Irate Android devs aim to replace Google’s proprietary bits
Google has angered the Android enthusiast community by sending a cease and desist notice to a third-party developer who is building a popular custom version of the open source platform. Google doesn’t want its proprietary bits included in cooked ROMs.
News link: here
50 Responses
10.13.2009
Don’t be evil, Google.
10.13.2009
I thought the whole point of making it open source was so people COULD do this sort of thing…?
10.13.2009
Google is only hurting themselves in the end. Being an open and inviting platform has the potential to be a refreshing alternative to the hurdles of Apple’s App Store, but Android is quickly falling into some of the same pitfalls.
10.13.2009
except his ROM only runs on hardware that was purchased with Google’s apps to begin with.
10.13.2009
I’m glad you guys support our project. Stay tuned to openandroidalliance.com for updates.
10.13.2009
I’m happy to see this on the front page of Digg. Cyanogen has deserved every bit of the attention. I wont be switching from my CyanogenMod ROM anytime soon. Nooo way.
10.13.2009
Actually, Android is a trademark registered by Google Inc. and Android developpers are Google employees, but you are right about the Open Handset Allicance thingy…
10.13.2009
I agree that Google’s current complaint is lawful, but the big beef that people have is that Android hasn’t ended up being the open platform that Google initially talked about and this is just a reminder that it isn’t the open/free escape from proprietary phones that everyone expected.
10.13.2009
I kind of bought a Google-branded HTC Magic just so I could avoid this sort of rubbish that Apple pull.
10.13.2009
This is why I when I dumped my iPhone 3g, I picked up the Touch Pro 2. Windows Mobile seems to be the most open platform so far! It is kind of ironc where the two most beloved companies (Apple and Google) are acting like little bitches with their phone operating systems.
10.13.2009
No one is asking that they open the code of their proprietary apps up. The issue is distribution of that code. Google doesn’t want people to distribute their apps without licensing. Not allowing these apps to come with the ROM effectively nerfed the phone. The reason this is sort of unreasonable on Google’s part is because Cyanogen’s ROM is written for G1s, a phone that came with all those proprietary apps to begin with. It’s not like you are installing the apps on phones that didn’t already come with them. Anyone who bought a G1 legally paid for those apps.
10.13.2009
Sound’s like that fruit named company….
10.13.2009
Google is being a dick about this. Those apps already come with the phone, and they wouldnt do any good outside of Android. Maybe(big one..), Google is trying to push the dev community to step up their game and replace those apps altogether. Lets hope this turns out for the best.
10.13.2009
Android is not owned by Google. It’s a separate platform owned by the Open Handset Alliance. Google is just a member of that group.
10.13.2009
You can make as many ROMs with the open-source parts Android. The problem is the guy was using the parts that were not open source.
10.13.2009
Why is he being dugg down? He is entirely right…
10.13.2009
as gkbd said. They’re already giving it to us for nothing. Its not like they’re loosing profits. They just need need to come up with a license agreement that ROM modders can redistribute the apps they’re already not charging for as long as they aren’t modified.
10.13.2009
Well, it seems pretty clear to me that Google ***** up in just the same way that IBM ***** up so long ago. They won’t be able to maintain control of this thing. IBM, in using off the shelf parts to assemble an open architecture personal computer to compete with the Apple II, set the stage for a decentralized computer revolution. So what did Google do with their answer to another Apple product, Android? They used an open architecture operating system! And just like the IBM BIOS, the proprietary pieces of Google code will be reverse engineered in short order. It is inevitable.And so the revolution begins anew…
10.13.2009
His approach may be correct, but it doesn’t mean its lawful. He technically distributed copyrighted material.This is a oversight by Google/Open Handset Alliance. They should have had open source alternatives already made. The google ones are used as part of business deals to companies, so they can put the google brand on their phone. Not all android phones are technically ‘with google’. But they should have thought it through better and realized that this was going to happen, when they tell people they can make their own android releases.Oh and also Cyanogen is not irate. Its another google devloper who has nothing to do with the Cyanogen mod… which I love and am running on my phone
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10.13.2009
Google is doing what any software developer would do. They are acting exactly as the license requires, and it would be a lot worse for other developers if google just let this go. It sets the tone for acceptable behaviour in the Android community and if developers are going to make any money they need to be confident that there’s a clear distinction between work they freely contribute to the community and work they sell for profit.
10.13.2009
is google maps not downloadable on non-google branded android phones?it seems weird because its available for tons of other platforms including my symbian nokia phone for free.
10.13.2009
Google is quickly tempting me to sell my G1 and buy an iPhone. The G1 is a great phone, but long ago they should have allowed installing apps to the SD since they so hampered the G1 with a small amount of internal memory. I’ve rooted and done apps to sd, but I don’t have the time for constant updates and re-installs. I want my damn phone to work without all this nonsense.Google should be pushing harder to get the same apps Apple gets onto the Android platform. There are several iPhone apps I want that don’t have a Andoid equivalent.Come on Google….get your ***** together!
10.13.2009
Right, but Google is throwing a fit over apps that come with every Android phone (alteast in the US).
10.13.2009
We didn’t say we wanted them too. We want to be allowed to redistribute the apps they give away for free unmodified.
10.13.2009
Skynet wouldn’t let you cook custom roms of their platform either.
10.13.2009
The reason they’re doing this is because they make money from allowing companies to release phones branded with the "with Google" logo. If they let ROMs be released that have the "with Google" experience then you could take any android phone and make it a "with Google" phone.
10.13.2009
Lieutenant Dan got me invested in some kind of fruit company…
10.13.2009
You say "any software developer." Funny. Windows mobile has tons of people doing exactly this (rom cooking), not a single one has ever been asked to stop.
10.13.2009
But not all Android phones are "Google experience" branded. You are ignoring the case of the phones which specifically do not come with those apps, and the fact that Cyanogen’s ROM is not soley written for the G1. It’s about setting precedent and separating the apps from the OS.
10.13.2009
The problem is that Google probably wants control on its market app, and the fact that Cyanogen included an early, leaked version of the Market app in his ROM possibly caused the cease & desist.
10.13.2009
Are there any good Android phones out there?
10.13.2009
I disagree and I am a software developer. I bought my G1 solely for the fact it was to be Android and supposed to be an open source product that I could modify anyway I wish. For them to tell Cyanogen he can’t distribute Google’s core apps is absurd since my phone without those would be stupid.I hate copyright. It should not be allowed to be applied to personal use, period.
10.13.2009
"Google should be pushing harder to get the same apps Apple gets onto the Android platform. There are several iPhone apps I want that don’t have a Andoid equivalent."See, Google *should* be pushing for better apps but they’re not. And if current heads prevail they never will. At Mobilebeat in July one of the Google engineering VP’s came out swinging against apps and seemed to lean heavily on web-based stuff. Google really wants "The Cloud" to be the future, and they want to be the one’s sitting on that cloud. Problem is: I really don’t think it’s the future at all. Not the way Google wants it, at least, and Android’s going to crumble if they don’t realize this.
10.13.2009
We paid for the phone. This is software included with the phone. It should be allowed to be run on the phone regardless of what operating system you install.
10.13.2009
The Google apps in question were not modified at all. The whole stink is over distribution, which makes it worse because if you have an Android phone, you already have the apps.
10.13.2009
what’s up ya ***** fruit?
10.13.2009
Apps should exist, there is no doubt about that, but what I see them for is local caching of cloud data – ie. they connect to the cloud and even when you’re out of a service area, you still have access to recent data for the app.The web is all well and good, but it is still not as functional as a full java app.
10.13.2009
They don’t give them away for free, the provider pays for the phone to have the "with Google" experience. Android is free, "with Google" isn’t.
10.13.2009
Think of it like this.Ubuntu is open source, you can freely fork it.Now, let’s say Ubuntu decided to bundle some of their own proprietary apps (or signed deals to bundle the proprietary apps of others ie. Flash) in their distro to make it stand out. You could still fork Ubuntu, but you would have to exclude those proprietary apps.That’s exactly what is happening here. Google built the open source OS, but also built some proprietary apps for that OS. The open source stuff free to distribute, the proprietary stuff isn’t,
10.13.2009
Assuming you’re right about a coming mobile computing revolution, it is an open question whether losing control is a "***** up" on Google’s part. Google’s primary business is search. They want to be sure that they are well positioned to dominate search on mobile devices. As long as there was not a credible alternative to the closed mobile OSes, Google could potentially be shut out of the mobile environment by some combination of carriers and manufacturers driving traffic toward Google’s competitors. Every mobile user who adopts android is another chance for Google to gain mobile search market share by competing on a level (or better) playing field. Even if android moves completely away from Google’s vision, so long as it is open Google will have a chance to compete in search. As we have seen, they’re quite good at that.
10.13.2009
wow.. thats weird.
10.13.2009
weeFred, Funny in my 6 years experience in software development every piece of software has some sort of distribution rights declared in the license and/or EULA.
10.13.2009
xRom?
10.13.2009
Maemo ftw.Nokia even hosts the "cooked" images for its internet tablets (generally newer OSes for devices Nokia don’t support themselves anymore).
10.13.2009
The apps Google developed to live on top of Android are not open-source and cannot be redistributed like they were being.
10.13.2009
Google’s response FTA android-developers.blogspot.com/2009/09/not …Seems fair to me, I don’t see why Google should be expected to open up the code for their own proprietary apps
10.13.2009
Ok, copyright experts, question for you :The Android OS and Google’s apps are all geared towards the hardware that they were licensed to. Which means, the licenses are already in place @ the hardware level. Cyanogen’s mods are intended for those hardware, not any other. How is it violating whatever the F Google has to say? If the backup thingy is allowed so should cooking roms! Microsoft never objected their apps being included in cooked ROMs btw.
10.13.2009
"There is also a separate initiative called the Open Android Alliance which is specifically focusing on building open source equivalents for Google’s applications."Surprise, surprise! That didn’t take long now did it?Next up — Google works with hardware vendors to try and lock down the devices.
10.13.2009
Best at the moment: HTC Hero htc.com/www/product/hero/overview.htmlMany more coming soon…