[Interest] Semi-OT: Was Nokia net good or bad for Qt?

[André Somers]

Op 26-9-2013 20:13, K. Frank schreef:
> Hello List!
>
> This whole Elop thing got me thinking about the history of
> Qt and Nokia.
>
> Nothing's perfect, of course, and everything's a mixed bag,
> but, all in all, do people think Nokia's involvement with Qt
> ended up helping Qt or not?
>
> I started using Qt after Nokia acquired Trolltech (2008?
> 2009?) and then Nokia divested itself of Qt, if I remember
> correctly, in 2011, spinning off the commercial licensing
> to Digia.  So I guess Nokia had Qt for three or four years.
>
> Did this "detour" (for lack of a better word) end up being
> helpful?
>
>
> Thanks.
>
In my opinion, it was. Qt had some great releases in that period. While 
not everyone liked the focus on mobile (me included), some really great 
stuff did get developed in the Nokia time frame: Qt Creator and QML just 
two of them. The DevDays really turned into good events too. Qt got 
LGPL-ed on all platforms, and I think that was a very big step that I 
doubt would ever have happened under Trolltech. Also, I understand (3rd 
hand or so, no personal knowledge) that financially, Qt never did all 
that great in the TT days. Would the company even have survived? Being 
under the wings of Nokia allowed Qt to develop further.

The FUD that Nokia itself caused in the last two years was bad though. 
Really bad.

So yes, I think the net balance is positive.

André