09-30-2011, 03:23 PM
Gerald I think you are misunderstanding my point. Im not arguing that the source code behind Android doesnt fit the literal definition of "open source", its that a mobile OS is more than code, it is an ecosystem. And since google keeps their ecosystem under tight wraps, its effectively impossible for you or I or a small company to come to market with a successful Android device, which is the spiritual point of OSS. Google wants complete control, the OSS thing is just a trojan horse, and that is most certainly out of the 'spirit' of OSS, which has always been about 'the little guy being able to compete'
now Im no OSS zealot, so I dont care much other than I roll my eyes when google and its fanbois hide behind the "open source" while doing the same evil empire shit that every other large company does.
it just really makes me chuckle to see that Amazon has the size and resources to take away Google's control, turn their OS around and fuck Google in the ass with it.
put it this way, its like saying OS X is open source, its just that the entire UI (and some other things) are just value added extras.
in mobile-land, the ecosystem is part of the OS
now Im no OSS zealot, so I dont care much other than I roll my eyes when google and its fanbois hide behind the "open source" while doing the same evil empire shit that every other large company does.
it just really makes me chuckle to see that Amazon has the size and resources to take away Google's control, turn their OS around and fuck Google in the ass with it.
put it this way, its like saying OS X is open source, its just that the entire UI (and some other things) are just value added extras.
in mobile-land, the ecosystem is part of the OS