OStatic

Ah, the open source business model, and the inevitable question that always accompanies its mention -- How can you make money if you give the product away? Then come the raised eyebrows when you mention support and training services. It does work, of course. Any business, whether it makes open or proprietary software products, or noise makers and party hats, needs to diligently think of ways to make its products more useful and appealing to its current -- and potential -- markets.

One of the best ways to do this is to just listen. What are current users (or those who'd like to, but...) asking for? Funambol is no stranger to asking its users how they feel about the business and its services, and seriously considering the feedback that is received. Customer demand is in large part why Funambol now offers hosting services for its commercial Carrier Edition software.

Want to hear an odd little theory (or perhaps more of a personal hang up) of mine? I don't own a Mac, and have never owned a Mac -- and I can say without reservation that many Macs I've worked with have been great, robust little machines. I also have never owned any Apple device (iPod, iPhone, or even a Newton). There are a few reasons on that front, one being that I don't have a Mac, and historically I've seen that these devices just don't play as well on other platforms as they do on Macs.

Here's the rub: Macs are nice, contained sorts of bio-domes, technological terrariums of sorts. The hardware and software all work together by design (which makes computing pleasant when all goes to plan and frustrating when it doesn't). When you need (or want) to use an outside service, problems ranging from aesthetic annoyances to complete non-communication arise.

Open-Xchange is an open source groupware and email alternative to Microsoft's Exchange Server. Though Open-Xchange previously supported Mac systems to some degree, it wasn't truly a cohesive, native experience.

If you're running OS X and use Open-Xchange, syncing your calendar, email, tasks and appointments between desktop, server, and mobile device just got a lot more functional, and much easier.

Earlier this week, the Qt Labs at Nokia announced a new project, QtMobility. QtMobility's primary goal is to offer a new set of Qt API development tools for mobile device applications.

While this will certainly make life easier for developers working with the Qt framework on specific Nokia devices, one of the best (and intentional) fringe benefits is that the new API tools are cross-platform. A single application, then, can be built and maintained for any supported Qt platform -- regardless of the mobile device model or manufacturer.

The Wikimedia Foundation is presenting a new site formatted for mobile phones, found here. It features a cleaner, less cluttered interface that allows mobile users to get more readable versions of Wikipedia entries. It currently supports Android phones and the iPhone. In addition, the Wikimedia Foundation is looking for open source help in developing the effort.

As the story broke yesterday that Novell and Intel were joining forces to encourage OEMs and ODMs to use the Linux-based Moblin platform on netbooks and small devices, a number of comments -- and questions -- began swirling in the open source world.

InfoWorld wonders if the collaboration efforts aren't a bad omen for Novell's SUSE Linux, while CNet's Matt Asay thinks the move could be a positive one for Moblin and Novell, and one that could ultimately give Google's Android a real fight.