If you combine two of last year's buzzwords in one deal, does that make it a) twice as good b) exponentially better c) A sign that two companies are looking to regain some of their dimming buzz.
In this case the buzzwords are wireless and open-source, and the answer surprisingly, is b). In a truly bold, but little noted move (hey Motorola--next time don't make the announcement on a national holiday, the day before you axe 2500 workers) Motorola has teamed with CollabNet to offer a suite of software development tools and a free hosting platform for it's iDEN system.
Now most people in the wireless industry haven't followed the open-source shtick to closely, and with good reason. They're too busy creating proprietary software that does the exact same thing as seven-hundred other companies and thinking that "Maybe if our widget is a little beter than the other 699, we really will make that 5 billion dollar 2002 revenue projection we put in our business plan!"
In general the benefits to opening source code outweigh the risks. As Sting said, "if you love your code, set it free." (He was mumbling.) By letting it out to get some fresh air, companies access a global network of guys who are so good at coding, they do it for fun. (Social, pathetic and sad, but social.) This speeds up the development cycle and allows companies to gain penetration faster and establish standards. Don't think Motorola doesn't hear DoCoMo breathing down its neck.
Of equal importance as the higher quality product that results, is the network of users that develop and consult with each other. A sense of techie ownership ensues and the platform traction rockets into the stratosphere . From the 5000 or so developers currently working on the iDEN platform, you suddenly have millions across the globe available to throw their two cents in.
The iDEN developer support program has been established to facilitate the development of applications for Motorola's Java(tm) 2 Platform, Micro Edition (J2ME) technology-enabled multiple communications and computing handsets, which are expected to be available in the first half of this year through iDEN network operators including Nextel Communications and Southern LINC in the United States and TELUS Mobility/Clearnet Communications in Canada. The program provides virtually everything developers need to build applications and get them to market, including tools, technical support, marketing, distribution, e-commerce backend processing and end user support. Hopefully, the open-source community shock the wireless web out of the stagnation it currently faces.
The fact that Motorola made this move is even more surprising, considering its headquarters are tucked away in suburban Chicago, within spitting distance of O'Hare airport and a giant rotating Baby Ruth/Butterfinger sign. But I digress… Chicago isn't exactly the thought center for liberal business practices. Sears, Speigel and Hormel are not Yahoo!, RedHat and Idealab.
A final, and unexpected affect of the deal could be an acceleration towards the inevitability of wireless becoming a computing industry instead of a telcom industry. The concept has already caught on with traditional hardware and software vendors like Sun, Oracle and HP, who use CollabNet to integrate collaborative development into their business strategies.
If the programmers who work on systems for these companies really sink their teeth into wireless, the carrier-induced slowdown may come to a shocking end.
