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Google’s iron grip on Android: Controlling open source by any means necessary

arstechnica.com

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Re: Google’s iron grip on Android: Controlling open source by any means necessary

#41

Post by Mikeb85 »

TylerE wrote: post #35
Mikeb85 wrote: post #27

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Open source is most definitely winning in infrastructure, high performance computing, servers, etc... Ask IBM or Oracle if Linux is losing...

You're conflating the reasons though...would Linux be winning in those areas without big corporate $$$?

Does it matter? Corporations adopted Linux because of it's openness, and Linux is winning in those areas because of corporations who adopted it because of....

Open doesn't mean 'hobbyist', it merely refers to the freedoms enabled by the code's license...

Re: Google’s iron grip on Android: Controlling open source by any means necessary

#42

Post by Elv13 »

cloudwalking wrote: post #10
Nerdfest wrote: post #9

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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.

It is banned from China (AFAIK, they use Alibaba fork). India and Africa are mostly untapped markets. The 80% market share come from America and Europe

Re: Google’s iron grip on Android: Controlling open source by any means necessary

#43

Post by zobzu »

EGreg wrote: post #37

If AOSP is open source and Google updates let's say the location services, why can't anyone start a similar project for AOSP and have it funded (like by Apache or Mozilla)? It seems that the main problem is the gatekeepers who manufacture phones.

Mozilla makes Firefox OS. They don't have the resources to also fix Android and what not, I think. Apache takes a few projects under its wing but they don't provide the developers, and thus many of their projects are stalling.

Re: Google’s iron grip on Android: Controlling open source by any means necessary

#45

Post by zobzu »

yeet wrote: post #11

google had a very good reason to move services outside AOSP, to update them without relying on carriers. they could release billing API v3 w/ 90% compatibility in day 1. this is how they could workaround fragmentation. as an android dev, i love being able to read framework source code for better design, performance and less bugs. that is all really matters imho.

for development yes, thats like providing a SDK. I can develop just fine on Windows phones and even iOS :) So basically, its not really all that opensource anymore, that's what most people mean.

Re: Google’s iron grip on Android: Controlling open source by any means necessary

#46

Post by cremnob »

dmethvin wrote: post #34
cromwellian wrote: post #24

Most of the examples of Google closed apps that are not part of the AOSP release are in fact apps that are based off of Google data-center services. Would it really help Samsung if the source to the Gmail app was open? Since Google controls the server side, and the client-server protocol, it limits the amount of innovation they can do. The web equivalent would be like claiming that Chrome OS isn't open because the so…

> Google is stuck behind a rock and a hard place. If they don't try to create incentives for a unified experience, they get bashed for encouraging fragmentation, if they do assert a level of control, they get bashed for not being completely open. This is exactly the position Microsoft was in during the mid-1990s, even before they went after Netscape. The article is saying that Google is even applying some of the same…

I don't think Apple will be a good defense if Android's market share is 80%.

Re: Google’s iron grip on Android: Controlling open source by any means necessary

#47

Post by zobzu »

parennoob wrote: post #22

When someone like Github does this (make some parts of their code open-source, but others closed-source), journalists don't write critical pieces about them, do they? I mean, Google leaves a bad taste in my mouth since they started shuttering services like it was Christmas at the Google Service Chopping Block, but I don't see them being actively evil here. It's all according to the previously openly aired plan. Googl…

AOSP is so open that the previous AOSP leader at Google quitted over the lack of openeness.

Re: Google’s iron grip on Android: Controlling open source by any means necessary

#48

Post by Brakenshire »

andrewflnr wrote: post #21
davyjones wrote: post #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.

Exactly. Google's mapping data is a legitimate competitive advantage, and there is no reason anyone else forking android should be entitled to it.

The article in no way says this is illegitimate, it is listed as an extra barrier that a competitor would have to cross.

Re: Google’s iron grip on Android: Controlling open source by any means necessary

#49

Post by TylerE »

Mikeb85 wrote: post #41
TylerE wrote: post #35

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You're conflating the reasons though...would Linux be winning in those areas without big corporate $$$?

Does it matter? Corporations adopted Linux because of it's openness, and Linux is winning in those areas because of corporations who adopted it because of.... Open doesn't mean 'hobbyist', it merely refers to the freedoms enabled by the code's license...

They adapted it because it was cheaper, not because it was open. Now, open frequently tends to be cheaper, but not always, it isn't an inherent quality of openness.

Re: Google’s iron grip on Android: Controlling open source by any means necessary

#50

Post by kbenson »

cremnob wrote: post #46
dmethvin wrote: post #34

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Google is stuck behind a rock and a hard place. If they don't try to create incentives for a unified experience, they get bashed for encouraging fragmentation, if they do assert a level of control, they get bashed for not being completely open. This is exactly the position Microsoft was in during the mid-1990s, even before they went after Netscape. The article is saying that Google is even applying some of the same…

I don't think Apple will be a good defense if Android's market share is 80%.

That depends on how the market share of revenue looks as well, and to my knowledge the percentage of revenue Apple receives is not dropping nearly as fast (and Google's not the main competitor there, Samsung is, even if it's using Google software).
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