4 ms·

Android 3.0: leaked details hint at tablet potential

16 points by soundsop 16y ago

astine 16y ago
"It's puzzling, and disconcerting, that developers and Android enthusiasts are forced to rely on leaks and rumors in order to piece together the development roadmap of a platform that is supposedly "open."" Probably the most interesting statement in the article. Sure , the source is available, but not the latest and development methodology is definitly more a closed source onethan an open source one. Google retains a lot of control over the platform... If they decided to close source things, I wonder how successful a fork would/could be? Still, It's way more open than the iPhone will ever be.
- blasdel 16y ago
  I think Google doesn't retain nearly enough control over the platform -- why the hell are they licensing their "Google Experience" apps to handset manufacturers that ship devices with ancient versions of the OS using hacked-together private drivers and never releasing software updates? Why even let them ship the app store if your own flagship applications in it will be masked due to incompatibility?
  - kjksf 16y ago
    Because of a delicate power balance between Google and their partners. Even if Google thought that those are things that need to be fixed, they can't just declare "my way or highway" to their partners because the partners have alternatives. Another reason might be that Google is more realistic about what is easy and what is not easy to do. While from our perspective not upgrading everything to the latest version within minutes of new release can only be explained by criminal incompetence from everyone involved, maybe, just maybe, on planet Earth, those are caused by technical and managerial issues we're not privy to and therefore not fully capable of judging.
- rbranson 16y ago
  The Apple design and development process is sort of the quintessential anti-committee process. It's somewhat autocratic, authoritarian, cohesive, focused, and very decisive. Cringe as we might want to, this is what makes Apple so great at creating fantastic, successful products. It's a daunting (but not impossible) task to compete with this with an open process.
  - whalesalad 16y ago
    Exactly, just look at PHP. Design by committee gone horribly, horribly wrong.
whalesalad 16y ago
I think it's only a matter of time before ChromeOS and Android become the same thing, or at least very close siblings.

16 points by soundsop 16y ago

"It's puzzling, and disconcerting, that developers and Android enthusiasts are forced to rely on leaks and rumors in order to piece together the development roadmap of a platform that is supposedly "open."" Probably the most interesting statement in the article. Sure , the source is available, but not the latest and development methodology is definitly more a closed source onethan an open source one. Google retains a lot of control over the platform... If they decided to close source things, I wonder how successful a fork would/could be? Still, It's way more open than the iPhone will ever be.

blasdel 16y ago
I think Google doesn't retain nearly enough control over the platform -- why the hell are they licensing their "Google Experience" apps to handset manufacturers that ship devices with ancient versions of the OS using hacked-together private drivers and never releasing software updates? Why even let them ship the app store if your own flagship applications in it will be masked due to incompatibility?
- kjksf 16y ago
  Because of a delicate power balance between Google and their partners. Even if Google thought that those are things that need to be fixed, they can't just declare "my way or highway" to their partners because the partners have alternatives. Another reason might be that Google is more realistic about what is easy and what is not easy to do. While from our perspective not upgrading everything to the latest version within minutes of new release can only be explained by criminal incompetence from everyone involved, maybe, just maybe, on planet Earth, those are caused by technical and managerial issues we're not privy to and therefore not fully capable of judging.
rbranson 16y ago
The Apple design and development process is sort of the quintessential anti-committee process. It's somewhat autocratic, authoritarian, cohesive, focused, and very decisive. Cringe as we might want to, this is what makes Apple so great at creating fantastic, successful products. It's a daunting (but not impossible) task to compete with this with an open process.
- whalesalad 16y ago
  Exactly, just look at PHP. Design by committee gone horribly, horribly wrong.

whalesalad 16y ago

I think it's only a matter of time before ChromeOS and Android become the same thing, or at least very close siblings.