You are right that previous versions of Android meet the Open Source Definition [1], once they were actually released and the source made available. Honeycomb d

You are right that previous versions of Android meet the Open Source Definition [1], once they were actually released and the source made available. Honeycomb does not, but Google claim that was just an anomaly and won't be repeated; we will have to wait and see, but it seems unlikely that they won't fulfil that promise. I don't think that Android follows the spirit of open source though: Open source is a development method for software that harnesses the power of distributed peer review and transparency of process. The promise of open source is better quality, higher reliability, more flexibility, lower cost, and an end to predatory vendor lock-in. [2] There is no peer-review or transparency about the Android development process (unless you only define peers to be multi-billion dollar megacorps). >The Android eco-system includes thousands of open-sourced Java libraries and cross-platform development tools that are also open-source. Irrelevant; there are vast numbers of open source libraries for Windows or OS X, doesn't make them Open Source operating systems. >If you don't like it, fork it Except I can't fork any of the recent versions or development builds. How do I fork Honeycomb? How do I fork Ice Cream Sandwich? What good is the 'right' to fork something when the actual source isn't available unless you pay Google millions of dollars? [1]: http://opensource.org/docs/osd http://opensource.org/docs/osd [2] http://opensource.org/ http://opensource.org/