Wouldnt it be nice if the basic os is the firmware but all user programs are just in the extra's repository?

Because why cant we just update modest by itself and get all the fixes way earlier?

Maybe some are closed source or only at nokia so that they have to be in the firmware but i know that modest is opensource but we still have to wait for a firmware release to get the latest version..

I think this issue was discussed in another forum... At least for modest I am pretty sure.

It is pretty much integration between Apps with the OS issue.

If you ever used Ubuntu, or any other Linux distro, you know what I am talking about. If you want a new version of Thunderbird, from 2.0 to 3.0 for example, the consistency in the OS, like "send this through e-mail", gets broken after the installation of the not "default".

So I think to avoid this they try to update everything at once after all has been tested.

ps. Even though bug fixes could be patched via OTA.... But you never know. I believe that if they could the would do it. I dont see any reason, besides the one I mentioned, for them to be holding updates.

See http://maemo.org/community/brainstor..._packages-002/

this have been a topic since they introed updates without the need for a reflash on the tablets.

hell, then the update often would fail as it wanted to install some 30MB of pdf manuals, and people had often moved or deleted those to make room for more apps...

all in all i think its mostly that nokia wants things to get as close as possible to "just works" for casual users, to avoid getting angry support calls or even product returns...

and maybe also that some parts of nokia is still used to thinking monolithical, rather then allowing each part of progress at their own pace.

Yes, great idea. Make it an even BIGGER hassle for end users to do stuff on their phone!

There are different concepts mixed here:

- The content of a Maemo release. Yes, it contains platform and application components. As for today it basically comprises the software pre-installed in a device (eMMC files excluded, which is a progress in Maemo 5 compared with previous releases).

- Releasing application updates out of a general Maemo update. Technically possible already today, but we still prefer to organize general releases so we can focus testing and marketing around them. Sometimes those releases imply fresher firmware used in the factories for pre-installation in new devices.

- Having official Nokia apps in Extras. maemo.org Extras is for a community software not supported officially by Nokia.

- Installing the latest versions of Nokia OSS applications. Application developers decide when to produce a release since it's not guaranteed that the last code is the best. Normally the Nokia teams developing applications target the next general Maemo update. Also, having an open source project is not a guarantee of being able to build it today (sometimes things break when you are not stabilizing for a release), even less a guarantee that it will install and work properly in your current platform (maybe the code in the repositories depends on newer platform versions). For instance, nothing stops you from going to https://garage.maemo.org/plugins/ggi....php/?p=modest and trying to compile. Will it work properly in your N900? I have no idea, honestly. Offering as an app downloadable for current N900 users would imply extra work.

It's not a phone; it's a tablet / mobile computer with phone function.
Truly not just swallowing the marketing, it's how I think of it (since I hardly ever make calls).

As a part-time Ubuntu user this integration makes sense to me.

i dont see completely why it is an integration issue.. I can install different browsers. i even now can say with an extra tool what the default browser is..

And what kind of integration are we really talk about.. For example what if somebody just forks modest and makes its own build/package an install that.. I guess when i press the email button in the contacts app from a contact it will still open the default modest program right?

But are you saying that this is somehow hard coded somewhere and that it isnt just a setting of the os? That would be a bad design..
Even windows where ms really want to push there own products you can set a default application for pretty much everything...

To you it may be a computer but Nokia is a phone company and the vast majority are buying the N900 as a smartphone. Phones have always tended to have an integrated software suite as part of the firmware. Nokia did the same for the N900.

Mind you, I agree with you as far as what you would like. I would probably bought a cheaper, non-phone version of the N900 to replace my N810 and even with the N810 it irritates me that I can't uninstall the Nokia apps.

Hey, they're not _MY_ thoughts! I think it's a good idea too, but I doubt Nokia will do this for the sake of complexity to the end users