Image: “Keep calm and use open source” (MedithIT/CC by)
Smile becomes a member of the Linux Foundation’s Yocto Project
The Yocto Project, says Smile (which now has 2,000 employees in Europe), is “an open source collaboration project that helps developers around the world create custom Linux systems, regardless of hardware architecture. The project provides a set of flexible tools and a space where embedded system developers from all backgrounds can share technologies, software stacks, configurations and even best practices. These contributions can be used to create custom Linux images for embedded devices, IoT, or anywhere a custom Linux operating system is needed.”
Smile announces that it is “strengthening its involvement with the Yocto Project, a project supported by the Linux foundation, by becoming a Silver member. This commitment culminates several years of technical contributions from Smile employees. In 2023, Smile stands out by strengthening its involvement in the Linux open source community. The Group’s customers are thus assured of the proper maintenance of their embedded and IoT projects over time, while benefiting from the operational excellence of the teams involved. (…)
Contributions from collaborators in the project have multiplied since the start of the year. Around twenty contributions have already been made since January. Having started with some trivial developments (cosmetic changes in the bitbake help and in the documentation), the contribution team then focused on correcting bugs known to the project (better management of long paths in package renaming and correction of recipes) and the addition of automated tests.”
Richard Purdie, Yocto Project Architect at the Linux Foundation, welcomes this, emphasizing that “this benefits Smile, the project as well as the ecosystem at large with certain contributions reported upstream. It’s great to see a new member getting involved in work like this and having such a positive impact.” Christophe Brunschweiler, Director BU Embedded & Connected Systems, Smile: “Becoming a member of the Yocto Project represents in fact the emerging part of our commitment: there are our contributions, of course, but also all the support and expertise that the Smile’s Embedded & Connected Systems team provides daily support to professionals who have chosen the Yocto Project for their Embedded Linux-based products. Several of our experts also regularly give training on the Yocto Project, including one at an advanced level: this has long contributed to the ever-increasing adoption of this solution.”
Crowdfunding for the Murena 2, “completely de-Googled”
Murena, a company led by Gaël Duval, has launched a crowdfunding campaign on Kickstarter for its new smartphone, which “promises to redefine privacy standards in the world of smartphones”. “Its flagship feature is its revolutionary Privacy Button, allowing users to instantly turn off the camera and microphone, establishing an unparalleled level of privacy.
Murena 2 is the pinnacle of privacy among Murena smartphones. Running under /e/OS, the fully de-Googled open-source mobile operating system, it allows users to regain full control of their data. With /e/OS, users can block trackers in apps, fake their location, or hide their IP address for maximum security. Thanks to /e/OS the Murena 2 is the only smartphone to offer these advanced privacy features to the general public.
Murena 2 also features a second Quiet Button designed to disable all network connectivity and mute all audio, creating a distraction-free environment. No more unwanted calls, unwanted notifications or annoying noises. Users can go off-grid in one click and enjoy a peaceful break.”
The Murena 2 announces a 25-megapixel front camera and a triple rear camera (5-megapixel, 13-megapixel, 64-megapixel), as well as a high-resolution 6.43-inch screen, a storage capacity of 128 GB, 8 GB of RAM, an octa-core processor clocked at 2.1 GHz and a 4000 mAh battery.
The crowdfunding campaign, which ends in two days, aimed for 25,000 euros, it has already reached 178,000, with 438 contributors. The first contributors to this campaign benefited from reductions of up to 50% on the final public price planned at €499 including tax (there are still possibilities ranging from 10 to 40% reduction). Delivery of Murena 2 is scheduled for December 2023 for its first buyers, and January 2024 for everyone else.
/e/OS, its operating system, “is completely de-Googled and based on proven free software. Our code is auditable and published so that everyone can consult it freely,” explains the company.
The battle between open source and “some kind of open source” goes back a long way
HashiCorp (publisher of Vaul, Terraform and Nomad, tools for developers) left the Mozilla Public License (MPL) this year for the Business Source License (BSL). An abandonment of open source which occupied a lot of discussions in Monterrey (California), during the recent summit of members of the Linux foundation, reports Steven Vaughan-Nichols in The Register. The journalist is surprised, however, that people seem to believe the new question: “This is far from the first or even the tenth time that a company has taken open source code and either transformed it into a program owner, or wrapped in owner. First, people have long taken open source code, erased the license, and moved on. This isn’t necessarily stealing, because some licenses, like the MIT License and the Two-Clause BSD License, allow companies and developers to use their code in proprietary programs. For example, we all know MIT programs such as Angular, .NET, Node.js, Ruby on Rails and React.
Then follows the case of programs that started as open source, but whose owners have changed the licenses over time, so that most people no longer know that they have an open source origin, such as Apple macOS. The Register also cites Red Hat and its increasing restrictions on code sharing. “You might argue, and many do, that Red Hat is no longer really an open source company. Critics say Red Hat may still be adhering to the letter of the GPL, but no longer adhering to its spirit.
In all these cases, notes Steven Vaughan-Nichols, the common point is the desire for more money? The Bible says that “the love of money is the root of all evil”, “I don’t know, but I know that the love of money and the principles of open source do not household.” And he concludes with a quote from Richard Stallman: while for RMS there is nothing wrong with wanting to be paid for your work, “extracting money from the users of a program by restricting their use is destructive.”
Read also
Free and open source express: Numeum, Linagora, privacy on smartphones – July 29, 2023
Red Hat suspected of betraying open source – July 5, 2023