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Google has stopped pushing Git tags for some Android source code

grapheneos.social

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Re: Google has stopped pushing Git tags for some Android source code

#241

Post by lukan »

rob74 wrote: post #231
palata wrote: post #219

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> so you can't even realistically sue them Genuinely asking: are you a lawyer? Sounds to me that going from "it works easily and rapidly" to this deserves a big big fine. That's the only thing they understand.

No, I'm not (a lawyer might recommend to sue, hoping for a big payout, even if the chances of it happening are small?). I looked at the GPL text, and what Google is doing is really pushing the "If you convey a covered work, knowingly relying on a patent license, and the Corresponding Source of the work is not available for anyone to copy, free of charge and under the terms of this License, through a publicly availabl…

The main thing here is it used to work faster and google surely can deliver data fast - but now they intentionally changed procedure to make it slower. That could be fined for going against the spirit of the licence contract.

Re: Google has stopped pushing Git tags for some Android source code

#242

Post by pjmlp »

grapheneos wrote: post #114

They stopped pushing tags for any of the Pixel kernel or userspace driver repositories to AOSP. They also stopped pushing AOSP releases specific to Pixels which is why AOSP now only gets yearly releases, QPR2 releases and security backports to both of those. Other OEMs use the yearly and theoretically also the QPR2 releases. Both the yearly and QPR2 releases get monthly security backports. Since they dropped Pixel su…

Well, it is only a matter of luck and internal politics, that Linux kernel hasn't yet been replaced by Zircon on AOSP, which is I guess the only GPL piece that is left from the original 1.0 version.

Re: Google has stopped pushing Git tags for some Android source code

#243

Post by globular-toast »

bitpush wrote: post #61
shevy-java wrote: post #39

I don't think the real focus is on the tags, but on the delay here via a form as well as human interaction. Worded differently, the simplest way to provide the source code is IMO via a URL that you can just wget. At the least this is done by so many projects out there. Google refusing to do so means Google wants to violate the GPLv2, since their alternatives are inferior. https://distrowatch.com/ has many convenient…

> Google refusing to do so means Google wants to violate the GPLv2 Not an expert in GPL, but does it say that the source code needs to be provided by a url?

As far as I understand, they could send it to you printed and bound and charge you for the paper and postage if they want to.

Re: Google has stopped pushing Git tags for some Android source code

#244

Post by globular-toast »

pas wrote: post #96
ProAm wrote: post #94

Earlier quoted context omitted.

i.e. its no longer open source, now access is granted by permission.

what does the license say? provide source when asked or publish source? OSI is not clear on this either. ("Where some form of a product is not distributed with source code, there must be a well-publicized means of obtaining the source code for no more than a reasonable reproduction cost, [...]")

Alas, the licences have become outdated and we haven't kept up, because most have played by the spirit of the rules up to this point. There is an expectation that source code will be readily available using modern tooling, like a version control system, but that's not what the licences actually require.

Re: Google has stopped pushing Git tags for some Android source code

#245

Post by notpushkin »

wakawaka28 wrote: post #140
pas wrote: post #96

Earlier quoted context omitted.

what does the license say? provide source when asked or publish source? OSI is not clear on this either. ("Where some form of a product is not distributed with source code, there must be a well-publicized means of obtaining the source code for no more than a reasonable reproduction cost, [...]")

I hate to be that guy but publishing source online for free theoretically involves unbounded distribution costs that can't be recovered. That isn't the issue here but it should be considered before changing a license.

Google has servers inside ISP networks that distribute YouTube videos. They pay nothing for the distribution costs, I think they don’t even pay for electricity/cooling. If they wanted to distribute Android source code, they wouldn’t have to pay a dime.

Re: Google has stopped pushing Git tags for some Android source code

#246

Post by bdhdhduuyd »

grapheneos wrote: post #114

They stopped pushing tags for any of the Pixel kernel or userspace driver repositories to AOSP. They also stopped pushing AOSP releases specific to Pixels which is why AOSP now only gets yearly releases, QPR2 releases and security backports to both of those. Other OEMs use the yearly and theoretically also the QPR2 releases. Both the yearly and QPR2 releases get monthly security backports. Since they dropped Pixel su…

First of all; thanks for working on GrapheneOS!

2 questions:

  - How hard is it for manufacturers to include the option Android/Graphene just like they have memory and storage options?

  - Could this be a point where GrapheneOS disconnects from Android and become an independent OS?

Re: Google has stopped pushing Git tags for some Android source code

#247

Post by thyristan »

JasonHarrison wrote: post #178
khimaros wrote: post #173

Earlier quoted context omitted.

i have owned nearly every Google phone since the G1. i will not be purchasing any future devices from them unless they change course.

What will you purchase instead? It sucks that the modern smartphone OS market is a duopoly.

Fairphones are easy to unlock, repairable, have a long lifetime and offer a variety of different operating system distributions.

Re: Google has stopped pushing Git tags for some Android source code

#249

Post by qwertox »

teekert wrote: post #227

We need something other than Android, and we need the government to make sure we can run Android apps (like government ID and banking apps) without being spied on. They've been doing whatever the f they like for long enough if you ask me.

No government would like you to use anything else but iOS or a major vendor's Android distribution. Imagine we'd had the freedom... unacceptable.

Re: Google has stopped pushing Git tags for some Android source code

#250

Post by fsflover »

palata wrote: post #225
pizzaiolo wrote: post #171

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Any inconveniences with Linux phones are less annoying to me than what Google is doing to AOSP. My next phone will run postmarketOS.

Well Google is becoming worse every year, but AOSP is way ahead of Linux on Mobile, for many reasons. The thing is, AOSP is open source. Just like Linux is not controlled by one of the TooBigTechs, I could imagine a fork of AOSP becoming a viable alternative without depending on Google anymore. And supporting alternative Android OSes (like GrapheneOS and LineageOS) is one way to support that vision. Linux on Mobile i…

> but unfortunately I think it's an uphill battle because of all the proprietary firmwares?

In my GNU/Linux phone, all drivers are FLOSS and all pieces of firmware are backed into the replaceable peripherals (modem M.2 card and WiFi M.2 card).

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