ouroboros

OMG - Nokia buys Symbian, MSoft screwed? Google kneecapped?

This is going to take a lot to process.  And there's a lot to be worked out (what does "royalty-free to members of the alliance" mean in practice?  Will this be Open like Linux, or 'Open' like...brrrr...AT&T/Verizon Wireless?). 

But OMG, IN YOUR FACE, iPhone (6MM handset sold US, 10MM projected by years end) and Google Android Handsets (None sold, nor to be sold soon):  Nokia (1 Billion handsets in market) just got all 'Open-Source' Symbian on you.

"On Tuesday, companies including Nokia, Motorola, NTT DoCoMo, LG Electronics, Samsung, Sony Ericsson, AT&T, Texas Instruments, STMicroelectronics and Vodafone announced that they will work together to make the Symbian OS open source. They will offer it under a royalty-free license to members of a new nonprofit group called the Symbian Foundation.

Symbian is used in about 60 percent of the world's smartphones [~200MM handsets], which means that open-source software will soon drive the majority of those devices. The proprietary model behind mobile operating systems from Microsoft, Research In Motion and Apple, then, will for the first time be in the minority."

- Nancy Gohring, IDG News Services, Symbian Shifts Mobile World to Open Source, for PC World

Golly. 

200MM handsets in market using Symbian.  Sure there will be legacy issues with handsets running older Symbian software, but c'mon.  Microsoft's like "yeah, no worries.  We don't see much of a change in the short term based on this announcement".  That's like the Titanic's captain saying "well, in the light of news about an iceberg dead ahead, we see no need to alter our current course".  Dude, did you read the FREE part?  The market leader against whom MSoft is struggling for dominance in the mobile OS market [Symbian] just made their product free.  Microsoft CHARGES people to use their mobile OS.

"It's unclear whether device manufacturers will want to continue paying high fees for Windows Mobile license when [Nokia] the market leader suddenly cut costs to zero." - J. Nicholas Hoover, Symbian's Open Source Gambit Ups Stakes in Mobile OS War, for Information Week

Really?  Unclear whether people will want to pay for something they can have for free?

Nokia just made a BOLD MOVE. 

Some say they've grabbed their future, others that they've just opened up mobility.  Good piece over at ZDNet byEd Burnette discusses Symbian deal winners and Losers.

Another reason to love Oregon

[via slashdot]

"NewYorkCountryLawyer writes "The University of Oregon has filed a motion to quash the RIAA's subpoena for information on student identities in what is believed to be the first such motion made by a university with support from the state Attorney General.

The AG's motion argues that [the RIAA] subpoena is unduly burdensome and overbroad.  One commentator has likened the AG's argument to saying, in effect, that the RIAA's evidence is 'rubbish'."

Will The DRM Walls Come Tumbling Down?

Apple is on the move, and when it moves, we pay attention. 1. EMI to go DRM-free???  IF TRUE, and we'll find out Monday, THIS IS A GAME CHANGER.

Mashable writes "EMI announced on Sunday that it has an “exciting new digital offering,” for the media event to be held in London on Monday with Steve Jobs as a special guest, furthering speculation that that the Beatles may finally become available for download through iTunes, says Reuters." "While the Beatles story has since been played down, it does seem that EMI has a big announcement to make - possibly, according to Engadget (via the Wall Street Journal, which seems to confirm the story), they will announce that EMI will allow DRM free tracks to be sold through iTunes."

That's right, no Digital Rights Management ("DRM"). 

That means NO COPY PROTECTION. 

Music - freely available across all devices, players, etc.  Music you could mix, remix, or whip into batter.

Mashable continues, "if true, the move would be extremely popular with consumers. And if the decision is declared a success, it could also lead to other labels following suit..." 2. Apple iTunes 'Complete My Album' feature allows users to credit individual (read: .99 cent) song purchases against the purchase of the complete album from which the song came.  Makes sense.  But then - didn't many of these songs get sold singly BECAUSE IT WAS THE ONLY GOOD SONG ON THE ALBUM? we'll be watching both...