Eff Google, Screw Android: The Backlash Begins

[phandroid]

This is bad. Really bad. So bad that one of the lead Android developers themselves are insinuating this is worth walking away from the platform. Jean-Baptiste Queru has just tweeted, “To my Apple, Microsoft and Palm buddies: are you hiring to work on mobile stuff?” OUCH.First we heard it as a rumor – Google [...]

More...

 

[sergey]

Is this really such a big deal?

Google is a for profit, publicly traded company. So they put in a C&D to some hacker/dev. Big deal. Life will go on. Android handsets will be released. Android updates are still on their way. Apps will continue to be developed.

So who cares if some dev defects to Apple? One dev... oooh. This is only significant to the over-sensitive fanboys.

 

[MrMattux]

While this one dev may not be a big deal, the C&D story in itself IS a big deal. This goes as deep as questioning whether or not you actually own what you buy. It also makes Google's history as a "nice" company moot. Just sayin'

 

[justjimjpc]

Is this really such a big deal?

Google is a for profit, publicly traded company. So they put in a C&D to some hacker/dev. Big deal. Life will go on. Android handsets will be released. Android updates are still on their way. Apps will continue to be developed.

So who cares if some dev defects to Apple? One dev... oooh. This is only significant to the over-sensitive fanboys.

I have quoted your words ,,, here for record ... lets see how farsighted you are ...???

 

[sergey]

I have quoted your words ,,, here for record ... lets see how farsighted you are ...???

My question to you is: if Google shuts down this guy you are going to switch platforms? Become one of us- an iPhone user?

C'mon, it's going to take more than a C&D to some ROM modder to kill Android. I don't think Android is that fragile that something like this will hurt it. Donut is coming out with multitouch, more phones are coming out, more apps are being developed. Forget the C&D. Enjoy Android- and this is coming from an iPhone user.

"That

 

[justjimjpc]

My question to you is: if Google shuts down this guy you are going to switch platforms? Become one of us- an iPhone user?

C'mon, it's going to take more than a C&D to some ROM modder to kill Android. I don't think Android is that fragile that something like this will hurt it. Donut is coming out with multitouch, more phones are coming out, more apps are being developed. Forget the C&D. Enjoy Android- and this is coming from an iPhone user.

"That

 

[punkzanyj]

"I am currently not recommending to anyone to get an Android phone .... I think the rooted phone is the reason that most people stay with their phone ... (even jailbroke iPhones)"

I really think someone should do a survey, because rooting (until recently) wasn't that easy(it still isn't, is it?), and from the comments left on the market --- I seriously doubt that rooting is that popular. Every time someone posts a widget app, it's flooded with people saying the app "won't open" or "doesn't launch". It's kinda hard to believe rooting is so popular when so many android users don't understand what a widget is, and aren't curious enough to find out what the word even means before downloading something to their phone.

I haven't rooted my phone, though I am tempted just so I can run apps off my SD Card.

I also don't understand what the big deal is when you consider they've already moved Google Maps to the market,....does no one else think that this C&D is the preamble to Gtalk, Gmail, and all the other apps that get preloaded making their way to the market as well? Thus making the whiners point moot? Doesn't take a genius to realize that's probably part of the plan if they're making the point that Google Apps are not part of the Android OS.

I think some people are just looking for a reason to buy an iPhone. They want to seem like they go against the flow, or whatever, but are really just looking for a "dealbreaker" to jump ship. They've had one eye on the door from the moment they walked in.

Finally, consider yourself supremely blessed if the OS for your phone is your biggest, most passionate gripe considering the state of the world.

 

[kabbie_mcfeely]

My main issue with this (I am not jumping ship, yet), is this ...

I paid for the google apps when I bought my phone (G1). They are part of the Google/Android system. If I want to jailbreak, root, blowup or do nothing to my phone, I should be able to.

The way I see it, Google has now told us, "yes you can modify your phone, just don't use are apps.". What's the point then ???? I paid for the apps I should not be told if I mod my phone I can't have them.

Someone mentioned that Google maps is on the Market. Has anyone running a Cyanogen Rom tried to download it ? I have. On 4 different builds from Cy. Each time it said app not signed correctly. This started before the C&D stuff.

 

[Miss_Almie112]

I honestly just feel that this is just been blown way out of proportion. I mean the people who are really upset about this are the people who are all about tweaking and customzing their phone. Not for the average commercial user who would view this as who really cares? Google is a business first and foremost. Their apps are a trademark which they have every right to do as they please. So should we really be upset about this?

 

[justjimjpc]

I honestly just feel that this is just been blown way out of proportion. I mean the people who are really upset about this are the people who are all about tweaking and customzing their phone. Not for the average commercial user who would view this as who really cares? Google is a business first and foremost. Their apps are a trademark which they have every right to do as they please. So should we really be upset about this?

No you should not be concerned ... if you are not a developer, a user that wants to root for max performance, ....

We all know that the Google Expeirence Apps are not part of the open OS ... and that there needs to a license in place in order to distribute them ....

One question for me and possibly for many is why they waited so long and what motive or value to their image do they expect to gain ... the people that were the early adopters of Android and Specifically the G1 have served google well and google let them promote the enhancement of the G1 so that equipment and Carriers could get the Android wave in motion .... but possibly now they feel they have enough of a ground-swell to put the brakes on ...

True they have the right and the have the Choice ... hopefully for all it works out !!!

 

[kabbie_mcfeely]

I mean the people who are really upset about this are the people who are all about tweaking and customzing their phone. Not for the average commercial user who would view this as who really cares?

Being able to"tweak" my phone and do with it as I wish, is the whole point of the phone. To me 30,000 people using my software, means a big deal.

Maybe this one instance isn't that big of a deal. I however ask "What's next ?". If google gets away with making "tweaking" of the Android system harder to do, what will they do next? Will they try to stop it all together like Apple ? Will limit apps like Apple ?

There is a bigger picture here. Some of us just have trouble seeing it.

 

[MrMattux]

Maybe this one instance isn't that big of a deal. I however ask "What's next ?". If google gets away with making "tweaking" of the Android system harder to do, what will they do next? Will they try to stop it all together like Apple ? Will limit apps like Apple ?

There is a bigger picture here. Some of us just have trouble seeing it.

This is an argument used very often in the world of iPhone jailbreaking. The difference here is who we're dealing with. Yes, Google is a megacompany interested in making money. However, Google plays the game differently than Apple.

1) Android (as an OS, the basic, functional piece of software Cyanogen and others modify) is open source. Apple's Touch OS is neither open source nor open. The whole idea of Android is that it is open in the first place, but one must recognize what he is referring to when discussing "Android".

2) Google is only protecting their rights as owners of the closed source software they distribute. Whether or not an application is "free as in beer," you cannot assume it is safe to redistribute it on your own. YES, you may have paid for it. YES, it may be free, but that doesn't mean it's yours to pass around. I think the line was blurred here, because people assumed Google would never jump on something so trivial, but now that they have, it doesn't mean they're the evil empire. In fact...

3) Google wants Cyanogen and the like to continue making ROMs. They want Android devs to get creative. We've seen what companies like HTC and Motorola can do with Android. What if someone took it that far and made a less-bloated, more feature-filled, fantasticly sexy version of Android that far outdid Sense or MOTOBLUR? Maybe it could even be monetized so that they could pay for the licenses to redistribute the very pieces of code Google wants credit for.

All in all, I don't think it's fair to compare Google to Apple. I also don't think that we're at the end of all things awesome when it comes to Android modifications. Just sit back a bit. Watch what happens. Cyanogen and the crew at xda-dev are already working on an answer to the problems the C&D presented. While it may feel like a slippery slope toward hell, it's not. We've just got to rethink what rooting and modding means.

And if you think this is bad, spend sometime in the jailbreak scene. Every firmware or hardware revision, Apple throws another curveball and the devs have to start all over again.

 

[RozzaC]

Well it seems like a solution has somewhat been made to the issue...

Cyanogen's just gonna make a ROM without all the Google Apps included...

You'll need to put them on there yourself once you install the ROM though using a backup of your phone...and apparently...he's working on that too...

Sounds like we can all be happy now...

 

[justjimjpc]

Well it seems like a solution has somewhat been made to the issue...

Cyanogen's just gonna make a ROM without all the Google Apps included...

You'll need to put them on there yourself once you install the ROM though using a backup of your phone...and apparently...he's working on that too...

Sounds like we can all be happy now...

I will smile again when i see it all working ...