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Google's Android platform: not so open after all (ars technica)
Ars Technica takes
Google to task for its management of the Android program.
"Google vowed that its Linux-based Android mobile platform would
empower enthusiasts and amateur developers, but today we have seen
compelling evidence that this is an empty promise. Third-party Android
application developers, who have grown increasingly frustrated with the
lack of SDK updates, were shocked to discover that Google has been secretly
making new versions of the Android SDK available to the Android Developer
Challenge (ADC) finalists under non-disclosure agreements."
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Google's Android platform: not so open after all (ars technica) Posted Jul 17, 2008 17:18 UTC (Thu) by njd27 (subscriber, #5770) [Link] The author seems to have got rather over-excited about something that is basically just a closed beta programme.
Google's Android platform: not so open after all (ars technica) Posted Jul 17, 2008 17:52 UTC (Thu) by davidw (subscriber, #947) [Link] It's an issue, but not a major one. The weirdest aspect of the whole thing is that Google can't say why they won't talk about it, and they're buttoned up tight. Bizarre. But I still have every belief we'll see the source code after phones come out. What is more of an open question is whether they'll be able to put together a real open source community, rather than just throw some code at svn every once in a while.
Google's Android platform: not so open after all (ars technica) Posted Jul 17, 2008 18:15 UTC (Thu) by zooko (subscriber, #2589) [Link] "But I still have every belief we'll see the source code after phones come out." Why do you feel this way? Is it because you trust that the google corporation wouldn't go back on its word, or because you think that it will be in its best interest to release it later, or something else? I'm not asking these questions in order to implicitly disagree with your prediction -- I'm just curious why you think so.
Google's Android platform: not so open after all (ars technica) Posted Jul 17, 2008 18:31 UTC (Thu) by davidw (subscriber, #947) [Link] Because I've talked with people involved with the Android program who promise it. Also, yeah, I think that going back on their word would be quite damaging for them. The reason they're waiting for phones is this, they say: if they dumped the source code, they would run the risk of some random manufacturer running out and doing a crappy, non-QA'ed phone, and then the press would be all over what a disaster Android is (just like they jumped on this story like a pack of wolves:-)
It's a mix of two Posted Jul 17, 2008 21:51 UTC (Thu) by khim (subscriber, #9252) [Link] Why do you feel this way? Is it because you trust that the google corporation wouldn't go back on its word, or because you think that it will be in its best interest to release it later, or something else? It's in Google's best interest to keep their word :-) Because a lot of marketing hoopla around Android is based on trust. Once this trust will be lost - it'll be the end of Android. May be few years down the road if and when Android will be default phone platform they'll have the luxury to deceive people (like Microsoft) - but not for a few years...
Google's Android platform: not so open after all (ars technica) Posted Jul 18, 2008 3:21 UTC (Fri) by sbergman27 (guest, #10767) [Link] """ The weirdest aspect of the whole thing is that Google can't say why they won't talk about it, and they're buttoned up tight. """ Not so weird, really. Any time a luminary who happens to have become a Google employee is interviewed, there is always that awkward moment when they pause and say "I can't talk about that". Google is about secrecy when it suits their purposes, and about the appearance of openness when that suits their purposes. As for the rest of us, our own personal information is fair game for them either way.
surprise! google is turning into a vaporware company Posted Jul 17, 2008 22:23 UTC (Thu) by b7j0c (subscriber, #27559) [Link] hey i can't wait to use my android phone (just powered up by the google solar initiative!) to connect to my local google free wifi so i can talk to my opensocial friends about posting new crap to google knol (that pop culture reference might be harder to place - it was the insanely-hyped-for-eight-hours "wikipedia killer") why does google get a free pass on so much vaporware?
Not so fast Posted Jul 18, 2008 6:32 UTC (Fri) by man_ls (subscriber, #15091) [Link] Because they have delivered a lot of crazy stuff that everyone else thought was impossible to do. If they only deliver 1/2 of what they announce it is still not a bad ratio.
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