Google’s iron grip on Android: Controlling open source by any means necessary
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Re: Google’s iron grip on Android: Controlling open source by any means necessary
#2While I can see the point of this article, it's being cast in a much more dramatic light than necessary. Phrases like "While Google is out to devalue the open source codebase as much as possible" seem hyperbolic to me.
Re: Google’s iron grip on Android: Controlling open source by any means necessary
#3Correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't Linus Torvalds famous for his iron grip of Linux? In a very different way, to be sure, but it's my understanding that just because you make something open source doesn't mean you have to (or even should) relinquish control.
I think it's also pretty standard to open-source the core and keep the baubles proprietary. GitHub, for example, made their git interaction library open-source but their git hosting service itself is closed, as far as I know.
Re: Google’s iron grip on Android: Controlling open source by any means necessary
#4The only real thing that seems "evil" is the requirement for OEMs to not manufacture _any_ devices compatible with non-Google forks. The rest of it seems pretty necessary in order to keep carriers and OEMs in line. A lesson Microsoft learned, and why Windows Phone started off by allowing the user to remove any pre-installed crap.
If Google didn't do any of this, and was totally altruistic, Samsung and others would already have completely screwed things up.
While it's certainly very much to Google's benefit, it also benefits most users because overall, Google has done a far better job than any OEM regarding user experience.
Re: Google’s iron grip on Android: Controlling open source by any means necessary
#5[deleted]
Re: Google’s iron grip on Android: Controlling open source by any means necessary
#6> Android has arguably won the smartphone wars, but "Android winning" and "Google winning" are not necessarily the same thing.
This is false. Google wins when more people use the Internet. Android is fulfilling its initial goal incredibly well: offer a free and open-source mobile OS to encourage mobile device proliferation.
Android is doing exactly what it was designed to do.
Re: Google’s iron grip on Android: Controlling open source by any means necessary
#7> Google does everything in-house. The company gets Maps and all of its cloud services basically for free.
This statement is utterly false. In-house does not mean free.
Re: Google’s iron grip on Android: Controlling open source by any means necessary
#8"In an ocean with great waves, whales fly into the air unnoticed, but in a calm pond, even the tiniest minnow makes a ripple."
-confucius
When the iPhone debuted, no doubt Google sensed the impact, and Apple's ability to create an effective closed ecosystem had already been proven with iTunes. I believe that Google wanted to undermine the market long enough to understand it. True enough, "android winning" was not the same as "Google winning," but it did mean everyone else "losing." I believe that for Google, Android started as a strategy in search of a goal. It was a smokescreen to prevent Apple from taking a dominant position by default. As the data poured in, they began to understand how to leverage it, and the Nexus line became an expression of such understanding, working to establish more control, and hopefully emerge from the smokescreen they had created.
Re: Google’s iron grip on Android: Controlling open source by any means necessary
#9> Android has arguably won the smartphone wars, but "Android winning" and "Google winning" are not necessarily the same thing. This is false. Google wins when more people use the Internet. Android is fulfilling its initial goal incredibly well: offer a free and open-source mobile OS to encourage mobile device proliferation. Android is doing exactly what it was designed to do.
The article's description of what we're to happen if Apple did not have competition is quite accurate and write frightening. Even with the north American market share that Apple has they abuse it where possible.
Re: Google’s iron grip on Android: Controlling open source by any means necessary
#10> Android has arguably won the smartphone wars, but "Android winning" and "Google winning" are not necessarily the same thing. This is false. Google wins when more people use the Internet. Android is fulfilling its initial goal incredibly well: offer a free and open-source mobile OS to encourage mobile device proliferation. Android is doing exactly what it was designed to do.
The article's description of what we're to happen if Apple did not have competition is quite accurate and write frightening. Even with the north American market share that Apple has they abuse it where possible.
Yes I agree.
Android is not about North America. Android is about India, Africa, and China.