LWN: Comments on "Openmoko Community Update"

Openmoko Community Update

ssam — Wed, 02 Feb 2011 14:16:28 +0000

there is a draft reference manual attached to
http://lists.goldelico.com/pipermail/gta04-owner/2011-Jan...
if you want more hardware details.

Gta02-core also dead

dcbw — Tue, 01 Feb 2011 23:15:23 +0000

The baseband is apparently an Option-rebranded Qualcomm Gobi device. Which sucks, since Qualcomm is about the most unfriendly when it comes to open-source, especially in the baseband division.

While I'm not sure what changes Option has been allowed to make to the Gobi firmware (an Option engineer told me they can't make many) the Gobi devices expose only one AT port, a GPS port (that can't be used for AT commands), a DIAG port, and a QMI port.

The DIAG and QMI protocols are proprietary and only partially reverse-engineered. QMI requires a proprietary, closed userspace helper library for things as simple as SMS and getting the current access technology (ie GPRS, EDGE, UMTS, HSPA, etc).

So going with a Gobi (even if it's coming from Option) is a strange choice for a project that built it's reputation on openness. Especially if the modules don't support a full suite of AT commands on multiple ports, which the Gobi parts don't with normal Qualcomm firmware.

Gta02-core also dead

coriordan — Tue, 01 Feb 2011 21:47:21 +0000

Might there be a free GSM stack for it when Harald Welte's project is ready?

http://laforge.gnumonks.org/weblog/2010/08/14/
http://lists.osmocom.org/pipermail/baseband-devel/2010-Au...

Gta02-core also dead

neilbrown — Tue, 01 Feb 2011 21:31:28 +0000

I *think* the only closed bit is the OpenVR 3D video which needs a closed module for X (I *think* the kernel side is open).

And of course the firmware inside the GSM/3G device etc are closed.

But everything else seems to be open.

Gta02-core also dead

alvieboy — Tue, 01 Feb 2011 20:28:50 +0000

Unfortunately, our own gta02-core project (a full open-source design based on GTA02) is also a bit dead lately. GTA04 is also facing a fierce competition on mobile devices, one that makes it ultimately difficult to live to tell your story.

I don't know the device, but I suspect again it won't be fully open-source (as gta02-core aimed to). Can anyone confirm ?

Alvaro