Linux Maybe Wrong Choice For Gph?

[codeninja]

Linux surely help GP2x appeal to GPL crowd, but I'm sure they didn't think of what would come with native Linux support. They must be under pressure to open up their source at the same time worrying about copycats from China to just outright steal their console. This is a fundamental conflict that any bussiness that's adopting GPL software would face, I think. Business is out to make money, and in order to make money business should prove their product has unique merits. By opening up their trade secrets, there's not much left for them to stay unique.

Surely, using existing OS helped them get started faster, but it came with slower loading time, and they also inherited whatever existing problems on the OS.

IMO, they may have been smarter by writing their own optimized OS for the machine and release the SDK for it so that they can control the openness. Of course, whether they actually have technology to write their own firmware from scratch is a whole new subject that I'm not too sure about at the moment.

 

[FFNoir]

Well, even if Chinese copycats try this, they won't get far. The Open-Source community will see to that... *cues eerily similar Conspiracy music*

 

[PSyMastR]

Ya, I totally agree. If that china company was unknown, we'd already have the source. Also, nice sig.

 

[Ferentix]

What Chinese copycats are these? I keep hearing about them on the boards...

Chinese copycat consoles are so freaking funny When I was in Hong Kong, I saw Nintando GameBos (the "a" in Nintando was the normal "e" flipped upside down)- a GBA like case, but with a vertical screen, Seni Polystations (PS1 like casing in bright green and blue, with dozens of pirated games on) to mention just two! Absolutely brilliant

 

[FFNoir]

Oh we musn't forget the Popstation, NeoDouble Games, and Gameking... all which claim to have a color screen

 

[Vimacs]

He, gameking is no clone but a rather funny original handheld, some games for it are even named to make fun!

 

[FFNoir]

It's a clone of the PSP and GBA (GK:GBA GKIISP) designwise... like the Popstation (PSP) and Neo Double Games (DS)...

 

[aapje89]

What Chinese copycats are these? I keep hearing about them on the boards...

Chinese copycat consoles are so freaking funny When I was in Hong Kong, I saw Nintando GameBos (the "a" in Nintando was the normal "e" flipped upside down)- a GBA like case, but with a vertical screen, Seni Polystations (PS1 like casing in bright green and blue, with dozens of pirated games on) to mention just two! Absolutely brilliant

​

LOL, I want to go to hong kong

 

[FFNoir]

Well Hong-Kongs pretty cool... You can alot of official systems cheap there (and of questionable origin)...

 

[lucoxade]

If someone was gonna bother to ripoff the GP2X they would have done it anyways, Linux or no Linux

 

[FFNoir]

Besides...
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*Battery low: Shut Down commencing*

 

[barnesy]

Has anoyone established if this chinese copy is just a lookalike or is it meant to be a workalike? I'd thought it was just a comedy lookalike.

 

[torpor]

excuse me while i throw a can of gasoline on this huge straw man.

linux is -not- the 'wrong choice' for GPH, nor the gp2x, nor any other product of its ilk, which wishes to establish new territories in as yet unexplored yet entirely prosperous grounds; rapid expansion of development for a new platform has, for 30 years now, been a mantra of computing growth: it won't just 'stop' because of linux, GPH, the gp2x, or any other machines out there capable of running code.

linux gives GPH, and any other serious hardware developer (seriously, hardware is serious business; software is nothing without it) a huge kick in the pants. by now, linux as a platform - for software development on a variety of hardware realms - is all we have to compete against the hegemony of imperialistic super-corporations hell-bent on defining society as they see fit.

seriously, the fact that linux is 100% open (even if GPH can't keep up with that) and available to all who would want to press hardware into some functional service, cannot possibly be an impediment. sure, you can trip over yourself in your ignorance of the dynamics of open source software, but from the beginning GPH have sought to exploit this dynamic. its a huge fire hose of enthusiasm from developers who may well begin a new 'super-market' in their spare, hacking time ..

consider the gp2x release as it is right now as hardware seeding; inevitably, open2x and other open platforms inspired by the open nature of the gp2x hardware platform, will address the GPL issue as it stands right now (which isn't a big deal).

honestly, nobody is getting a gp2x who wouldn't, or couldn't, be a hacker of the machine itself, thanks to the open nature of linux and its toolset .. and that means one thing: developers, developers, developers .. always a good thing.

 

[OCA|]

linux is -not- the 'wrong choice' for GPH..

I'm not quite sure of that, yet. If they manage to get the source out before they are burned alive by those in the community who seem to only care about the source, then yes, in the long run, Linux will be a massive benefit.

In the meantime, it would seem that the source issue is actively tearing the community apart, getting GPH all sorts of legal threats (often from community members and not actual copywrite holders - Barak excluded, of course), all the while GPH is just trying to get units out the door to customers who've aready paid (which, I might add, would normally be considered a "good" thing). The ferocity some are showing in persuing this is surely destroying much of the goodwill GPH had towards the community.

I'm not saying that GPH is entirely without fault; I'm not saying people don't have a right to demand the source; And I'm not saying that GPH hasn't clearly violated the GPL.

I am saying that they would be in a whole lot better situation *RIGHT NOW* had they chosen to use non-GPL code in their handheld instead of Linux.

That's highly ironic comming from me, considering "it runs Linux" was a large part of the reason that I looked into it in the first place.

-OCA|

 

[torpor]

I'm not saying that GPH is entirely without fault; I'm not saying people don't have a right to demand the source; And I'm not saying that GPH hasn't clearly violated the GPL.

sure, the demand has been made, and GPH have stated that the source release, and SDK, etc. are going to be available when the console is 'officially available': January.

there is nothing stopping you from putting your own linux kernel build on the gp2x, incidentally, right now. it can be done .. and as of right now, there is absolutely -zero- reason for demands for support on doing this to be going to GPH, either. GPH have shipped working hardware; you can, quite easily, get linux on there yourself, your own builds, your own GPL'ed code.

Anyone paying attention to this scene would know that GPH rushed the hardware release in order to cater to pre-orders from developers who wanted to get in on the GPH hardware for coding, first. GPH have openly admitted they were not ready, as they consider, to handle the developer support as of right now, and they have also delayed further production until january, in order to deal with it. The gp2x's we have now are a hardware seeding release, at best.

When the console release is 'official', and the source/open2x tarball isn't available, then you can start complaining: but what we have right now is a company ramping up its production to get developers their machines so that things can be ready for January, 2006.

This "GPL Issue" (what issue, seriously?) is a noisy subject, and most of the noise is coming from people who aren't actually developing code, using GPL tools, for the gp2x. They are, instead, making noise.

In the meantime, there are perfectly capable open-source efforts going on for the GP2X, full steam ahead, and as has always been the case with F/OSS, those who write code, do, those who don't, talk about it ..

 

[OCA|]

and GPH have stated that the source release, and SDK, etc. are going to be available when the console is 'officially available': January.

Actually, Craigix says they are going to give him the code sooner - Monday, he hopes.

I hope that happens - then we can all put this mess behind us.

-OCA|

 

[codeninja]

and GPH have stated that the source release, and SDK, etc. are going to be available when the console is 'officially available': January.

Actually, Craigix says they are going to give him the code sooner - Monday, he hopes.

I hope that happens - then we can all put this mess behind us.

-OCA|

​

Hurray! I hope Craigix keeps the source code among serious GPH backers for a while though. Or, if that make those GPL lovers scream, he should come up with method to screen out those il-intended people. Anyway, having a bunch of brilliant minds working on firmware fix is way better than 1 engineer handling them all while helping shipping the units.

 

[AireTamStorm]

I think it was a good idea. Gave current Linux devs an entry point to making games, provided a standardized base for software to run on, made things generally easy to port (can't wait for frozen bubble, or maybe...TuxRacer!!!), and saved money at the same time.

The GPL is not an issue here, and (secrets again) everyone has access to Linux source code, in one form or another, which means we have 99.9998% of the code already. Kernel code isnt a big secret here ^_^

There are also updates for all the little pieces that make this thing tick being worked on by their independent developers, which makes alot of updates easy to implement. They could stop developing the firmware and just release the source, and you would still see updates available.

As for trade secrets, this is open source software. It was written by a bunch of guys that wanted their own alternatives, and released it to be used free of charge on the net, given some conditions (the GPL). Abiding by these conditions is nothing to ask in return for being able to release such a great product.

 

[OCA|]

I hope Craigix keeps the source code among serious GPH backers for a while though. Or, if that make those GPL lovers scream, he should come up with method to screen out those il-intended people.

No, if he (acting on GPH's behalf) did that, they would stil be in violation of the GPL. The fuss we've seen so far is nothing compared to the fury that would be unleashed if access to to the code was restricted in any way.

-OCA|

 

[Jarska333]

But, is there anything in the GPL stating WHEN the source has to be released?