Amarok to Palm: "Forget Apple, Come to Us!"
Open source project Amarok, in an open letter to Palm, has invited the company to work with them. The reason: the Apple iTunes 8.2.1 update guarantees that the Linux-based Palm Pre smartphone can no longer use the iTunes music management software.
Dutch KDE developer Bart "Stecchino" Cerneels wrote in a July 16 Amarok blog addressed as an open letter to the Sunnyvale CA handheld provider: "You're in the business of selling phones, not software. I don't think deciding to 'outsource' this to Apple was a smart move though. So now the bully is attacking you on *their* playground... You could go crying to the [lawsuit court]. But if you have a problem, if no one else can help, and if you can find them, maybe you can hire the Amarok team!" He adds: "We promise not to change our application to prevent users [from using] Amarok with your device."
Another Amarok developer supported him in a separate KDE.News entry. Under the title "The Business of Free," Nikolaj Hald Nielsen described the possible collaboration between the free Amarok project and the Silicon Valley firm that could ultimately profit both entities. He was referring to the recent Gran Canaria Desktop Summit talk given by Cerneels and himself of an already mutually beneficial collaboration between Amarok and the Magnatune online music store, by way of example. It's clear from Nielsen's bio that he has since become lead programmer at Magnatune (in addition to his work at Amarok) after integrating the Magnatune shop into Amarok three years ago.
Palm customers won't be able use the current iTunes on their smartphone as easily when the iTunes 8.2.1 update appears. The news came from Arik Hesseldahl in a July 15 Business Week blog. The Palm Pre was apparently being marketed as an iPod device so as to sync up with iTunes, thus making Palm an iPod and iPhone competitor. This was beginning to rankle Apple in mid-June, as they reported in a support notice.
The Palm Pre with its Linux-based webOS was announced at the Las Vegas Consumer Electronics Show in January. June 16 Palm's promised Mojo SDK also became available to app developers.
Comments
comments powered by DisqusSubscribe to our Linux Newsletters
Find Linux and Open Source Jobs
Subscribe to our ADMIN Newsletters
Support Our Work
Linux Magazine content is made possible with support from readers like you. Please consider contributing when you’ve found an article to be beneficial.
News
-
So Long Neofetch and Thanks for the Info
Today is a day that every Linux user who enjoys bragging about their system(s) will mourn, as Neofetch has come to an end.
-
Ubuntu 24.04 Comes with a “Flaw"
If you're thinking you might want to upgrade from your current Ubuntu release to the latest, there's something you might want to consider before doing so.
-
Canonical Releases Ubuntu 24.04
After a brief pause because of the XZ vulnerability, Ubuntu 24.04 is now available for install.
-
Linux Servers Targeted by Akira Ransomware
A group of bad actors who have already extorted $42 million have their sights set on the Linux platform.
-
TUXEDO Computers Unveils Linux Laptop Featuring AMD Ryzen CPU
This latest release is the first laptop to include the new CPU from Ryzen and Linux preinstalled.
-
XZ Gets the All-Clear
The back door xz vulnerability has been officially reverted for Fedora 40 and versions 38 and 39 were never affected.
-
Canonical Collaborates with Qualcomm on New Venture
This new joint effort is geared toward bringing Ubuntu and Ubuntu Core to Qualcomm-powered devices.
-
Kodi 21.0 Open-Source Entertainment Hub Released
After a year of development, the award-winning Kodi cross-platform, media center software is now available with many new additions and improvements.
-
Linux Usage Increases in Two Key Areas
If market share is your thing, you'll be happy to know that Linux is on the rise in two areas that, if they keep climbing, could have serious meaning for Linux's future.
-
Vulnerability Discovered in xz Libraries
An urgent alert for Fedora 40 has been posted and users should pay attention.
More Power to Linux
I'm Belgian
Thanks for posting this on your site, we like the word to be spread so hopefully something will come of this. It will mean a boost for all Free Software multimedia applications.