3 ms·

In android’s case the use of Linux is an implementation detail though.

by orf 6y ago

jacquesm 6y ago
Without Linux Android wouldn't have gotten off the ground.
- orf 6y ago
  Cool, but not relevant to the point being made. Without Linux Facebook wouldn’t have got off the ground either. That doesn’t mean Facebook is a Linux service, their use of Linux (like Android) is entirely an implementation detail.
  - jacquesm 6y ago
    At their scale today it could have worked, but the question is if they would have gotten there in the first place. All these companies making untold billions off the back of FOSS could at least be kind enough to acknowledge that fact, rather than to bury it.
    - orf 6y ago
      They all do, through kernel patches, funding, open-source releases, talks and a lot more. Google especially has done a lot. But that doesn’t change the fact that the operating system Facebook, Google or Android uses is an implementation detail of the main service they offer.
      - jacquesm 6y ago
        If Google or Facebook would have had to pay the full license fees for one of the major Unix distributions they would have simply never gotten off the ground in the first place. One of those 'uncomfortable truths' I guess that people simply don't want to acknowledge.
        orf 6y ago
        I’m not really sure what point you’re trying to make. For lack of a better word you seem salty about something but it’s really not clear exactly what. Do you want a 90's era “powered by Linux” image on the Google or Facebook homepage? However the fact remains: Facebook’s use of PHP is an implementation detail, as is it’s use of Linux.
- dagw 6y ago
  Without Google, Android would never have gotten off the ground. Imagine an alternate history where Google bought QNX instead of Android Inc. back in 2005, do you think Android would still dominate the Mobile OS market today, or do you think Google QNX would be the dominant mobile OS.
  - jacquesm 6y ago
    What with QnX being a much better OS for mobile than Linux it would have been a smart move, but because Android used FOSS as a base rather than to pay a license fee to QnX they stood a better chance of taking off as a relatively small entity. So Linux really did enable Android.
  - rjsw 6y ago
    Or where Google bought Danger Inc. instead of Microsoft and carried on using NetBSD as a mobile OS.
  - sergeykish 6y ago
    Windows Phone.

In android’s case the use of Linux is an implementation detail though.

by orf 6y ago

In android’s case the use of Linux is an implementation detail though.

jacquesm 6y ago

Without Linux Android wouldn't have gotten off the ground.

orf 6y ago
Cool, but not relevant to the point being made. Without Linux Facebook wouldn’t have got off the ground either. That doesn’t mean Facebook is a Linux service, their use of Linux (like Android) is entirely an implementation detail.
- jacquesm 6y ago
  At their scale today it could have worked, but the question is if they would have gotten there in the first place. All these companies making untold billions off the back of FOSS could at least be kind enough to acknowledge that fact, rather than to bury it.
  - orf 6y ago
    They all do, through kernel patches, funding, open-source releases, talks and a lot more. Google especially has done a lot. But that doesn’t change the fact that the operating system Facebook, Google or Android uses is an implementation detail of the main service they offer.
    - jacquesm 6y ago
      If Google or Facebook would have had to pay the full license fees for one of the major Unix distributions they would have simply never gotten off the ground in the first place. One of those 'uncomfortable truths' I guess that people simply don't want to acknowledge.
      - orf 6y ago
        I’m not really sure what point you’re trying to make. For lack of a better word you seem salty about something but it’s really not clear exactly what. Do you want a 90's era “powered by Linux” image on the Google or Facebook homepage? However the fact remains: Facebook’s use of PHP is an implementation detail, as is it’s use of Linux.
dagw 6y ago
Without Google, Android would never have gotten off the ground. Imagine an alternate history where Google bought QNX instead of Android Inc. back in 2005, do you think Android would still dominate the Mobile OS market today, or do you think Google QNX would be the dominant mobile OS.
- jacquesm 6y ago
  What with QnX being a much better OS for mobile than Linux it would have been a smart move, but because Android used FOSS as a base rather than to pay a license fee to QnX they stood a better chance of taking off as a relatively small entity. So Linux really did enable Android.
- rjsw 6y ago
  Or where Google bought Danger Inc. instead of Microsoft and carried on using NetBSD as a mobile OS.
- sergeykish 6y ago
  Windows Phone.