Weekly Edition
Return to the Press page
| |||||||||||||
Android Walks Out of the Mist (Linux Journal)
Linux Journal covers
the release of the first phone to implement the Android mobile
platform. "The first phone to implement Google's Open Source Android
mobile platform -- the eagerly-anticipated T-Mobile G1 -- made its maiden
voyage today, launching to the expected fanfare and with the surprise
appearance of Google founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin -- on
rollerblades. Developed by Taiwanese manufacturer HTC as the Dream, the G1
is Google's first volley in the ever-increasingly hostile mobile phone
wars. The phone carries with it Google's reputation -- with the search
giant's logo conspicuously placed on the phone's case where the
manufacturer's normally would be -- as well as its noted prowess in
launching things the computing public will find indispensable."
(Log in to post comments)
Android Walks Out of the Mist (Linux Journal) Posted Sep 24, 2008 3:03 UTC (Wed) by janpla (guest, #11093) [Link] ... things the computing public will find indispensable.A little less fawning would be good; I've just eaten and would like to keep it down. As for Google's products being universally indispensable - well, I certainly don't use any of their products. One reason for that is that as time goes by, I find that I use search engines less and less, and my search needs are much more focused that what can be satisfied by Google's "popularity contest" algorithm. The other reason is that I long ago lost trust in Google's search results; it affronts me when the first many search results are actually adverts, but can't see it other than when they are blatantly obvious nonsense, like "Buy minced platypus on eBay".
Android Walks Out of the Mist (Linux Journal) Posted Sep 24, 2008 5:54 UTC (Wed) by felixfix (subscriber, #242) [Link]
I have no problem differentiating ads from search results, whether listed down the right side or before the first search results. And since they are targeted by the search keywords, they are often quite useful, and not usually intrusive. If a few simple targeted ads like this pay for the search, as opposed to the awful generic boradcast ads found nearly everywhere else, I say hoorah for Google.
Something has to pay for what ads support, and the only alternative I can think of are either subscriptions or taxes. I'll take targeted simple ads anyday instead of taxes or broadcast generic ads.
Fawning post-Don Posted Sep 24, 2008 6:01 UTC (Wed) by ncm (subscriber, #165) [Link]
LWN quoted LJ, which is responsible for any fawning. The alternative would be to cut off the second half of the sentence.
indispensable Posted Sep 24, 2008 6:56 UTC (Wed) by avik (guest, #704) [Link]
Linux Journal is correct. Google does launch things the public finds indispensable; Google Search and Google Mail for example.
You might not use Google's products, but the fact is many/most people use them daily and find them indispensable. The word 'google' wouldn't have become a verb otherwise.
A little less knee-jerk reactions would be good.
(just imagine what would happen if an article mentioned Microsoft as the producer of indispensable technology)
Android Walks Out of the Mist (Linux Journal) Posted Sep 24, 2008 9:31 UTC (Wed) by tzafrir (subscriber, #11501) [Link]
Anybody here uses a default search engine that is not Google?
I don't currently have any better alternative. Yahoo comes close sometimes. The fact that search results point to the server is a major pain and waste of time.
I distrust MS-Live even more than I distrust google.
I tried several other alternative, but there's currently nothing that comes close.
(I'm not using any of their other services, if possible. I'm forced to use gmail at fork, and avoid the web interface there: download all the mail locally and use jabber clients for talk)
Android Walks Out of the Mist (Linux Journal) Posted Sep 24, 2008 11:40 UTC (Wed) by NigelK (guest, #42083) [Link]
Looking at the logs of one of the websites I run, out of all the referrers gained from search engines, Google only has a 60% share (which is why I don't think Google has a monopoly - they're simply most popular because they offer a better service).
Personally, I use Google as my start page and have a very short bookmarks list.
Curiosity: Posted Sep 24, 2008 15:56 UTC (Wed) by hummassa (subscriber, #307) [Link]
Are 35+% from Microsoft (Windows Live or whatever they call it those days)?
I am asking because, after all, computers come with Windows preinstalled, with IE as the default browser, etc...
Curiosity: Posted Sep 24, 2008 18:11 UTC (Wed) by NigelK (guest, #42083) [Link]
For the past seven days:
Google:65%
To put it into context, popular browsers:
Mozilla5:40%
OS's:
XP:55%
Below those levels are meaningless shrapnel.
Android Walks Out of the Mist (Linux Journal) Posted Sep 26, 2008 13:59 UTC (Fri) by docwhat (subscriber, #40373) [Link]
Shameless plug: http://clusty.com/ :-)
Android Walks Out of the Mist (Linux Journal) Posted Sep 24, 2008 12:52 UTC (Wed) by emk (guest, #1128) [Link]
Does anybody know if these Android phones allow access to the Linux layer? I'm looking for an open source smart phone that I can program in C or C++ (and ideally, one where I can gain access to the embedded GPU).[1] But all the material I've seen on the Android phones says that they're only programmable in Java.
Does this imply that the lower-level layers have been completely Tivoized? Or is it still possible to recompile the kernel and user-space code if you get some kind of developers' kit?
[1] I'm interested in squeezing as much raw processing power out a phone as possible, with the goal of doing real-time image processing.
Android Walks Out of the Mist (Linux Journal) Posted Sep 24, 2008 14:21 UTC (Wed) by bcopeland (subscriber, #51750) [Link]
I've read the same material (it's in their FAQ). It'd be very disappointing if the open phone was really only an open API, so I hope the "at this time" means what it says. Any official word from google would be nice.
Where have you found this "at this time" line? Posted Sep 24, 2008 16:36 UTC (Wed) by khim (subscriber, #9252) [Link] It'd be very disappointing if the open phone was really only an open API, so I hope the "at this time" means what it says. Any official word from google would be nice. Well, I certainly not 100% sure if this can be considered an "official word", but it says "Q4 2008 - Source code released" and it says so after "22 October, 2008 - Android 1.0 devices available at retail" so I don't see any source published before HTC Dream launch... I suppose developers are too buse trying to get the product out of the door - and source code release is also very involved process so they are setting it up like that: first - working Phone, then - source code (and it's still not known if it'll be possible to easily replace binary package with recompiled version)...
Here's hoping Posted Sep 24, 2008 16:48 UTC (Wed) by emk (guest, #1128) [Link]
"...and it's still not known if it'll be possible to easily replace binary package with recompiled version."
And that's what really matters, of course, at least for 3rd-party open source developers. I'm perfectly happy to pick up a (cheap) development kit for reflashing a phone's memory, but I actually want real hardware, and the ability to recompile the kernel and userspace.
A TiVoized kernel and userspace on all the nicest Android phones would make me really sad.
A question for our excellent editors: Do you have any information on how open these Android phones will be? I've been having a hard time finding straight answers.
That's simple... Posted Sep 24, 2008 17:01 UTC (Wed) by khim (subscriber, #9252) [Link] A question for our excellent editors: Do you have any information on how open these Android phones will be? I've been having a hard time finding straight answers. And there are a good reason for that: you are searching for a black cat in a dark room where the cat does not exist. The whole platform is 100% open (or so the promise goes). But! There are the catch: they very specifically chosen the licenses which allow TiVoization. And that's because carriers want that. Google does not care. HTC does not really care. But T-Mobile does care. The catch is: I'm pretty sure it's still not yet known how much does it care. Will it allow you to replace firmware for the free? Will it allow you to replace it for a fee? Will you lose the warranty (probably yes - but to what degree?)... Questions, questions, questions... And since it's easier to open up the platform then to close it down... I don't believe that initial version will be truly hackable...
That's simple... Posted Sep 24, 2008 18:58 UTC (Wed) by dlang (✭ supporter ✭, #313) [Link]
note that even if they do lock it down that far, there will be a lot of people who unlock it (just look at the iphone for an example where they don't even give you the source to start with)
but rather then assuming that this is locked down by an evil company, how about waiting until someone gets one in hand and tries it?
That's simple... Posted Sep 25, 2008 11:51 UTC (Thu) by emk (guest, #1128) [Link] Well, I have little enough desire to purchase a T-mobile contract in any case. If you want to experiment with your phone, the national carriers have always been a bad bet. Even if their phones aren't TiVo-ized, they usually have onerous contractual restrictions. After all, you're basically renting your phone. At least in my part of the US, I've always had much better luck with the regional carriers. Unicel, for example, leaves their Nokia phones totally unlocked, and one of their salespeople was happy to explain all sorts of warranty-voiding phone modifications. So what I'm really looking for is an unlocked phone, direct from HTC (or another Android partner), even if I have to pay full retail and pick up a developer kit. That way, I'll own my own phone, and will be able to hack on it in peace.
Tivoization of gphones Posted Sep 26, 2008 22:11 UTC (Fri) by giraffedata (subscriber, #1954) [Link] they very specifically chosen the licenses which allow TiVoization. And that's because carriers want that. Google does not care. I think Google cares. Remember that Google's interest in Android is advertising by Google on gphones. First, it wants gphones in as many hands as possible. So if Google can leverage legions of engineers outside of Google to make the device work on all carriers, in all countries, and do all the popular things, that furthers that goal. Tivoization works against that. And then from the other side, Google wants to make sure all gphones are somewhat identical so that its advertising works on all of them. Tivoization works toward that.
Android Walks Out of the Mist (Linux Journal) Posted Sep 24, 2008 17:23 UTC (Wed) by Wummel (subscriber, #7591) [Link]
... at the first glance I thought the Android source code is out. Well, no luck for me today, perhaps in a few weeks :-)
|
|||||||||||||