[OT] Is Android really free? (was Re: root almighty)

[Ignacio Torres Masdeu]

On Wed, May 20, 2009 at 00:43, David Reyes Samblas Martinez
<david at tuxbrain.com> wrote:
> in fact there is a lot of closed linux devices out there , for example
>  routers,motorola phones, ebook reader... and those doesn't mean Linux
> is closed,

It only means that if they don't publish the code, and that's usual,
they are violating the GPL. http://gpl-violations.org/

The problem with Android is not the license of the OS, but the
"ecosystem" around it. Closed hardware, DRMd content (applications,
music), the restrictions imposed on the OS by cell companies... it's a
nightmare, and the freedom of the user doesn't even appear in the
horizon.

I have strong feelings against Android, for the restrictions around it
are very similar to those of the iPhone, though Apple doesn't try to
disguise themselves as "open source paladins".

Android, as a platform (not an OS, not a device) is worst than closed,
for it lures developers with the false concept of an open environment.
Yes, people could fork and create gAndroid but where would they run
it? It's a wolf with a lamb skin,

And my last rant. Why did they create yet another isolated platform?
For f*cks sake! It's not even standard java! At least Objective-C
builds on top of C! Couldn't they create a set of libraries? Or use if
they wanted portability use Python? Argh!

My 2 cents

-- 
Ignacio Torres  Masdeu
http://ignacio.torresmasdeu.name/