OStatic

Those of us with mixed systems and quirky smartphones here at OStatic (which works out to just about everyone) have been impressed by Funambol's open source push and sync services. Admittedly, though, with the pervasiveness of smartphones and sync tools, Funambol's various applications, open as they are, still feel pedestrian.

Today, Funambol announced its new mobile product, designed to push you, your phone, and the information loaded on you both anywhere (well, almost anywhere -- your mileage may vary in water, swamp land, and quicksand). The iCar has been called a major transportation breakthrough by Funambol CEO Fabrizio Capobianco, but don't just take his word for it.

Amazon turned quite a few heads when it announced that it would be entering the music download business by selling MP3s unencumbered by Digital Rights Management (DRM). Now Amazon is raising the stakes even further by offering its download client for Linux, in addition to the existing Mac OS X and Windows clients.

By dint of its openness and multiple platform support, users should really be looking to Amazon -- rather than Apple -- for their digital music needs.

Miro, nee Democracy Player, released its version 1.0 Tuesday, officially leaving beta behind. The open source video subscription, download and viewing client from the Participatory Culture Foundation (PCF) hopes to be not just more open, but more popular than other online video services.

The folks over at the Participatory Culture Foundation are gearing up for the 1.0 release of their Miro video player, formerly known as Democracy, and you can practically hear them sharpening their knives. The Getmiro.com web site is now featuring a comparison of Miro and Joost, and Joost doesn't get much love: Miro is open like the Internet. Joost works like a cable company with DRM. Snap!