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Android is usually considered open compared to iOS because developers can distribute software directly to consumers, without permission from a third party. Sou
by bookwormAT 13y ago
Android is usually considered open compared to iOS because developers can distribute software directly to consumers, without permission from a third party.
Source code licensing is a different topic.
- rhubarbquid 13y agoThat's one of the big problems: "open" can mean vastly different things to different people and in different contexts.
- dave1010uk 13y agoI don't think 3rd party software distribution is a main contributor to openness. Before Apple's app store most software was distributed directly to customers. For example, Symbian, J2ME phones, Windows Mobile, etc. None of these were considered open.
- bookwormAT 13y ago"None of these were considered open." I would say they are now, because of this: "Before Apple's app store most software was distributed directly to customers." Most discussions I see on the net these days are about free markets vs privately regulated markets. Windows and Android and Mac OS X belong to the former, while iOS and the XBox to the latter. Should people provide products and services to other people, maybe with some government regulation? Or should a few private companies control and regulate the distribution? Would the world be a better or worse place when Microsoft had the power to prevent the distribution of Web Browsers?