The many blog posts that sprang up in the wake of the now infamous C&D notice decried Google's stance against Cyanogen as outrageous and claimed Google contradicted its own "don't be evil" motto. Perhaps it did, or maybe not.
It's odd that Google would take such action, especially since it released Android as an open source product and encourages developers to freely modify and distribute it. If you're thinking that a C&D letter and open-source don't go together, you're right.
So what really happened and why is Google targeting Cyanogen?
CyanogenMod
If you are as unfamiliar with Cyanogen as I was before the C&D incident, here's what I found out. Cyanogen is actually the alter ego of principal developer Steve Kondik.Per the developer, "CyanogenMod is a custom ROM based on Android...focusing on performance, reliability, and safe usage of apps on SD, with some additional features." CyanogenMod users claim this modded version of Android is faster and has many valuable features missing from the standard Android version.
CyanogenMod currently runs on only two Android phone models made by HTC — the original HTC Dream (T-Mobile G1) and the new HTC Magic (T-Mobile MyTouch 3G). Installing CyanogenMod involves a somewhat risky procedure called rooting. Of course, rooting your phone voids its warranty, and if not done right, might render your phone useless — a condition known as "bricking" your phone. To learn more, see the CyanogenMod site.
The C&D
So what really caused Google to send a C&D notice to Cyanogen? It appears Google wasn't concerned so much with distributing a modded Android as it was with the proprietary Google products that Cyanogen was bundling with the mod. And rightly so. Even Cyanogen agreed with Google's position.The Google Experience apps (Search, Gmail, Calendar, Maps, YouTube, et al.) that Cyanogen distributed with the modded Android were never released as part of the Android open source product. These proprietary apps were developed by Google to promote their mobile services through business deals with the carriers (see this post).
I'm a big supporter of open source, and I believe Google's actions were justified in this case. I also think the naysayers rushed to judgment and are way off base. Open source doesn't mean Google should freely give everything away.
We should be grateful that Google released the Android core as open source to other developers. This was a smart move on Google's part because the open source model greatly promotes innovation and improves quality. And this is why Android will become one of the best mobile operating systems available.
Whether you agree or think otherwise, share your comments below. Regardless of your position, it's only a matter of time before Android shows how it will impact our mobile computing experience!
By Harry Hiles, HBH Technology LLC — 1 Oct 2009
An Introductory Overview of ITIL V3
0 Comments (click to view or add comments):
Post a Comment