Randy Arnold's Blog

I have a confession to make that might not sit well in the AppUp World:

I’m a longtime AMD system builder.

I have to qualify that though.  Eons ago, when I first started assembling my own personal computers, CPU competition was fairly open.  Intel could not keep up with the demand at the time, so they licensed x86 production to various foundries– many that aren’t even around now.  I was a hardware opportunist, scavenging and cannibalizing and repurposing any part I could.  So it didn’t matter if a CPU was made by Intel or AMD or Cyrix or whoever… as long as I could use it, I did.

But over time competitors died or withdrew from that business, and for a while it was pretty much an Intel and AMD world for desktops.  

For the builder on a budget, AMD was the default choice price/performance-wise.  You could typically get 90% of Intel’s power for 80% of the price.  Yes, there were occasional software compatibility issues, but AMD was usually quick to solve them.  So over the years I have happily constructed system-after-AMD-driven-system, and am to this day still enjoying a 4-core 64-bit Opteron beast that takes everything I throw at it.

I also find myself embedded in Intel’s MeeGo venture after Nokia has reduced its involvement.  Over the past year, I’ve come to realize that “Chipzilla’s” CPU and operating system businesses are a universe apart.  Where Intel gets into occasional trouble for alleged monopolist practices on the hardware side, its software efforts are solidly open source.  In fact, its Open Source Technology Center (OTC) is a major contributor to the Linux kernel.

From my perspective, Intel looks bipolar.

But I’m perfectly content focusing on Chipzilla’s soft side.  After all, I’m still dreaming of an open mobile device ecosystem, and Intel may well be the best-suited corporate behemoth to pull such a thing off.  Whereas handset manufacturers like Nokia may struggle to monetize MeeGo, Intel faces no such dilemma.  As a core component supplier, it’s in Intel’s best interests to get into as many channels, and thus end products, as possible.  Open markets serve those interests well.  Cell phone service providers have expressed a preference for open mobile ecosystems, so they can plug in their own services rather then be shut out by device manufacturers, like Apple, who prefer to control the entire user experience.  And even if MeeGo fails to gain traction in the glorious world of mobile handsets, it supports so many other platforms that it should still find success.

Intel’s main challenge has been in getting the power demands of mobile CPUs into reasonable ranges, and new developments like their 3D transistor technology should go far in solving that.

I’m hoping that, if nothing else, Intel’s sheer size and presence will enable and empower a rich, open MeeGo ecosystem.  One where any service provider can find a foothold, and customers can decide who survives based on quality and depth of service rather than be stuck with the results of paranoid, protectionist behaviors.  As things look now, with Google asserting more control over Android, MeeGo may well be the sole solution in that regard.  And as more manufacturers plug into Intel’s vision, the possibilities will just increase.

Like many high-tech companies, Nokia’s success depends not only on its vast assembly of internal talent, but also on the numerous volunteer advocates and ambassadors of its solutions in the wild.  To that end, Nokia formalizes recognition of top volunteers with its Forum Nokia Champion program.  Since 2006, hundreds of hard-working community leaders have been awarded this 1-year designation… which brings with it free devices, training and occasional travel to events.

As I wrote recently, it was under these auspices that along with several others I recently enjoyed sponsored travel to Microsoft’s MIX11 conference.  This came as a virtue of Nokia and Microsoft’s new close partnership around Windows Phone 7.  It’s a given that Microsoft MVPs would be represented at a MIX event, but this was a first for Forum Nokia and travel arrangements were made almost at the last minute.  

That would explain why, outside of our initial meetup, there was no real agenda for Champions at the event.  On one hand it was nice to have the freedom to do as I pleased with my time there… but the professional in me felt twinges of guilt (due to Nokia’s expense) and some bit of awkwardness.  Probably residue of Maemo and MeeGo conferences, where I always had some role.

Finding Further Purpose

To that point, it would have been nice to have had a defined role at MIX11… no matter how small.  I can’t speak for every Champion in attendance but I did talk with several who agreed having a specific purpose at the event would have been ideal.  After all, Microsoft’s MVPs were highly visible and involved… and they can be considered a Forum Nokia Champion analog.

So it was very helpful to spend a lunch with Ashley Walker of Nokia, along with a few other Champions, and kick ideas around.  The general consensus was that we were recognized for past and potential contributions– why not take further advantage of that?

True, Champions are wearing that badge because they’ve already stepped up.  But some of us can and will do more.  We can certainly aid at events like MIX11 in some capacities.  In addition to traditional event volunteer roles, many of us have already been teaching or presenting and could fill in for last-minute speaker vacancies or even provide ad hoc talks.  We could also participate in cross-pollination activities, helping partners like Microsoft better understand the needs of Nokia developers and customers for instance.  I would have especially liked a Champion-MVP social mixer.

My Involvement

I was accepted as a Forum Nokia Champion for Maemo/MeeGo community involvement.  As Nokia distances itself from both platforms, I have to wonder where I can contribute.  As long as MeeGo is viable I intend to support it, and I once again find myself on the Maemo community council in the hope that we can still find usefulness in what has been an interesting and rewarding experiment in open source.

What’s funny for me personally is that I have many years of Microsoft Visual Studio (and zero Qt so far) development experience, and at MIX11 it was confirmed that I could easily move to WP7 app coding based on that.  The question is, could I easily live in both worlds?  Do I even have the time and energy?  Would it be a problem for Forum Nokia?

The Future?

One persistent theme amongst Forum Nokia Champions since the Nokia-Microsoft announcement in February 2011 is “where do we go now?”.  Questions about Symbian and Qt resound.  Some Champions are immediately ready to move into the WP7 world but others are still heavily invested in Qt and reluctant to leave that ecosystem.  It doesn’t help that Nokia has not identified a satisfactory migration path for them.

Then, too, questions have arisen about the future of Forum Nokia itself as Nokia undergoes significant organization changes.  Microsoft once cancelled its MVP program (only to relent a few days later after a huge outcry)– hopefully Nokia has no such plans.  But I do expect some sort of changes as the Nokia-Microsoft partnership develops further.  Hopefully current (and even past) Champions will be approached to help define the future of the program.  Ashley at least was very open to our input.

As for me, I’ve decided I’m going to make an effort and code up at least one Windows Phone 7 application.  I hope to have more on that in a future article.  For now, I’m interested in hearing everyone’s thoughts on what’s been covered here… especially those of Forum Nokia Champions past and present.  Well?