How simputer COULD HAVE succeeded ?

[news at absamail.co.za]

> Staff Writer
> November 3 2005
> Cell phone giant Nokia has launched a portal to manage its open
> source software projects and promote community involvement.
> Opensource.nokia.com[61] features Nokia open source news and 
> links to all of its OSS projects.
> 
>    Launched yesterday at Nokia Mobility Conference 2005, Nokia
> currently features links to its open source browser for Series 60
> (S60 96 one of Nokia's mobile operating systems), Maemo, URIQA (URI
> Query Agent) and Python for S60. The portal itself is built on
> Nokia's open source semantic Web architecture, based on URIQA.
>  The open source browser for S60 third edition is based on the
> work done in one of Nokia's open source projects. The Maemo
> development platform provides the tools and the opportunity to
> collaborate with Nokia on future devices and open source releases in
> the Linux-based Internet tablet category. Python for S60 allows the
> developers who utilize the powerful Python programming language to
> execute Python commands and run Python scripts and applications on
> S60 devices.
>  "We believe that open source development
> contributes to the creation and rapid adaptation of mobile software
> technologies. The new portal demonstrates our commitment to open
> source activities, and it is a natural extension for our Forum Nokia
> online developer community. We welcome open source developers to
> participate in innovations to Nokia's software platforms," says Lee
> Epting, VP, Forum Nokia.
>  In addition to its own open
> source projects, Nokia contributes[87] to industry-wide open source
> projects and communities. It recently joined the Eclipse Foundation
> [88], leading a project to deliver mobile developer tools for Java.
> It has also contributed to the Linux kernel, various bluetooth
> projects, and others.
> ........etc .........

Apparently:
-  Python is a 'nice' language even for 'experienced' beginners,
-  by making a Python 'translator', immediately gave access to 
      a mass of Geeks, who will mutually collaborate/compete
       to pump out a lot of usefull applications, which will boost the 
       demand for the Nokia hardware.

This 'Apple phenomenon' which gave rise not only to the micro-
computer [hence PC] industry but also the radio, and aviation
industry is a social 'mechanism' which is completely strange and 
NOT understandable by native Indians.

Pity, since the simputer's hardware concepts: especially low power
& 'card' making individual useage vs individual ownership; were
so on-target, that the founders couldn't have planted the seeds
[as Nokia is duing] in the 1st world, for an "Apple syndrome" to 
escalate.

I predict that Nokia's demand will escalate by this "Apple syndrome".
Let's see ?

== Chris Glur.

PS. before investing time in Python, I wanted to find out if it 
can interface low-level, by eg. calling the OS or C...etc.
eg. could it call linux's "dd if=......" ?