OSNews: http://www.osnews.com/story/21702/Garmin_Drops_Custom_Linux_OS_for_Android_Windows_Mobile Exploring the Future of Computing en-us Copyright 2001-2009, David Adams adam+nospam@osnews.com Mon, 07 Dec 2009 10:54:05 GMT http://www.osnews.com/images/osnews.gif OSNews.com http://www.osnews.com And their point is..... http://osnews.com/thread?369472 http://osnews.com/thread?369472 So they say they are dropping their custom Linux OS for a.... different custom Linux?

To quote Wikipedia on the Android OS.

"Android is a software platform for mobile devices, running on the Linux operating system"

Granted, Wikipedia isn't exactly correct, since Linux is a kernel, not an entire operating system. But semantics aside, this isn't a lose for Linux as the headline points towards. It's just another win. It would be the same if Dell decided to use Fedora instead of Ubuntu (although I think their users would cringe if they did.) Sat, 20 Jun 2009 04:57:00 GMT donotreply@osnews.com (leech) Comments RE: And their point is..... http://osnews.com/thread?369478 http://osnews.com/thread?369478 By then, they can at least fire the people responsible for the development/maintenance of the in-house Linux 'in benefit' of paying licenses to Google/Windows and put accordingly an advertising sticker on their devices... To catch geek-flies of techno-bugs ?

Kochise Sat, 20 Jun 2009 07:37:00 GMT donotreply@osnews.com (Kochise) Comments RE: And their point is..... http://osnews.com/thread?369496 http://osnews.com/thread?369496 I think their point is they're switching to Android. Don't quote me on that though. Sat, 20 Jun 2009 10:01:00 GMT donotreply@osnews.com (flanque) Comments RE[2]: And their point is..... http://osnews.com/thread?369515 http://osnews.com/thread?369515 In fact, I think the hype they'll get using Android will add another value to their GPS. If they can support some other application, than suddently you not only get a GPS, but a small embedded computer on which you can read your email, take notes, get live info for your current location, etc. Sat, 20 Jun 2009 14:38:00 GMT donotreply@osnews.com (werfu) Comments RE[2]: And their point is..... http://osnews.com/thread?369519 http://osnews.com/thread?369519 All this means is that instead of being able to use the huge amount of software already available for the standard Linux software stack, they have to develop their own, since the Android stack isn't quite as robust (yet). Sat, 20 Jun 2009 15:15:00 GMT donotreply@osnews.com (leech) Comments Linux http://osnews.com/thread?369535 http://osnews.com/thread?369535 Seems like the typical linux always gets the boot these days and I am not sure why this is. Anyway my Fujitsu GPS Navigator is running Win CE but it's well hidden and looks nothing like it. Probably as soon as it loads a full screen Fujitsu Win CE program takes over the screen.

I didn't know until I actually looked at the back of the unit where there is a sticker that says it's running Win CE. Sat, 20 Jun 2009 21:29:00 GMT donotreply@osnews.com (OSGuy) Comments RE[3]: And their point is..... http://osnews.com/thread?369536 http://osnews.com/thread?369536 While I agree with you on the whole, android already has more apps that are suited for small devices than linux/X.

Now if we were talking netbooks, it would probably make much more sense to just go with some linux distro at the moment. Sat, 20 Jun 2009 22:05:00 GMT donotreply@osnews.com (Jondice) Comments Comment by JrezIN http://osnews.com/thread?369541 http://osnews.com/thread?369541 ...which means, they won't get sued for accessing FAT32 drives or any kind of problem like that... Sun, 21 Jun 2009 00:48:00 GMT donotreply@osnews.com (JrezIN) Comments O please http://osnews.com/thread?369544 http://osnews.com/thread?369544 You all make it sound like Garmin is conspiring against Linux somehow.

With 3G (and 4G) phones, everything is moving from a model of using custom devices to the PC model where everything is an app on a generic hand held device.

The GPS device is going to go the way of the dinosaur, and if Garmin doesn't make their GPS services and software available on phones, they will become irrelevant. Wouldn't be surprised if they will support things like palm pre, and blackberry as well. Sun, 21 Jun 2009 01:44:00 GMT donotreply@osnews.com (FishB8) Comments RE: And their point is..... http://osnews.com/thread?369548 http://osnews.com/thread?369548
So they say they are dropping their custom Linux OS for a.... different custom Linux?

To quote Wikipedia on the Android OS.

"Android is a software platform for mobile devices, running on the Linux operating system"

Granted, Wikipedia isn't exactly correct, since Linux is a kernel, not an entire operating system. But semantics aside, this isn't a lose for Linux as the headline points towards. It's just another win. It would be the same if Dell decided to use Fedora instead of Ubuntu (although I think their users would cringe if they did.)


You're right about it not being a loss but not in the way you described it though. The consolidation of distributions behind some key players ultimately will result in improved hardware support and more third party software vendors coming on board. The consolidation around Android will hopefully mean a robust and consistent platform that can be put up as a counter weight to BlackberryOS and iPhoneOS (I don't count Windows on the phone given the number of people I've seen use it could probably fit inside a telephone booth).Edited 2009-06-21 02:52 UTC Sun, 21 Jun 2009 02:51:00 GMT donotreply@osnews.com (kaiwai) Comments RE: O please http://osnews.com/thread?369566 http://osnews.com/thread?369566
The GPS device is going to go the way of the dinosaur, and if Garmin doesn't make their GPS services and software available on phones, they will become irrelevant. Wouldn't be surprised if they will support things like palm pre, and blackberry as well.


Depends on the carrier. Verizon does not allow anything other than VZ Navigator to run on their unhacked phones; Google Maps won't load in the browser. Why? Because VZ Navigator is an extra fee every month, either stand-alone or as part of a bundle, and Verizon doesn't want to skewer that cash-cow.

As for GPS on the phone, one of the problems is the small screen. I'd much rather have the 4.3" Garmin screen than the Sun, 21 Jun 2009 11:54:00 GMT donotreply@osnews.com (Jon Dough) Comments RE[2]: And their point is..... http://osnews.com/thread?369591 http://osnews.com/thread?369591 Smartphones with Windows are quite common in many european countries. Sun, 21 Jun 2009 21:33:00 GMT donotreply@osnews.com (moondevil) Comments RE[3]: And their point is..... http://osnews.com/thread?369602 http://osnews.com/thread?369602
Smartphones with Windows are quite common in many european countries.


In New Zealand most people are using either using Blackberry and a few hold outs are using their Palm - or some custom operating system selected by the mobile phone vendor. Pretty much it is Blackberry central - then again, New Zealand tends to buck the trend with businesses sticking with Novell Netware, Mainframes and Unix servers. Mon, 22 Jun 2009 03:13:00 GMT donotreply@osnews.com (kaiwai) Comments RE: And their point is..... http://osnews.com/thread?369642 http://osnews.com/thread?369642 They're switching from GNU/Linux to Android/Linux. Mon, 22 Jun 2009 13:43:00 GMT donotreply@osnews.com (zdzichu) Comments RE[2]: And their point is..... http://osnews.com/thread?369727 http://osnews.com/thread?369727 Windows smartphones are very common in Canada. I can't count Android using your criteria, as I have "never" saw it in use at all. Mon, 22 Jun 2009 20:25:00 GMT donotreply@osnews.com (BluenoseJake) Comments RE[3]: And their point is..... http://osnews.com/thread?369732 http://osnews.com/thread?369732 Yes, reading emails while driving: it must be a new security feature. Just kidding ;-) Ciao, chris Mon, 22 Jun 2009 20:44:00 GMT donotreply@osnews.com (csasso) Comments