Fusion Garage Criticized For JooJoo Software GPL Failure

Fusion Garage are coming in for some criticism over their handling of the JooJoo tablet's software, with open-source advocates discovering that the company aren't distributing their source code as required by the GPL.  Matthew Garrett spent some hands-on time with the JooJoo recently, and aside from some concerns over the hardware – "pretty much held together by string and a following wind" is how he describes the slate – his biggest complaint is that not only is the source for Fusion Garage's modified Ubuntu OS not available, when he contacted them they told him they're not yet distributing it.

"We are still actively making changes to the joojoo software. We will make the source release available once we feel we are ready to do so and also having the resources to get this sorted out and organized for publication. We seek your kind understanding on our position and appreciate your patience on this. Thank you." JooJoo support team, Fusion Garage

As for the hardware, Garrett suggests it's a case of ambition without sufficient technical skills to back it up, and highlights things like the display being connected upside down (so apps have to be rotated before they can be shown) and components simply being glued to a basic NVIDIA reference board.  Of course, there are some happy users out there and some disappointed ones; the real issue is Fusion Garage apparently not taking software licensing seriously.  They're certainly not the first company to fall short in that respect, but if you're hoping developers will jump on board – and even help out spotting flaws in your code – then this isn't the way to go about it.

[Thanks Si!]