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Microsoft’s Cortana Gets Baked into Cyanogen’s Forked Version of Android

techcrunch.com

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Re: Microsoft’s Cortana Gets Baked into Cyanogen’s Forked Version of Android

#41

Post by JustSomeNobody »

ocdtrekkie wrote: post #40
JustSomeNobody wrote: post #36

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That is how these things work. If an org isn't willing to allow forking then they forking shouldn't have open sourced it. The FACT that Google open sourced it tells me THEY DON'T MIND.

Then why did Google threaten to banish Acer from the OHA if they dared release even a single device running a fork, partnered with a competing search engine? Google has made it very clear they are opposed to so-called 'incompatible' forks of Android, and that they consider pretty much anything not running Google's proprietary services to be 'incompatible'. http://www.theguardian.com/technology/2012/sep/19/android-ch.…

> And your app store contains Android apps (including pirated Google apps).

I think THIS was the issue, not the forked Android.

Amazon has a forked Android. Cyanogen has one.

Re: Microsoft’s Cortana Gets Baked into Cyanogen’s Forked Version of Android

#42

Post by ocdtrekkie »

JustSomeNobody wrote: post #41
ocdtrekkie wrote: post #40

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Then why did Google threaten to banish Acer from the OHA if they dared release even a single device running a fork, partnered with a competing search engine? Google has made it very clear they are opposed to so-called 'incompatible' forks of Android, and that they consider pretty much anything not running Google's proprietary services to be 'incompatible'. http://www.theguardian.com/technology/2012/sep/19/android-ch.…

> And your app store contains Android apps (including pirated Google apps). I think THIS was the issue, not the forked Android. Amazon has a forked Android. Cyanogen has one.

Acer isn't responsible for what Aliyun puts in it's app store, and that's NOT the issue, Google made clear in their response: Google doesn't allow OHA members (companies allowed to ship the Play Store) to sell any devices with forks. Amazon isn't an OHA member. Cyanogen may have something interesting going on, because AFAIK they're compliant with whatever OHA terms they currently have agreed to.

Re: Microsoft’s Cortana Gets Baked into Cyanogen’s Forked Version of Android

#43

Post by zanny »

chinathrow wrote: post #8

What is happening on your smartphone screen is the next battleground for even more data points. Those who will be able to get access to, are only a few (Apple, Google, MS) and mostly only one of them at once. - Google Now can screen scrap your current screen and use it how they wish as processing is done on the server side. - Siri is well embedded within the iOS ecosystem since a couple of years - Since MS' investmen…

The irony and joke is that this is just another wave of standardsless spyware. For example, there is no way to do "voice commands" on desktop Linux because all these systems are proprietary and rely on huge processing networks owned by big tech to implement, and they use them as "features" to sell their particular flavor of vendor lock-in.

Mycroft is literally the only attempt to remedy this but of course you face brick walls to trying to get any interoperatbility between these cloud networks.

Re: Microsoft’s Cortana Gets Baked into Cyanogen’s Forked Version of Android

#44

Post by tingol »

JustSomeNobody wrote: post #36
wolfgke wrote: post #23

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Allowing forking (by the license) does not mean that Google likes forking.

That is how these things work. If an org isn't willing to allow forking then they forking shouldn't have open sourced it. The FACT that Google open sourced it tells me THEY DON'T MIND.

What kind of thinking is that? Google open sourced it because they HAD TO. Linux is GPL so they had no other choice. Whether or not they mind is a different issue.

Re: Microsoft’s Cortana Gets Baked into Cyanogen’s Forked Version of Android

#45

Post by wolfgke »

JustSomeNobody wrote: post #36
wolfgke wrote: post #23

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Allowing forking (by the license) does not mean that Google likes forking.

That is how these things work. If an org isn't willing to allow forking then they forking shouldn't have open sourced it. The FACT that Google open sourced it tells me THEY DON'T MIND.

Indeed, as tingol wrote, parts (as the Linux kernel) had to be open sourced. But also for the large rest I believe open sourcing Android had more advantages than disadvantages for Google - thus it made sense. This does not contradict the fact that Google might not be fond of forks.

Re: Microsoft’s Cortana Gets Baked into Cyanogen’s Forked Version of Android

#47

Post by digital_ins »

jeremy7600 wrote: post #4

Uhm, why does techcrunch not mention that Cortana's deep integration in Android sounds a lot like Google Now's deep integration into Android? And I agree with others, how can adding a large app that sends data to MS help with bloat or security?

It doesn't. But I guess 'deep integration' sounds like something sexy that every single phone OS should have with an onboard voice AI. This is frighteningly expensive if you get into doing this on your own. So this integration with MS' Cortana is their solution to the entire conundrum (while still managing to be different enough from Google's version of Android)

Re: Microsoft’s Cortana Gets Baked into Cyanogen’s Forked Version of Android

#48

Post by sirkneeland »

ocdtrekkie wrote: post #30
JustSomeNobody wrote: post #15

Earlier quoted context omitted.

How can anyone steal an open source OS?

While Android is 'technically' open source, from a practical sense, it is not. It's primarily controlled by the Google MADA agreement, which is how Google dictates terms to OEMs. OEMs have very little ability to negotiate this agreement, and they have almost no alternative to accepting it. If Microsoft was able to present a viable alternative, such that manufacturers could choose to use Microsoft's flavor of Android…

This is correct, although this isn't likely. Replicating the end-user cloud services Google provides is hard enough, but replicating the app store could be much harder since so many Android apps are written to call Google Play Services APIs. Microsoft would have to spend considerable resources getting developers to rewrite (and even harder, maintain!) their Android apps to target Microsoft equivalents for Play Services. Perhaps an easier sell to developers than "hey, learn C# and build your app from scratch for Windows Phone", but easier than impossible does not necessarily mean possible.

Re: Microsoft’s Cortana Gets Baked into Cyanogen’s Forked Version of Android

#49

Post by s73v3r »

ocdtrekkie wrote: post #30
JustSomeNobody wrote: post #15

Earlier quoted context omitted.

How can anyone steal an open source OS?

While Android is 'technically' open source, from a practical sense, it is not. It's primarily controlled by the Google MADA agreement, which is how Google dictates terms to OEMs. OEMs have very little ability to negotiate this agreement, and they have almost no alternative to accepting it. If Microsoft was able to present a viable alternative, such that manufacturers could choose to use Microsoft's flavor of Android…

Possibly, but not likely for a while. The Play Store is the one with all the Android apps. There'd have to be something quite compelling to get developers, especially ones using Google services in their apps, to support the Microsoft or Cyannogen stores. Because there'd still be a cost in supporting the alternative store, and so far most developers aren't wanting to do that.
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