

Google to delay distribution of new Android tablet code to outside programmers - petethomas
http://www.businessweek.com/technology/content/mar2011/tc20110324_269784.htm

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mindcrime
So they're waiting to release the code until it's a little more fully baked?
<yawn /> Somebody wake me up when this is real news.

Sure, you can quibble over this move and how it doesn't fit with the usual
"release early, release often" ideology of F/OSS, but - in the grand scheme of
things - I have a very hard time seeing this as a big deal. If they said
"We're not going to release the code, EVVAAAAAAARRR, MUWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAA"
then I could see a reason for being concerned.

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jsz0
Some privileged companies are not only getting access to the code but actually
shipping Honeycomb based products today. Most of the reviews of the Xoom noted
some lack of polish but I don't recall any massive problems that would suggest
Honeycomb is simply too unstable/feature incomplete to be released.

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Pewpewarrows
I don't think they want anyone touching it until Ice Cream (3.1), when the
Tablet and Phone "forks" of Android are merged together as one.

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nexneo
The definition make sense now:
<http://twitter.com/#!/Arubin/status/27808662429>

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wmf
To save RoG some trouble, we already have this thread:
<http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=2365725>

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pygy_
What licenses are used in Android beside the kernel's GPLv2? In other words,
what are they required to release? What can they keep closed at will?

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derobert
Most of it uses the Apache Source License 2.0, which doesn't require releasing
the source. You can look through <http://android.git.kernel.org/> (especially
external) for some others, but they're mostly similar licenses.

There are some GPL things in there besides the kernel, and a few of them are
probably shipped. I'm not sure how e.g., Motorola is handling this (since they
clearly have an obligation to provide the GPL source).

See also <http://source.android.com/source/licenses.html>

~~~
wtracy
My understanding is that all the exciting changes in Honeycomb involve the
user interface, which is all ASL.

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rlmw
Just seems like the typical Cathedral vs Bazaar discussion to me. Android
always has been a Cathedral.

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fungi
meego is developed in the open... but obviously its not an option yet.

