In the past year, open source software and development models have come to the forefront of mobile computing. Whether its Google's Android, the Asus Eee PC with its Linux underpinnings and UI, or even the comparison of the more open development models of Maemo and Nokia's Internet Tablets with that of Apple's iPhone OSX implementation. The shift isn't just a move to mobile devices, but a move to a different way of doing business with computing. And this one is more profound than just simply cloud computing or moof-ing.

First: Rushing to Open Source Development Models

The most apparent happening over the past year has been the rush by carriers, mobile device makers, and software developers towards open source platforms for development. On the mobile side we have seen the LiMo (Linux Mobile) Foundation, Google's Android, Access, Symbian, Qtopia, and several others demonstrate and drum up support for mobile operating systems and development that are based on the open-community model called open source development.

These models leverage the community development angle that has characterized development for a long time; but add the needed component of vision and capital so that open source projects are able to sustain some kind of vitality when they are out of the developer's hands.

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