mli_promotion

Linux in mobile does not need a lot of evangelism. Linux already has traction in mobile space and the adoption of Linux on next-generation mobile handsets and other converged voice/data portable devices is accelerating. End users of these mobile devices may never know that they are running “Linux Inside”, but the promotion of Linux-based handsets will attract developers into the mobile Linux ecosystem. An open development environment will enable developers to provide applications and add-ons to the ecosystem that were not possible on proprietary platforms. There is still room for some evangelism to the Linux development community on behalf of the needs of mobile devices running Linux.

The Linux Foundation Mobile Linux workgroup can promote Linux in mobile markets by creating awareness of “Linux inside.” With a plethora of mobile Linux initiatives, the Mobile Linux workgroup could serve to provide consistent messaging from these various initiatives and to educate and inform the developers in mobile Linux space.

Initially, promotion of Linux in mobile space will be:

• Publish a “Mobile Linux Weather Forecast” similar to the forecast that Jon Corbett does for the kernel.
• Host a “Mobile Linux” blog where members of the Mobile Linux workgroup can promote mobile markets and communicate with developers in the mobile Linux community.
• Host collaboration events bringing together the Linux technical community and application developers to foster innovation, build a common view of development priorities, and act as a catalyst in the development of the open source software ecosystem. This could lead to the emergence of a group of mobile architects to parallel the desktop architects.
• Promote Linux regionally, including through the Linux Foundation Japan
• Promote and leverage the Open Source Development Travel Fund to provide sponsorships for travel costs to bring key contributors to technical conferences.
• Work with other organizations to promote Mobile Linux activities to each others' members.