"works fine" is a bit of an exaggeration... last I saw it was pretty damn laggy
Can't imagine it would be any faster than doing the same thing on the N900 (setup your computer and just do an ssh x tunnel so you can see..say Firefox on the N900).
Who knows? If Flash 10 is to be included in MeeGo at some point (it would need to be for the next MeeGo device - next year?) then maybe the n900 may actually get a Flash backport.
MeeGo, as the Linux Foundation (meego.com) project is never going to include Flash, not other proprietary components like Skype, etc. This is basically the same angle as, say, Debian Linux. MeeGo *devices* OTOH can include Flash should the particular vendor of the device think it's important enough/worth ponying up the cash to have Flash. It seems that there is little trust in Flash, given that vendors pay 3rd parties on a case-by-case basis to get Flash - if they really believed Flash was a strategic objective, they would be doing Flash in-house with their own teams, not outsourcing it. This applies to all mobile platforms, though, not just MeeGo.
MeeGo, as the Linux Foundation (meego.com) project is never going to include Flash, not other proprietary components like Skype, etc. This is basically the same angle as, say, Debian Linux. MeeGo *devices* OTOH can include Flash should the particular vendor of the device think it's important enough/worth ponying up the cash to have Flash. It seems that there is little trust in Flash, given that vendors pay 3rd parties on a case-by-case basis to get Flash - if they really believed Flash was a strategic objective, they would be doing Flash in-house with their own teams, not outsourcing it. This applies to all mobile platforms, though, not just MeeGo.
OK. When Nokia release their first MeeGo device - we can assume it will have MeeGo and Nokia-specific applications too (e.g. OVI maps, Flash).
If the hardware does not radically change from the n900 (e.g. graphics chip) would it be possible to copy the Flash binary and install it to the n900 (e.g. with MeeGo installed)?
I imagine the Nokia stuff including Flash would be under a "non-distribute" license but from a technical point maybe it's possible?
MeeGo, as the Linux Foundation (meego.com) project is never going to include Flash, not other proprietary components like Skype, etc. This is basically the same angle as, say, Debian Linux. MeeGo *devices* OTOH can include Flash should the particular vendor of the device think it's important enough/worth ponying up the cash to have Flash. It seems that there is little trust in Flash, given that vendors pay 3rd parties on a case-by-case basis to get Flash - if they really believed Flash was a strategic objective, they would be doing Flash in-house with their own teams, not outsourcing it. This applies to all mobile platforms, though, not just MeeGo.
In that case we can safely say the Meego build the N900 is getting will not have flash. If we do have flash it'll have to be done by the community (grabbing it out of Nokia's version of Meego that they're putting on the next device). So then the question is..
a) how probably is it
b) will Nokia actively try to stop it
MeeGo, as the Linux Foundation (meego.com) project is never going to include Flash, not other proprietary components like Skype, etc. This is basically the same angle as, say, Debian Linux. MeeGo *devices* OTOH can include Flash should the particular vendor of the device think it's important enough/worth ponying up the cash to have Flash. It seems that there is little trust in Flash, given that vendors pay 3rd parties on a case-by-case basis to get Flash - if they really believed Flash was a strategic objective, they would be doing Flash in-house with their own teams, not outsourcing it. This applies to all mobile platforms, though, not just MeeGo.
Actually I that's a bit limited... well I mean that flash will be device specific.
As you said, like Debian, MeeGo may not include it in it's browser (chrome/chromium right now, but fennec and real firefox should be installable too) by default, however a "non-free" repository could be setup and installable by any device running the same archtecture and OS (MeeGo).
So, say someone releases a MeeGo without Flash, or someone (like us on the N900), load the completely free MeeGo from the builds.. Flash should still be attainable no different than if we loaded debian and then went and downloaded it.
If the hardware does not radically change from the n900 (e.g. graphics chip) would it be possible to copy the Flash binary and install it to the n900 (e.g. with MeeGo installed)?
I imagine the Nokia stuff including Flash would be under a "non-distribute" license but from a technical point maybe it's possible?
In that case we can safely say the Meego build the N900 is getting will not have flash. If we do have flash it'll have to be done by the community (grabbing it out of Nokia's version of Meego that they're putting on the next device). So then the question is..
a) how probably is it
b) will Nokia actively try to stop it
It will be hard to tell until it finally surfaces. The fact that someone manages to kick around the Android flash build enough to run on iOS means it should be doable (the devil being in the details, as usual).
I don't think Nokia will actually try to stop it (they had far more reasons to block stuff like the FM enabler on the N900 but they never bothered). Keep in mind though it cannot bless it either because the only party that has a say over Flash distribution is Adobe. In that case the options are a) write a heartfelt letter to Kevin Lynch, b) maemo.org should try to became an Open Screen Project member, c) go underground
As you said, like Debian, MeeGo may not include it in it's browser (chrome/chromium right now, but fennec and real firefox should be installable too) by default, however a "non-free" repository could be setup and installable by any device running the same archtecture and OS (MeeGo).
Close but no cigar. I have been harping about thing for a while... Unlike for desktops and Android, Adobe does not provide a public ARM Flash you can download for any of the platforms it claims support so far. For example, say I want to transplant the N900 Flash to N8x0. Okay, add the N900 repo to the N8x0... except, the Flash is not in the repo, but in the firmware. Aham. Okay, let's download the N900 firmware then and mount/extract it from there. Except due to licensing requirements you can't download that unless you have a N900 (=IMEI). Whoops. So no matter how you look at it, Flash on mobiles is borked in every way, technically, legally, openness and community-wise, you name it.
EDIT: And before jumps the gun and says then MeeGo, N900 and everything is doomed and we will never have Flash - the same problem applies to ALL platforms, even Android - there is no way telling how a phone will get future upgrades past FroYo, if there ever will be another major Flash version past 10.1 (having FroYo is no guarantee - the HTC Hero had a functional Flash 9 and only got a 'sorry' note instead of the next version of Flash).
