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Remix OS in Violation of GPL and Apache Licenses (tlhp.cf)

Posted by Soulskill on from the share-the-code-please dept.

An anonymous reader writes: You may have heard recently of the Remix OS, a fork of Android that targets desktop computing. The operating system, which was created by former Google employees and features a traditional desktop layout in addition to the ability to run Android apps, was previewed on Ars Technica a few weeks ago, but it was not actually released for end-users to download until earlier this week. Now that Remix OS has been released, The Linux Homefront Project is reporting that the Android-based operating system, for which source code is not readily available, violates both the GPL and the Apache License. The RemixOS installer includes a "Remix OS USB Tool" that is really a re-branded copy of popular disk imaging tool UNetbootin, which falls under the GPL. Additionally, browsing through the install image files reveals that the operating system is based on the Apache Licensed Android-x86 project. From the article: "Output is absolutely clear – no differences! No authors, no changed files, no trademarks, just copy-paste development." Is this a blatant disregard for the GPL and Apache licenses by an optimistic startup, or were the authors too eager to release that they forgot to provide access to the repo?

3 of 180 comments (clear)

  1. Hanlon's Razor by mspohr · · Score: 4, Interesting

    Never ascribe to malice that which can be adequately explained by stupidity.

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    I don't read your sig. Why are you reading mine?
    1. Re:Hanlon's Razor by gstoddart · · Score: 1, Interesting

      Any sufficiently advanced stupidity is indistinguishable from malice.

      If you are so criminally stupid as to not realize by now what those licenses mean, you need to be treated as a malicious entity.

      Sorry, but 'stupidity' in this case is utterly indefensible. If you have the skillset to put this together, you sure as hell can't claim you didn't know about the licensing.

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      Lost at C:>. Found at C.
    2. Re:Hanlon's Razor by BarbaraHudson · · Score: 4, Interesting

      The "article" is a troll - the source is a wordpress blog that is really, really thin gruel that looks like it was written by someone with a high school hobbyist level of understanding of the scene. You'd get more information reading the -1 posts on slashdot.

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      "Transparent" is a shit show that trades on every stereotype going. A man in drag is NOT a transsexual.