John Lange wrote:
Here is a recent article on Android.
http://www.webmonkey.com/blog/Android_s_Debut_Steals_the_Show_at_Google_IO
The article mentions that Android will be released under an apache style
opensource license.
I see no indication that the OS will be locked into an ad supported
model or anything of that kind.
Sure, they promise to eventually release the source - for a generic
reference platform. Can you see Rogers or Bell or Telus shipping a
source kit that allows Jane Consumer to hack the inner workings of a
phone that they allegedly just bought ownership of? ROFL!! I predict -
based only on knowledge of the Apache license and how carriers think -
that you will see parts of Android used in locked phones that you do not
have ready access to AND that have an implicit clickwrap license that
says "thou shalt not rev-eng the code in this handset". Think iPhone.
Think The Empires Strike Back.
Maybe I'll be proven wrong. Maybe the big carriers will think it's the
GPL and stay away from it altogether. Or maybe they'll ship with full
source code even though the Apache 2 license does not require it. Then
again, maybe George W or Stephen H will actually do something that
advances the cause of freedom. Or maybe pigs will fly. Your mileage may
vary. Void where prohibited by law and where inconvenient to
politicians' and big companies' powerlust.
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