android becoming a little less open? heh.

[complacent]

so... it looks like android is having a bit of a change of heart. after touting the advantages of an "open" ecosystem, they're starting to rein that puppy in. or so it appears.

here's an interesting businessweek article.

my favorite part:

Playtime is over in Android Land. Over the last couple of months Google (GOOG) has reached out to the major carriers and device makers backing its mobile operating system with a message: There will be no more willy-nilly tweaks to the software. No more partnerships formed outside of Google's purview. From now on, companies hoping to receive early access to Google's most up-to-date software will need approval of their plans. And they will seek that approval from Andy Rubin, the head of Google's Android group.

interesting... wasn't andy the one who said the definition of open was: the definition of open: “mkdir android ; cd android ; repo init -u git://android.git.kernel.org/platform/manifest.git ; repo sync ; make”???

or how about vic gundotra talking about how "carriers and oems should be free to build whatever they want" ??

of all places, gizmodo has a good article on the subject that goes onto show some of the larger fragmentation issues.

did you know that of the 24 phones released in the last year or so, only seven have received android software updates? that's a pretty poor showing, imho.

methinks the next year over in androidville is going to be interesting. i'm curious to see how their "stewardship" of android is going to help or hurt google, the smartphone market and consumers alike.

i will now remove my flamesuit. have at. thoughts?

[Mr Kleen]

Only time will tell if Google is helping or overplaying...

[chicken n waffles]

[HappyIdiot]

I'm curious to see how this all plays out. I read an article earlier in the week saying, Google doesn't want to release the source code for Honeycomb. They are afraid manufactures will try to put it on phones and it wasn't designed for phone, but tablets.

When you release code as open source, you have to expect people are going to modify the code and use it in ways you didn't intend. You can't make something open source and then try to control it. It doesn't work that way.

Found it

[Sabre]

^^^ Agreed. Open Source is pretty much a license to do whatever the hell you want with it. That being said, if you're going to use it commercially, I can understand Google's frustration, but this isn't the first time we've seen this. Anyone who has used a Verizon phone know's how a company can take a perfectly good mobile OS and ruin it. A quote from the Gizmondo article sums it up well: "They're making "Android" mean something again." Mobile phone carriers need to have a paradigm shift from customizing the OS (and therefore a lot of times bloating the hell out of it) to producing better hardware and features/apps. What's funny is that putting the time into customizing the OS so much has killed the rate at which they can release new revisions. By concentrating on the Apps (Oh, and DEAR GOD let the customer remove them if they want) their release schedule would be in line with Googles, or at least close.

It will be interesting to see how this plays out.

[complacent]

i'm actually excited about this. i think it will be good for android in general. or at least i hope so.

the thing that surprises me is not releasing the source code. the gpl isn't exactly a "release-it-when-it's-convenient" kinda license. knowwhatimean?

is it open source, bound to some flavor of the gpl, or isn't it?

[Sabre]

i'm actually excited about this. i think it will be good for android in general. or at least i hope so.

the thing that surprises me is not releasing the source code. the gpl isn't exactly a "release-it-when-it's-convenient" kinda license. knowwhatimean?

is it open source, bound to some flavor of the gpl, or isn't it?

Android isn't released under the GPL actually, it's released under Apache License, Version 2.0 (Proof). Take a look at clauses 2-4. Google might have a hard time controlling the software.

[complacent]

i'm actually excited about this. i think it will be good for android in general. or at least i hope so.

the thing that surprises me is not releasing the source code. the gpl isn't exactly a "release-it-when-it's-convenient" kinda license. knowwhatimean?

is it open source, bound to some flavor of the gpl, or isn't it?

Android isn't released under the GPL actually, it's released under Apache License, Version 2.0 (Proof). Take a look at clauses 2-4. Google might have a hard time controlling the software.

ignorant me! i totally thought it was gpl'd! damn... this is interesting.

[HappyIdiot]

We opened the Android source code so anyone can modify and distribute the software to meet their own needs.

Hmmm....Sounds like someone just shot themselves in the foot. I'd remove this from the site if they wished to pursue this battle.

[chicken n waffles]

android is way too fragmented of a platform spread out across the mobile world in its current state. i can't count the # of times i've taken a look at someone's android-laden device and thought that it bore minimal resemblance, both aesthetically and gui experience-wise, to the others. is that what people want? i doubt it.

all i can ask is that google doesn't "verizon" the platform.

i'm sure you all remember the nightmarish UI that vzw implemented/implements in its basic phones.