Arduino Loses Its Appeal Only a Month After Qualcomm Took Over
Some days ago some very prominent sites said that "Enshittification of Arduino Begins"; even some podcasts said the same, not to mention hardware partners.
We did foresee some trouble coming, e.g. last month in:
- Arduino is Now a Patent Bully (Qualcomm)
- Qualcomm Arduino Takes Aim at Raspberry Pi
- Qualcomm, the New Owner of Arduino, Blasted for Its Software Patents Tax on 'Smartphones'
If you value or actively pursue free/libre hardware, then pay close attention to the FSF's Librephone project, which is at the top of its front page right now:
Indeed, the FSF is also raising money right now:
Not everyone wants a mobile phone (not even a Librephone!), and Dr. Andy Farnell explains why, detailing some good reasons not to have one. Not everyone has the "luxury" of knowing how to "hack on" hardware, either.
One sure thing is, Arduino will lose its most valuable traits under Qualcomm. An associate says that since Qualcomm took over Arduino the official blog of Arduino has been more about marketing promotions (borderline spam), not what Arduino used to be about.
Why Arduino "made an exit" we don't really know; they didn't quite explain the financial considerations. █