Yes, the N9 would run what could be deemed as a Linux 'distribution', as opposed to Android which is just running a modified Linux kernel. The N9 will be running what Nokia is calling 'MeeGo Harmattan' which is actually just Maemo Harmattan (the codebase following Maemo 5, which was released on the N900). The last time I looked into information on Harmattan, I believe Nokia were going with an RPM based package manager and moving away from the more obviously debian based solution they went with for Maemo 5.<div>
<br></div><div>As far as your requirement for a mobile phone that doesn't run proprietary 'software', it depends on how strict you define that. If you define it down to the driver level, it's going to be very difficult for you to find a GSM based mobile phone that doesn't use proprietary software.</div>
<div><br></div><div>Of course, you can always install a different OS on there that use community built drivers and risk losing some functionality ;)</div><div><br></div><div>But then again, what it all boils down to is: what do you personally expect a mobile phone to do? After my own toiling with the Nokia N900, I can easily see why droves of people flock to Apple's offering. There is a line to be drawn (at least for me) where the complexity of a phone exceeds it's practicality. Android makes a good balance for me. Maemo was a very nice idea in principle, but just ended up frustrating me. I get the distinct feeling that OpenMoko would frustrate me even moreso.</div>
<div><br></div><div>Sometimes I miss the days before Psion had opened pandora's box :(<br><br><div class="gmail_quote">On 24 June 2011 04:00, Bob Ham <span dir="ltr"><rah@bash.sh></span> wrote:<br><blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="margin:0 0 0 .8ex;border-left:1px #ccc solid;padding-left:1ex;">
<div class="im">On Thu, 2011-06-23 at 02:14 +0100, Andrew Bates wrote:<br>
<br>
> be prepared for maybe 6 months of support from Nokia<br>
<br>
</div>Having been looking at the market for a phone recently, my criteria for<br>
a desirable phone is: does it run a Linux distribution? With, of<br>
course, a preference for hardware that doesn't require proprietary<br>
software to use it. I find myself scouring ebay for models in this<br>
list:<br>
<br>
<a href="http://shr-project.org/trac/wiki/Devices" target="_blank">http://shr-project.org/trac/wiki/Devices</a><br>
<br>
If/when I find myself with the budget of an employed person, I'll be<br>
looking at a Palm Pre 2. Not to use it as a webOS device of course,<br>
just as some hardware onto which SHR can be installed.<br>
<br>
The software provided by phone manufacturers now interests me just as<br>
much as the software provided by computer manufacturers. Which is to<br>
say, it doesn't interest me at all :-)<br>
<br>
Bob<br>
<font color="#888888"><br>
--<br>
Bob Ham <rah@bash.sh><br>
<br>
for (;;) { ++pancakes; }<br>
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