Community transition

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History

Sean Moss-Pultz (CEO of Openmoko Inc.) decided that the best path forward for the phone business is to turn the future of the Freerunner over to the community. (See the announcement for details)

In brief :

  • The Neo Freerunner development is now fully performed by the Gta02-core project
  • The community has permission to use the Openmoko brand/trademark for their efforts
  • Openmoko Inc. will continue to provide funding for operating the infrastructure (Wiki, GIT, Trac, Planet, ...)

Wish List

List here for what kinds of things OM can do to smooth this transition.

  • continue to funding the infrastructure
  • promote and sell the Freerunner
  • create the Openmoko foundation ?


FAQ

I'm using OM2008/2009 now. Will this distribution still be maintained ? Should I switch ? How ? What will change, what do I have to learn/unlearn ?

What will happen with FSO ? Will development continue ? Will a distribution carry it ?

What will happen with Paroli ? Will development continue ? Will a distribution carry it ?

How will the kernel be maintained ?

The kernel will be maintained by a group of volunteers. The main change now is that more than one person will be able to commit. The list of committers will be published soon.

These are the most important bugs that need to be fixed now.

This is the complete report with all the bugs (some of them might be invalid, please ask on IRC or in the mailing list before trying to fix one).

There is a current ongoing effort to get basic GTA02 support in the mainstream Linux kernel, the patches have been sent. Once this basic support is ready other drivers can be submitted as well. Many of the drivers need additional work to be suitable for upstream inclusion.

Will Openmoko continue selling FreeRunners ? For how long ?

There are still Freerunners available for purchase. According to Sean's email there are plenty of the A7 in stock.

I have a purchase/return/warranty/etc. in progress with Openmoko Inc. or a distributor. What will happen ?

I have buzz/#1024/no bass/etc. Can I still get it fixed ? How ?

Will the Openmoko Internet resources, Wiki, mailing lists, SVN, git, downloads, people, trac, etc., be shut down ?

No. Openmoko Inc. has committed to continuing to support the community by funding the resources available on openmoko.org.

From Sean's email announcement: "Openmoko Inc. then will act as the sponsor of this effort. We will continue to fund all necessary server infrastructure..."

Will "project B" continue ?

What's the future of Open phone hardware without Openmoko Inc. ?

Discussions have started to create an organization of Openmoko community members to continue the work started by the company.

Community Organization

(This is all pre-alpha. Feel free to get involved by changing things up and making additions.)

In order for development to continue on the Freerunner and any potential successors, the community needs to create an organization that can facilitate the project. We need an organization that will:

  • provide an organizational structure for projects
  • host and maintain community infrastructure such as mailing lists
  • arrange financing for projects
  • promote and raise awareness of the ideals, projects and products of the community

Jon 'maddog' Hall has offered for the Openmoko community to operate as a sub-group of Linux International. The offer has already received some support on the mailing list.

Projects

GTA02-core

The Gta02-core team is currently working on an improved version of the Freerunner.

GTA02-core needs an organization that can finance and arrange for production.

Paroli and OM2009?

Paroli and Om2009 were both lead directly by Openmoko Inc. The community organization could take over as sponsor of these projects.

Process and Structure

Part of creating a new organization is developing a structure and set of processes for how decisions will be made. Developing the structure entails creating positions, board(s) and committees that will have authority over various parts of the organization. Processes should cover:

  • how people will be selected to fill positions and sit on boards or committees
  • how decisions will be made on boards, committees and for the organization as a whole
  • what various projects, committees and other sub-groups will be responsible for

Process and structure are like the source code for an organization. Ideally we will develop processes that give all members opportunity to provide input, and do not become an obstacle to getting work done. It's important to remember right from the start that our goal is to foster development, not burden it down with bureaucracy!

This email from Jon on the openmoko-community mailing list contains some notes and advice on developing an organization that are well worth reading.

Retrieved from "http://openmoko.org/index.php?title=Community_transition&oldid=70767"
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History

Sean Moss-Pultz (CEO of Openmoko Inc.) decided that the best path forward for the phone business is to turn the future of the Freerunner over to the community. (See the announcement for details)

In brief :

  • The Neo Freerunner development is now fully performed by the Gta02-core project
  • The community has permission to use the Openmoko brand/trademark for their efforts
  • Openmoko Inc. will continue to provide funding for operating the infrastructure (Wiki, GIT, Trac, Planet, ...)

Wish List

List here for what kinds of things OM can do to smooth this transition.

  • continue to funding the infrastructure
  • promote and sell the Freerunner
  • create the Openmoko foundation ?


FAQ

I'm using OM2008/2009 now. Will this distribution still be maintained ? Should I switch ? How ? What will change, what do I have to learn/unlearn ?

What will happen with FSO ? Will development continue ? Will a distribution carry it ?

What will happen with Paroli ? Will development continue ? Will a distribution carry it ?

How will the kernel be maintained ?

The kernel will be maintained by a group of volunteers. The main change now is that more than one person will be able to commit. The list of committers will be published soon.

These are the most important bugs that need to be fixed now.

This is the complete report with all the bugs (some of them might be invalid, please ask on IRC or in the mailing list before trying to fix one).

There is a current ongoing effort to get basic GTA02 support in the mainstream Linux kernel, the patches have been sent. Once this basic support is ready other drivers can be submitted as well. Many of the drivers need additional work to be suitable for upstream inclusion.

Will Openmoko continue selling FreeRunners ? For how long ?

There are still Freerunners available for purchase. According to Sean's email there are plenty of the A7 in stock.

I have a purchase/return/warranty/etc. in progress with Openmoko Inc. or a distributor. What will happen ?

I have buzz/#1024/no bass/etc. Can I still get it fixed ? How ?

Will the Openmoko Internet resources, Wiki, mailing lists, SVN, git, downloads, people, trac, etc., be shut down ?

No. Openmoko Inc. has committed to continuing to support the community by funding the resources available on openmoko.org.

From Sean's email announcement: "Openmoko Inc. then will act as the sponsor of this effort. We will continue to fund all necessary server infrastructure..."

Will "project B" continue ?

What's the future of Open phone hardware without Openmoko Inc. ?

Discussions have started to create an organization of Openmoko community members to continue the work started by the company.

Community Organization

(This is all pre-alpha. Feel free to get involved by changing things up and making additions.)

In order for development to continue on the Freerunner and any potential successors, the community needs to create an organization that can facilitate the project. We need an organization that will:

  • provide an organizational structure for projects
  • host and maintain community infrastructure such as mailing lists
  • arrange financing for projects
  • promote and raise awareness of the ideals, projects and products of the community

Jon 'maddog' Hall has offered for the Openmoko community to operate as a sub-group of Linux International. The offer has already received some support on the mailing list.

Projects

GTA02-core

The Gta02-core team is currently working on an improved version of the Freerunner.

GTA02-core needs an organization that can finance and arrange for production.

Paroli and OM2009?

Paroli and Om2009 were both lead directly by Openmoko Inc. The community organization could take over as sponsor of these projects.

Process and Structure

Part of creating a new organization is developing a structure and set of processes for how decisions will be made. Developing the structure entails creating positions, board(s) and committees that will have authority over various parts of the organization. Processes should cover:

  • how people will be selected to fill positions and sit on boards or committees
  • how decisions will be made on boards, committees and for the organization as a whole
  • what various projects, committees and other sub-groups will be responsible for

Process and structure are like the source code for an organization. Ideally we will develop processes that give all members opportunity to provide input, and do not become an obstacle to getting work done. It's important to remember right from the start that our goal is to foster development, not burden it down with bureaucracy!

This email from Jon on the openmoko-community mailing list contains some notes and advice on developing an organization that are well worth reading.