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Google Play Services Supplants Android As Google's "Platform"
exomondo writes "Google has a plan to circumvent the problem of fragmentation of its Android operating system across the installed base by using its proprietary, closed-source Google Play Services. Play Services is a privileged service that runs on Android and provides the sort of functionality to applications that would generally be seen in operating system updates like cloud backup, remote wipe, push messaging, etc... This service can be updated silently and independently of the operating system and runs on almost every version of Android out there allowing Google to add functionality to Android devices without having to go through the OEMs so having an up-to-date version of Android is looking like less of a necessity."
It might be worth noting that Google originally rejected copyleft in favor of permissive licensing in the name of giving OEMs and carriers more control over Android on their devices.
It might be worth noting that Google originally rejected copyleft in favor of permissive licensing in the name of giving OEM sand carriers more control over Android on their devices.
And thus /. hath bestowed upon us a new name for companies peddling crappy hardware.
'We are trying to prove ourselves wrong as quickly as possible, because only in that way can we find progress.' RPF
Fortunately, I keep "Google Play Services" cut off from the net via Droidwall. That should keep Google from fscking with the software on my phone without my review and permission.
*My* computer. *My* choice about whether to apply a software change.
Tom Swiss | the infamous tms | my blog
You cannot wash away blood with blood
After the raw OS, Google needs to have something unique/proprietary to offer users. That's all the google play interconnected stuff... The Google-specific stuff is... in the Gapps. It makes sense... that's where Google's ecosystem integrates with the OS.
That's not exactly true-- try running a Cyanogenmod build sometime without Gapps. It still works well-- just as you'd expect, you don't have the Google-related things, but there is a non-branded browser, and it's still a very usable device. But yeah, you don't get the benefits (or risks, depending on your POV) of using Google's services.
Still, it's an interesting theory that the OS work is basically done now so new feature work is going to be piled over google services/gapps. I suspect it's a bit overstated as I'd think there is plenty of platform/OS-level and basic framework improvements still to do. Many of the UI advances in the Google services have been built in tandem with corresponding framework development (though much of it is backported all the way to v4),
A good chess player can still win against a weak opponent despite letting them take their queen. That doesn't mean that playing without a queen is a good strategic decision.
Grammer Nazism is a staple of geeks.
This is my signature. There are many like it, but this one is mine.
The manufacturers want to be apple and sell a new phone every time the O/S gets even the most basic of incremental improvements to functionality.
How exactly is that being like Apple other than in your invented version of reality? The iPhone 4 was discontinued October of 2011 and is slated to also get iOS 7 coming out later this year. The 3GS got discontinued in September of last year it still received iOS updates to 6.1.3 from last March. The 3G was discontinued in June 2010 yet continued receiving iOS updates until November of 2010. And the original iPhone was discontinued July 2008 and still received iOS updates until February of 2010.
Samsung is the only manufacturer that doesn't have their head up their
Well they are not keeping up. I have wonderful phone from Samsung
and the base OS is locked at old and musty. Worse the graphics code
does not take advantage of the graphics hardware as it should.
One of the critical buggers in phone land is the big system lump upgrade.
The Android team apparently elected to structure things to exclude modest updates
and fail to establish a path for trusted updates.
But this stuff is all new. A couple turns of the crank and good things are possible.
Truth is stranger than fiction, but it is because Fiction is obliged to stick to possibilities; Truth isn't. Mark Twain.
The 8GB iPhone 4 is still in production (rumored to be replaced at the bottom end soon by the iPhone 5C). Only the 16GB and 32GB versions were discontinued to make way for the 4S. Apple has consistently released major OS upgrades only for models that are current on the day of the announcement (including models that are discontinued as of that same date due to simultaneous new product announcements). Ask any iPhone 3G user that upgraded to iOS 5 whether they think this is a good or bad thing.
A quick check on XDA Developers suggests that many ROMs are having problems with Google Play Services right now: excessive battery usage, high data usage. It is hard to tell because the simple monitoring tools don't break down what this mysterious piece of software is doing. It might be some subtle version incompatibility.
So what happens when a monolithic chunk of software has a *really* bad release? Putting all your eggs in one basket is a serious risk.
HTC is currently the only brand I'm willing to buy because unlike Samsung, they have figured out that locked boot-loaders are bad for business.
Non-carrier branded Samsung phones don't have locked bootloaders.
Dropbox drops it like it's hot.
the definition of open: "mkdir android ; cd android ; repo init -u git://android.git.kernel.org/platform/manifest.git ; repo sync ; make"
Don't quote me on this.
I do think there were some bugs to be worked out because they patched the app signature stuff, but the reality is that those ROMs are not getting Google Play from Google, nor do they officially support them.
http://wiki.cyanogenmod.org/w/Gapps
Incidentally, on any given day any quick check of XDA will show ROMs with a wide variety of bugs. Many of the ROMs on XDA are put together by hobbists who have figured out how to build AOSP from source. Many are quite talented and experienced but do not have a staff of QA testers, nor the inside knowledge of closed source driver APIs. So many bugs on custom ROMs revolve around the hardware driver issue. The hardware driver stuff is the bigger concern (IMHO)
Granted, it would be nice for customers to have an official way to obtain Google Play (as they do for many other gapps)
PocketPermissions Android Permission Guide
I don't use the Google Play store - I don't have an account with Google
For people who choose not to have an account with Google, what alternative to YouTube have you found useful?
He didn't say anything about how Apple supports their devices, just that manufacturers and carriers want to sell devices as much as Apple does. He then notes that but they want to do it without having to upgrade the older ones. I think you're being a bit defensive there bud. The only misconception of reality here is in what you think he said. Apple's support of older devices is great. Google's is getting much better, especially given the logistical challenges of Android. (This is the whole point of the article). It's other manufacturers and carriers that are terrible.
PocketPermissions Android Permission Guide
F-Droid has a pretty good catalog nowadays. I've eliminated everything proprietary from my phone life except for Google Maps and those pesky hardware drivers.
Has the community figured out a business model for funding development of a video game for distribution under a license for free software and free cultural works? Or do you just choose not to play video games more complex than Solitaire?
The iPhone 4 was discontinued October of 2011 and is slated to also get iOS 7 coming out later this year.
The fourth-generation iPod touch was discontinued a year later, in October 2012, and isn't getting iOS 7. This means that for example, someone who bought an iPod touch a year ago won't be able to use a game controller, as game controller support is new in iOS 7.
"Of course it's an open-source OS! But we moved all the important parts to a closed-source mega-app which can give itself permission to do anything it wants."
Having said that, I'm not sure I want to start bashing Google too much. People complain about fragmentation and feature exclusion, but complain again when Google introduces a work-around to deal with slow vendor updates. Damned both ways, and if there was a simple, easy solution that did not entirely lock down the OS, it would have pushed out already.
HTC also didn't really "figure it out". About 40000 people posted complaints on their FaceBook page.
All your laziness has led to proprietary, closed-source services being dropped on the phone to cover your asses.
Going through the comments, it seems as if I am the only person who seems to think this is a good thing. I got a name-brand phone, but its on a discount carrier. Surprisingly, Cyanogen does not have a fork for my phone (apparently, even though this phone is the most popular Samsung Galaxy my carrier carries, it is still not popular enough for a Cyanogen Mod ROM). My phone is stuck on 2.3.6, meaning that I can't use TWC app on it. I don't think my provider has EVER pushed out an OTA update for any of their phones. My old phone was on 2.0, but luckily there was a Cyanogen Mod for it (actually, it was not an official release, had to dig through forums to find people working on it), and was able to get it to 2.3
My tablett is worse - it is made by an off-name brand chinese company (actually considering wiping it next year and giving it to a friend and picking up a Nexus), and it is only that they released a VERY SIMILAR tablet with a newer OS on it that I was able to get the thing to update to 4.1, otherwise I would still be stuck on 2.1. However, because the phone is rooted, I cannot view Ultraviolet content on it. (Stupid, really, as Netflix works just fine)
So to get updated features, I have to root my device, mess with half a dozen ROMs before finding one that works, go back into the Cyanogen Mod settings (if there is a Cyanogen Mod ROM, otherwise whatever ROM you are using) and punch in my carrier details, hoping my data and texts still work, and run the risk of possibly bricking my device.
Now Google is talking about pushing out updates through the Play Store? What a brilliant idea! Give people new features without them having to Root their phones or install custom ROMs. This will also mean for app developers that more devices will have newer features, allowing special features of your app to run on more devices. This sounds like a VERY good thing.
If you don't like it, block the updates. But for the rest of us, this sounds like a great idea, and I can't wait for Google to push out thier first new updates, and hope this means better app support on my devices.
I can't tell the difference between an iPhone 3G and an iPhone 5 was my point.
Are you legally blind? Different case design and materials, larger screen, higher resolution screen, faster CPU/GPU, etc. You're being intentional dense.