Project Gus: The Sad State of Open Source in Android tablets
 

"This year a slew of companies have launched competing Android tablet devices. A lot of rhetoric has been spun about how Android’s open source ecosystem gives manufacturers and consumers an advantage.

Unfortunately, the current crop of Android tablets aren’t nurturing open source at all."

Project Gus: The Sad State of Open Source in Android tablets


Comment: Sadly at the moment Android tablets and phones are more or less the only serious somewhat OSS offerings available.

The run-of-the-mill Chinese sweatshop factories are churning out Android devices but - even forgetting the political implications of buying into Chinese state corporatism - these fly-by-night operators are sharing none of their GPL'ed source code! Cheapo Chinese Android tablets certainly aren't for me...

Meego on ARM by a trustworthy OEM seems to be what I'm still impatiently waiting for.

There has been some half-hearted moves to free some of the proprietary ARM graphics support and hopefully those efforts lead somewhere. Intel's pact with the devil known as Imagination for their closed-source GMA-x00 graphics acceleration tack-on chips helps keep Intel out of the picture for the foreseeable future.

Still, I could consider getting Android-on-ARM tablet or phone if the hardware was open and Meego could be installed and supported (by both kernel and Meego developers) at a later stage.

But just where are all the Meego-compatible ARM-based devices, even rumoured ones? If only Nokia and Intel branded devices (whenever available) will be supported it is going to be a tough uphill battle to gain mind- and marketshare.

Re: Project Gus: The Sad State of Open Source in Android tablets
 

Unfortunately, lack of open drivers is a plague that persists across all desktop (sans Intel) and embedded devices. Even ARM and Qualcomm's cores use closed drivers, never mind Nvidia.

Unfortunately, I know of no embedded OpenGL ES capable graphics chipset with open drivers. Perhaps if AMD/ATi hadn't sold theirs off, but that's neither here nor there.

Re: Project Gus: The Sad State of Open Source in Android tablets
 

Qualcomm recently opensourced Snapdragon with Adren GPU drivers. Sources are here.

Re: Project Gus: The Sad State of Open Source in Android tablets
 

And Intel's proprietary embedded graphics chipsets from Imagination (gma500/600/? for netbooks and handhelds) are apparently unmaintainable under Linux...

A month ago Qualcomm made their half-assed first effort at openness by publishing half-proprietary Linux drivers. Maybe that eventually leads to greater openness or at minimum remotely tolerable maintainability.

I remain hopeful that the Linaro cooperative and their hardware customers would be able to convince some ARM / graphics licensee(s) to come out and play open.

With ARM really depending on Linux (the kernel) and open-source in general for so much it is painful to see the ARM ecosystem locked down by proprietary (but crucial) components.

Re: Project Gus: The Sad State of Open Source in Android tablets
 

Strong evangelism talk.
Emotional rhetorics > Facts....
Would be much appreciated if it's reversed...

Strong facts that can rile up emotional responses.

Re: Project Gus: The Sad State of Open Source in Android tablets
 

I generally tend to agree with you, but I'm not sure what you're really saying here... :p

Re: Project Gus: The Sad State of Open Source in Android tablets
 

I get it. People let their emotions out before... well, really stating the facts. It's like a propaganda rally. You're all sweaty, worked up, excited... and only will go in the same direction as the angry mob ahead and alongside you.

Re: Project Gus: The Sad State of Open Source in Android tablets
 

What he said :D

ps: not saying the article is incorrect; but we could do with more facts before throwing the strong sentiments..

Re: Project Gus: The Sad State of Open Source in Android tablets
 

I'd appreciate any factual corrections and also suggestions for improving the emotional rhetoric where it is IYO warranted.

Someone looked into the matter of availability of Android source (wrt. preloading OEMs) and found the state of affairs rather dismal. That is on top of other grey areas (environment, applications) in Android what comes to open source.

Meego is still finding its way, but we should also try to understand where the competition is. For me openness is very important because it promotes both sustainability and security (and inter-operability etc.).

Re: Project Gus: The Sad State of Open Source in Android tablets
 

Yes, completely agreed on this point. My 'hyper emotional' comment was partly directed at the xenophobia (borderline racism?) toward chinese in your original comment ;)

On a practical level, inter-operability may also mean you have to deal with DRM and proprietary technology (read also: N900 Flash 10 debacle).

I conceptually agree with your remark, but it doesn't always work out as simple and easy as it's implied.

Re: Project Gus: The Sad State of Open Source in Android tablets
 

It has not been even six months since work on MeeGo started, which implies (well, three) things:

1. You can't make an OS in 6 months, even if you're not starting from scratch (surprise). This was true for Android, too.

2. Nokia and Intel will be the first. Companies outside those two won't really be willing to experiment with ANY OS until they see what comes of it, so don't expect (other) big players in the first wave. Again, this was the same with Android.

3. MeeGo is not supporting anyone per se, whoever sticks it on their devices, supports it. Nokia (or Intel) won't be doing (nor preventing !) support for any other manufacturer. Ditto for Android.

3a. There is currently one known MeeGo compatible ARM device - the N900.

Re: Project Gus: The Sad State of Open Source in Android tablets
 

I am hoping specifically that some Asian manufacturer will bust the prevailing tablet makers and come out with Internet tablets far more open sourced than anything yet seen. I just can't visualize it being done in the US or European legal environments. My impression is that the wind of hope blows from the Orient. The manufacturers there seem to be in an anarchistic struggle for profits that might impel someone to try it. I don't have much faith in any manufacturer I have heard of.

Re: Project Gus: The Sad State of Open Source in Android tablets
 

Note: strange, my Thanks option disappeared after message #10 above. I wanted to thank ysss.

Re: Project Gus: The Sad State of Open Source in Android tablets
 

Rest assured I am extremely well aware of the difference between individuals, peoples and their governments/regimes.

By referring to Chinese state corporatism I thought it was clear and certainly without xenophobia (!?) that I meant the state-corporations symbiosis in China and not the people. Most of my Chinese friends actually agree with that point, although some are also beneficiaries of it while others are involved in improving labour and democratic rights.

Thanks for explaining your reading-between-the-lines and I hope we cleared up any misunderstanding. ;)

Re: Project Gus: The Sad State of Open Source in Android tablets
 

The only difference between "Chinese state corporatism" and "governments being in the pockets of big business in 'Western' market economies" is that in the former the relationship is transparent ;)

Re: Project Gus: The Sad State of Open Source in Android tablets
 

There's this device out at the moment which is doing pretty well but people say its weak and unoriginal : Consumer Tablet

Compared to what?

Re: Project Gus: The Sad State of Open Source in Android tablets
 

This is a bit of a non-starter as DRM is explicitly designed to defeat interoperability, and can't be maintained in an open source context. And proprietary software makes you dependent on the vendor's whims, possibly leaving us in the lurch like we have been for Flash 10.

Re: Project Gus: The Sad State of Open Source in Android tablets
 

Please accept my apologies for adding to this old thread. This seems like the correct place to post this, rather than starting a new thread on a similar topic

I like the x86 computer paradigm where you buy the box with hardware and then select the OS to load on it. I also like the x86 paradigm of replaceable, upgradeable, comes with a driver add-ons. Soundcards, modems, video cards, what-have-you all plug into slots. Your device could evolve to meet changing needs or, as hardware improved, better meet the same needs.

This is the direction, admittedly it is 'backward', I'd love to see taken in the high end phone/tablet market. The idea of being able to upgrade the RAM, on-board storage, camera, microphone, and display of an E7-like or Playbook-like device is very appealing. These could run Linux, Android, WebOS, Windows etc. and serve the needs of everyone except those who really do not want to get into the guts of their machine. The iPadx would be for them.