Slashdot Mirror

← Back to Stories (view on slashdot.org)

RMS: 'Is Android Really Free Software?'

Posted by Soulskill on from the android-is-no-braveheart dept.

An anonymous reader points out an article by Richard Stallman in The Guardian which questions whether Android should be described as 'free' or 'open.' Quoting: "Google has complied with the requirements of the GNU General Public License for Linux, but the Apache license on the rest of Android does not require source release. Google has said it will never publish the source code of Android 3.0 (aside from Linux), even though executables have been released to the public. Android 3.1 source code is also being withheld. Thus, Android 3, apart from Linux, is non-free software, pure and simple. ... Android is a major step towards an ethical, user-controlled, free-software portable phone, but there is a long way to go. Hackers are working on Replicant, but it's a big job to support a new phone model, and there remains the problem of the firmware. Even though the Android phones of today are considerably less bad than Apple or Windows smartphones, they cannot be said to respect your freedom."

4 of 433 comments (clear)

  1. Re:Yawn. by bonch · · Score: 5, Informative

    Each tenet of his philosophy?! How can something be open or free at all if the source code isn't even available? That's the fundamental basis of the whole idea.

  2. Re:Marketing by GameboyRMH · · Score: 5, Insightful

    More specifically, I call it "openwashing."

    Named after "greenwashing," the act of selling something as eco-friendly when it actually isn't, openwashing is the act of selling something as open when it actually isn't. Like those "open" phones that you can't get the source code for and run locked bootloaders so you can't even jai- uh, "root" the phone.

    I'm not against open phones, I want open phones. That's why I don't want anyone to accept an openwashed substitute.

    --
    "When information is power, privacy is freedom" - Jah-Wren Ryel
  3. Re:Marketing by Karlt1 · · Score: 5, Informative

    Erm. Have you seen Android's market share lately?

    But that hasn't equated with success in their respective app stores. The Apple app market made over 17X the revenue of the Android app store last year.

    http://techcrunch.com/2011/02/21/861-5-percent-growth-android-puny/

  4. Re:Marketing by Tsingi · · Score: 5, Insightful
    Openwashing, good term.

    It is a sad day, Android is no longer open.

    RMS might seem idealistic and harsh, he isn't very diplomatic, but he is right. We know that the NSA has no back doors in a GNU/Linux platform because we have the source for everything. Do you know that about Windows?

    If Google doesn't release the source for Android 3.0, then you have to take what is in there on faith. Has it occurred to anyone to question why they are becoming secretive all of a sudden? Maybe because "do no evil" does not apply?

    I have a nexus one, it's open, hardware and software, (I suspect that there are proprietary things in there, but it's as open as it gets FTW) I won't be moving to another phone any time soon.

    RMS's version of free doesn't mean no cost, it refers to your freedom to do as you please with your software/hardware. You won't be able to do that with an Android 3+ device. FAIL.