even download and keep Maemo OS on your PC just in-case your dont like MeeGo.
http://maemocentral.com/2010/02/05/how-to-hard-reset-the-n900-to-the-factory-state/
@MikeZ
Aye this has been explained many times. No need to think it further.
Maemo 6= MeeGo
Thought big changes will be happening after Maemo 6/MeeGo if X86 in Maemo 6 isn't that already of course.
Okay guys, it’s time to solve the puzzle and the word is Meego. I often wonder how the come about the name, but after a hard look at Maemo 6, it was easy.
This is how I think Nokia and Intel came about the Name
M = M
a = e (a = e when tuned upside down)
e = e
m = 6 (two M(s) is not needed so it’s replaces with 6, and 6 = G shape wise)
o = o
And the result is MeeGo
Sent from my N900
@Nino
MeeGo is a trademark of the Linux Foundation so Nokia and Intel didnt came up with the name
@ChrisSsk. Oops! what a waste of time. I should have done my research properly. Thanks for that anyway. :-)
@cashclientel "Harmattan, originally slated to become Maemo 6, the 6th incarnation of Nokia's Maemo mobile operating system, is now considered to be a MeeGo instance (though not a MeeGo Product), ..."
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MeeGo
"MeeGo 6.0 Harmattan: Bundled officially supported Qt libraries, Begins the transition to MeeGo. Previously known as Maemo 6."
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maemo#Future
A bit more:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IXK9XFolwTM
As far as naming conventions go? Yes. M6 is MeeGo.
@Mr w00t someone downrank my duplicate post please.
Damn, you know I hated the N900 at first but every time I read another article about it I just think to myself "wow this is a cool device"
@DoctarPeppar hehe yeah, i think i remember you bashing it a bit :P
welcome to the darkside... we have cookies.
@Mr w00t
Well I still don't like the resistive screen, the thickness, and the keyboard layout, but the software and overall support is pretty damned good.
@MrPointedHelix said:
"Not necessarily. They may not be compatible between Maemo/Moblin/Meego directly"
Actually, you've got it completely backward. Maemo, Moblin, and MeeGo are already architecturally compatible. They only differed in how apps were packaged and their UI layers. The merger guarantees compatibility between the three, which is why it is now one OS. They all run code made with GTK+, C++, Flash, Python, etc. The unifier is they'll also now share the same UI toolkit and app framework powered by Qt.
So this is nothing special for N900 users anyway, since they've always run Qt apps, just like Windows Phone Classic and Symbian.
What this is really about is a show of support from MeeGo, making the repositories of apps designed for the next generation of devices to be packaged as .debs and delivered to the N900 users now, so they don't feel left behind. In actuality, these are just all of thr Qt apps that are up to date and compatible with the latest Qt release, which means its compatible with Maemo5, Symbian, and WinMo Classic, and is only limited by whether its packaged properly for the right OS.
So all the crybabies thinking MeeGo meant their devices are soon obsolete, here's proof it'll still run the same apps as a MeeGo device. As long as it is running the latest Qt libraries, the apps will work. GTK+ should be the same way, since its now officially supported. Symbian, Maemo, MeeGo, and Windows Phone Classic are all just vehicles to deliver Qt code, and if packaged properly, it will always run the same on all devices. US developers are slow to get it, but this just makes MeeGo attractive. They have a MeeGo development compatible target already deployed.
"but since they are all straight Linux and X11 based, they could probably be fairly easy to port [to Android]."
This is the big misconception. While Maemo, MeeGo, Ubuntu, Debian, Red Hat, etc. are all "full Linux", using the same modular parts to construct the OS, Android is not. It is like Android has taken the suspension and chassis of a BMW M3 GTR, they removed the engine and computer and made their own, simplified, proprietary version based on older, less robust technology, eschewing tested, reliable, open parts for proprietary parts in order to maintain control.
So Android is far from open, and you'd have to basically turn Android into real Linux first. The only part of Linux Android has is the kernel, which is very little of the equation. It lacks the powerful app frameworks and infrastructure all Linux OS have by default.
So Android is Linux, just as much as a TiVo is Linux. Using the kernel alone doesn't make it Linux. It is Linux BASED, just like a hemp rope is weed based. Good luck getting your puff puff give on with one..
Say I'd want to put and play http://www.miraigamer.net/cavestory/downloads_1.php on it.