Dell comes clean on open source

Dell has provided the code needed to compile a Streak ROM, finally becoming compliant with the Open Source licence, and not before time. The more technical Dell Streak owner will this morning be celebrating the availability of source code for the Streak‘s hardware drivers. This code allows fans to compile their own Android …

[Anonymous Coward]

not just matter of principle

> While only half a dozen people were affected there is a matter of principle at stake

I've a TMobile Pulse and follow the various ROM modding efforts for this ... Pulse was released with Android 1.5 with 2.1 "promised" - turns out that 2.1 is problematic as Pulse doesn't really have enough RAM (main effect is that it can accept an SMS message from network and then find that Android has killed the messaging app so there's nothing to process the message and it is silently dropped). Tmobile eventually released a 2.1 (but have subsequently retracted it) but this caused them to have to release the source code which they did a couple of days ago ... result was that the relevant half a dozen people in the Pulse community had within a few hours produced a new kernel which enabled swap which addresses the low RAM issue (Android can swap out apps rather than kill them) and all reports are that this makes 2.1 on Pulse very usable + they've also got initial port of 2.2 running.

[Anonymous Coward]

GPL

I speak for myself, it was fun reading your version of the GPL acronym, more than that nah, no big deal.

[James Hughes 1]

Thank God for principle

For a moment there, I thought I could get away with knocking off some people I don't like, but apparently its not the number that's important., and knocking off even one person can get you in to trouble

Who would have thunk it.

[The BigYin]

How long before...

...MS demands that Dell drop the 'droid and use Windows Mobile 7 instead?

[Morpho Devilpepper]

Kettle calls Pol Pot...what??

MS may demand all they want, but unlike Apple they won't dispatch armed police to force you to comply. Just sayin'.

I know my get-out-of-jail-free card is in one of these coat pockets...

[Anonymous Coward]

Open Source - definitely the way to go

Android 2+ for the Pulse! That is excellent news indeed. I will be getting a copy shortly...

This is one lesson hardware manufacturers should learn and a huge boost for the Open Source community. It demonstrates that no matter how good a team manufacturers have, they will never surpass the power of a global community working together on a project, simply driven by interest and the desire to get it working. The T-Mobile Pulse Android issue has been an issue with TM's customers for literally years and with the availability of an upgrade, TM might even find that the Pulse will have a second lease of life resulting in a win-win situation for both the manufacturer and users. What demonstrates the benefit of Open Source better than this?

[Tim Bates]

Good move, Dell

Well, on this news, I'm quite keen to buy a Streak 5. Just got to find someone who's grey-importing them to Australia, no thanks to Dell Australia being morons.

[candtalan]

GPL? which GPL?

I believe that there are as many different GPLs as you might wish to compose, with probably few of them mandating free software. As I understand it, the GNU GPL is more specifically what is intended in the reference, although it would be quite nice to have that confirmed.....