In an interview last week Google CEO Eric Schmidt said the following about enforcing a policy that all manufacturers give customers the option of having the Android platform in stock form or with the manufacturers UI overlay:
"If we were to put those type of restrictions on an open source product, we'd be violating the principle of open source."
Now I know this is a topic that could be debated endlessly but I personally like the idea of having a choice between the two but I also respect the fact that Google sees it more of a choice for the manufacturers to decide.
Open Source by definition can mean a lot of things but I found an interesting definition that says; "A main principle and practice of open source software development is peer production by bartering and collaboration......." By Google allowing companies such as HTC and Motorola overlay Android with their own UI they are essentially collaborating, thus creating an open source product.
The interview with Eric Schmidt can be seen below.
I may be way off base here, so any and all input is welcome!
By Chase Thompson
Source Engadget
Via Search Engine Land
No comments:
Post a Comment