4 ms·

We need a truly open source mobile operating system.

by brador 13y ago

cmccabe 13y ago
Let me guess-- you're going to "no true scotsman" all the actual existing open source mobile operating systems.
- dublinben 13y ago
  Which ones? Afaik, every 'open source' mobile operating system requires proprietary software to actually function.
frozenport 13y ago
Why? In the mobile space, a race to bottom of the price point along with operating in China is making it increasingly hard for hardware companies to maintain their IP. Life sucks when your team's design has been stolen.
chestnut-tree 13y ago
"We need a truly open source mobile operating system." We have one - Firefox OS from Mozilla: http://www.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/os/ http://www.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/os/
- brador 13y ago
  Because of over dependence on Google money, Firefox are essentially an arm of Google at this point. I've lost trust in them. The first thing a fresh install of Forefox does is ping Google.
  - quadrangle 13y ago
    Don't mistrust Mozilla because of their Google relations. Such conflicts of interest are complex, but this is a case where things are quite complex. It may be less than ideal, but Mozilla is still overwhelmingly positive.
  - Ygg2 13y ago
    So? I'm sure ~90% of all non-darknet sites in the world ping Google in one way or another. Do you distrust all sites? Do you not store a password on any of them?
  - frabcus 13y ago
    They'd get money from Bing [1] if Google dropped the contract in 2014. Firefox sell a commodity product - their default search engine - so have no need to be blackmailed by their customer. [1] e.g. see "Firefox with Bing" move last time renewal came up: https://www.computerworld.com/s/article/9221226/Mozilla_Microsoft_debut_Bing_ed_Firefox https://www.computerworld.com/s/article/9221226/Mozilla_Micr...
    - brador 13y ago
      It would be nice if they had an option during install to pick your search engine. Google, yahoo, bing, duckduck.
  - fc2 13y ago
    If Firefox is supposed to be Google's serf, why aren't they supporting NaCl and Dart?
chatman 13y ago
Look at Replicant OS, the GNU foundation's effort to put a free Android system.
- melange 13y ago
  How is it better than regular android?
  - quadrangle 13y ago
    It removes proprietary parts of the system.
    - deleted 13y ago
      [deleted]
    - melange 13y ago
      So it's worse, but it confirms to FSF's philosophy.
- zorked 13y ago
  From their wiki, Replicant is really bare-bones at the moment: forget 3D or having your camera work and it will probably need proprietary drivers for the foreseeable future. Also, very few models are supported right now, fewer than Cyanogenmod on which it is based on.

We need a truly open source mobile operating system.

by brador 13y ago

We need a truly open source mobile operating system.

cmccabe 13y ago

Let me guess-- you're going to "no true scotsman" all the actual existing open source mobile operating systems.

dublinben 13y ago
Which ones? Afaik, every 'open source' mobile operating system requires proprietary software to actually function.

frozenport 13y ago

Why? In the mobile space, a race to bottom of the price point along with operating in China is making it increasingly hard for hardware companies to maintain their IP. Life sucks when your team's design has been stolen.

chestnut-tree 13y ago

"We need a truly open source mobile operating system." We have one - Firefox OS from Mozilla: http://www.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/os/ http://www.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/os/

brador 13y ago
Because of over dependence on Google money, Firefox are essentially an arm of Google at this point. I've lost trust in them. The first thing a fresh install of Forefox does is ping Google.
- quadrangle 13y ago
  Don't mistrust Mozilla because of their Google relations. Such conflicts of interest are complex, but this is a case where things are quite complex. It may be less than ideal, but Mozilla is still overwhelmingly positive.
- Ygg2 13y ago
  So? I'm sure ~90% of all non-darknet sites in the world ping Google in one way or another. Do you distrust all sites? Do you not store a password on any of them?
- frabcus 13y ago
  They'd get money from Bing [1] if Google dropped the contract in 2014. Firefox sell a commodity product - their default search engine - so have no need to be blackmailed by their customer. [1] e.g. see "Firefox with Bing" move last time renewal came up: https://www.computerworld.com/s/article/9221226/Mozilla_Microsoft_debut_Bing_ed_Firefox https://www.computerworld.com/s/article/9221226/Mozilla_Micr...
  - brador 13y ago
    It would be nice if they had an option during install to pick your search engine. Google, yahoo, bing, duckduck.
- fc2 13y ago
  If Firefox is supposed to be Google's serf, why aren't they supporting NaCl and Dart?

chatman 13y ago

Look at Replicant OS, the GNU foundation's effort to put a free Android system.

melange 13y ago
How is it better than regular android?
- quadrangle 13y ago
  It removes proprietary parts of the system.
  - deleted 13y ago
    [deleted]
  - melange 13y ago
    So it's worse, but it confirms to FSF's philosophy.
zorked 13y ago
From their wiki, Replicant is really bare-bones at the moment: forget 3D or having your camera work and it will probably need proprietary drivers for the foreseeable future. Also, very few models are supported right now, fewer than Cyanogenmod on which it is based on.