'Google strangled Acer phone using Alibaba Android rival at birth' Google has reportedly forced Acer to cancel the launch of a phone that used an Android rival as its operating system. In an embarrassing U-turn, Acer cancelled a launch event for the smartphone so late that journalists were left milling outside the doors of the venue in Shanghai this afternoon. Acer had been collaborating …
For a very long time, I've had Google's "Don't be evil" thrown into the same bullshit bucket as Apple's "It just works"
People don't think Google are 'nice'. Just because they had good intentions way back in the mists of time, when they were small and spritely doesn't mean they can continue with that wonderful thought now that they're a huge megacorp.
Basically, nice guys don't get the girls and this applies in business as much as real life.
Wait, I thought Google were the good guys, do no evil and all that. My understanding was that the definition of open is "mkdir android ; cd android ; repo init -u git://android.git.kernel.org/platform/manifest.git ; repo sync ; make". There must be some aspect I'm missing here.
There are at least two aspects:
1) Early access to pre-release Android source code, otherwise Acer will still be porting old versions by the time others have had the new one. Android is not really a true open source project in the sense that you can download the latest HEAD version from their website. Google restricts pre-release code to preferred partners.
2) Stuff like the Play store, Maps, Gmail apps are closed source which Google only licenses to devices they approve. Selling an Android device without any of those things is very hard, unless you're Amazon and have the resources to fill in all those gaps.
Is there someone else waiting for Ubuntu (debian would be even better) or some other big shop to release a truly open source phone OS ?
I dream of a day that I could have one source for laptop / tablet / phone and hopefully that those three devices (and maybe a smart tv thrown in the mix too) could be synchronized.
The closest would be <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jolla">Jolla</a> ( the successor to Meego, the successor to Maemo). If Nokia hadn't kept changing partners and strategies every year and not jumped into bed with Microsoft then you might have had your wish.
The biggest challenge is binary drivers. If open source drivers existed then it would be relatively easy to upgrade the phones. The same problem exist for Android.
"Linux would be ideal."
Depends on what you mean by "Linux", if you mean the kernel, which IS Linux, than you already have your wish. Android uses a modified Linux kernel. If you mean the OS commonly known as Linux then see the post by SD2 above for some of the problems involved with such a project. That's not to say that it might not happen, just rather difficult.
I'm waiting for a phone OS that doesn't piss away all your data to anyone who asks
I have my phone locked down so that it doesn't send anything I don't want it too, and "AppTraffic" (inter alia) to detect sneaky apps. But you have to root the Android, Null all the Ads, and be ever vigilant. But isn't the same with any computer OS?
But if you want to use Twitter and Facebook (etc) then you are totally out of luck...
This looks "Tortious interference" to me.
IANAL but jumping into what must have been a contract between Acer and Alibaba must mean that Google have left themselves open to yet another bout of litigation.
It will be interesting to see, if such a lawsuit does come about, where the complaint might be lodged. If in China, no contest, Google gets its arse kicked. If in the US, Google gets its wrist slapped or Acer et al are taken to the cleaners by one of these wonderfully informed juries they have over there.
Here's a post from Google's Andy Rubin :
" Hey John Spelich -- We agree that the Aliyun OS is not part of the Android ecosystem and you're under no requirement to be compatible.
However, the fact is, Aliyun uses the Android runtime, framework, and tools. And your app store contains Android apps (including pirated Google apps). So there's really no disputing that Aliyun is based on the Android platform and takes advantage of all the hard work that's gone into that platform by the OHA.
So if you want to benefit from the Android ecosystem, then make the choice to be compatible. It's easy, free, and we'll even help you out. But if you don't want to be compatible, then don't expect help from OHA members that are all working to support and build a unified Android ecosystem."
The trouble is, that whole "OK, it's not actually copying us, but it's piggybacking on all our hard work and our ecosystem" sounds a lot like Oracle's argument against Google ... I'm sure Google remember how that one ended, does Alibaba or Acer?
Nuke, because threatening your own best customers/partners really doesn't make for best friends in future.
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