Boy, it sure is interesting how the exact opposite position was taken by so many people in the Google ICS article. When Google releases a version of Android and promises to release the source at some unspecified point in the future, it's accepted at face value.
Interesting how this argument didn't apply in the android discussion isn't it.
The reason is pretty obvious, and there's no point in not outright stating it. A large portion of the Slashdot readership is biased in favor of Google and Android, mostly because of the use of Linux.
What ICS having improvements over its predecessors have to do with the fact that its source code isn't available? One of the big selling points of Android was supposed to be its openness, and that was often trumpeted on Slashdot.
Now that Google has gone back on that, suddenly, it's not a news story, and because the "real world" (TechRadar?) isn't talking about the lack of source code availability, that means it's not a story?
Plenty of other tech media outlets have covered this issue, particularly Ars Technica. Just because you're a big Google fan and don't want to see any criticism of them or their products doesn't mean that it shouldn't be discussed. That is, unless you think it's okay for Google to exploit the positive feelings associated with the term "open" only to go back on that.
As for being most popular smartphone OS in the world, you may want to try counting tablets and music players in your figures to see what is actually the most popular mobile OS in the world. Hint--its an OS as closed source as Android currently is.
I love how Google fans think ANYTHING even remotely critical of something Google does is "baiting." Even funnier that you suggest Microsoft is involved somehow.
Google has repeatedly gone back on its word about Android's openness, and that is news. Whether or not you like the news shouldn't matter.
Rejections aren't random, guidelines aren't ambiguous, interfaces aren't "locked down" (in iOS 5, there's even built-in visual customization support), and having to install apps from authorized sources is absolutely no different from every popular console platform in the world.
Oh, the horror of targeting mere mortals! May we never lose our nerd playground PCs, made by nerds for the enjoyment of other nerds, for which the peons have the privilege of struggling with!
We're already seeing what a security and fragmentation disaster Android has become in not being locked down. And game consoles have been locked down since their inception. In fact, one of the weirdest contradictions of Slashdot is that it adores Nintendo yet bashes Apple for being a walled garden.
It's because they infiltrate and dominate all of the colleges that produce creative professionals.
I love how you throw this out there without any explanation or examples of how they "infiltrate" and "dominate" colleges. Colleges can use whatever they want.
You're another one of these terrified PC users who's afraid of losing the PC nerd playground to the rise of appliance devices. You use dumb terminology like "iCrap" because you're afraid of change.
How does a generic Apple-bashing post using terminology like "iSheep" get modded up as insightful? No examples are given of how you must be creative in the "Apple sanctioned way."
I refuse to buy an Apple product anymore because I am smart enough to make my own choices
This is the driving motivator behind Apple bashing. It's an attempt to convince yourself that you are so damn smart for not using something that's popular. You are the guy standing in the corner at the party, arms crossed and grumbling about how much smarter you are than the "sheep" while everyone else has fun.
I'll never forget the day when people walking around gesturing and talking to the air apparently stopped being crazy behavior and began to be perfectly acceptable behavior.
People are still annoyed by obnoxious cell phone users.
I guess that you are not aware that Apple purchased the company that made Siri and then immediately stopped the development of the Blackberry and Android versions.
What the...? How is it losing ground? Apple is the #1 smartphone vendor and had its highest sales ever with the iPhone 4, even in spite of the phony antenna controversy. In fact, with the iPad and iPod touch counted, iOS is the #1 mobile OS by a large margin.
Right now, I'm just amazed how bad other tech companies are at design. They're REALLY, REALLY bad. Remember when computers were sold with 500 page instruction manuals, and everyone was arguing over who had the better instruction manual, and then Apple comes along, and throws the instruction manual away, and everyone's like WTF? And people liked it, because they manage to design computers to be intuitive.
The tech industry is still very engineer-driven, and as a result few companies focus on the consumer as much as older industries like, say, the car industry. Much of the tech industry thinks it's still okay to give its products a mishmash of marketing and engineering names, like AwesomePhone XZ IIc (and the customer has to figure out the difference between IIa, IIb, and IIc).
What a bizarre way of trying to twist this around and turn it into a critique of capitalism, and you even got modded up for it. The union is trying to protect its monopoly in the face of online courses. They're like the RIAA trying to defend CD sales in the era of internet downloads.
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Yes, talking into a phone is total madness! What do they think phones are for, anyway?
iOS just feels better to use. Android can't even scroll its windows without interface lag.
Like Android?
Boy, it sure is interesting how the exact opposite position was taken by so many people in the Google ICS article. When Google releases a version of Android and promises to release the source at some unspecified point in the future, it's accepted at face value.
Um, pretty well. What is your point? What does a first-party walled garden have to do with the decisions of a third-party developer anyway?
The reason is pretty obvious, and there's no point in not outright stating it. A large portion of the Slashdot readership is biased in favor of Google and Android, mostly because of the use of Linux.
"Google has promised to release the source code to ICS, so stop complaining about it!"
A FEW STORIES LATER...
"Promising to release source code is not source code!"
And should we spend it in the first place?
Interesting. So Android's "openness" takes a backseat to the whims of marketers.
"once it's available on devices."
In other words, after Google's privileged partners have fully taken advantage of their early access to the OS. Why isn't it open source right now?
What the hell?
What ICS having improvements over its predecessors have to do with the fact that its source code isn't available? One of the big selling points of Android was supposed to be its openness, and that was often trumpeted on Slashdot.
Now that Google has gone back on that, suddenly, it's not a news story, and because the "real world" (TechRadar?) isn't talking about the lack of source code availability, that means it's not a story?
Plenty of other tech media outlets have covered this issue, particularly Ars Technica. Just because you're a big Google fan and don't want to see any criticism of them or their products doesn't mean that it shouldn't be discussed. That is, unless you think it's okay for Google to exploit the positive feelings associated with the term "open" only to go back on that.
As for being most popular smartphone OS in the world, you may want to try counting tablets and music players in your figures to see what is actually the most popular mobile OS in the world. Hint--its an OS as closed source as Android currently is.
I love how Google fans think ANYTHING even remotely critical of something Google does is "baiting." Even funnier that you suggest Microsoft is involved somehow.
Google has repeatedly gone back on its word about Android's openness, and that is news. Whether or not you like the news shouldn't matter.
Since when did being a rich capitalist mean people aren't worth anything to you? Is this more generic Slashdot anti-corporate dogma?
Rich capitalists made the computer and networking technology you used to submit your post.
Being successful is evil! Instead, stay passive and spend your time posting anonymously on tech websites.
Rejections aren't random, guidelines aren't ambiguous, interfaces aren't "locked down" (in iOS 5, there's even built-in visual customization support), and having to install apps from authorized sources is absolutely no different from every popular console platform in the world.
Oh, the horror of targeting mere mortals! May we never lose our nerd playground PCs, made by nerds for the enjoyment of other nerds, for which the peons have the privilege of struggling with!
We're already seeing what a security and fragmentation disaster Android has become in not being locked down. And game consoles have been locked down since their inception. In fact, one of the weirdest contradictions of Slashdot is that it adores Nintendo yet bashes Apple for being a walled garden.
I love how you throw this out there without any explanation or examples of how they "infiltrate" and "dominate" colleges. Colleges can use whatever they want.
The Firewire/ExpressCard port. Duh?
You're another one of these terrified PC users who's afraid of losing the PC nerd playground to the rise of appliance devices. You use dumb terminology like "iCrap" because you're afraid of change.
How does a generic Apple-bashing post using terminology like "iSheep" get modded up as insightful? No examples are given of how you must be creative in the "Apple sanctioned way."
This is the driving motivator behind Apple bashing. It's an attempt to convince yourself that you are so damn smart for not using something that's popular. You are the guy standing in the corner at the party, arms crossed and grumbling about how much smarter you are than the "sheep" while everyone else has fun.
People are still annoyed by obnoxious cell phone users.
So?
What the...? How is it losing ground? Apple is the #1 smartphone vendor and had its highest sales ever with the iPhone 4, even in spite of the phony antenna controversy. In fact, with the iPad and iPod touch counted, iOS is the #1 mobile OS by a large margin.
The tech industry is still very engineer-driven, and as a result few companies focus on the consumer as much as older industries like, say, the car industry. Much of the tech industry thinks it's still okay to give its products a mishmash of marketing and engineering names, like AwesomePhone XZ IIc (and the customer has to figure out the difference between IIa, IIb, and IIc).
What a bizarre way of trying to twist this around and turn it into a critique of capitalism, and you even got modded up for it. The union is trying to protect its monopoly in the face of online courses. They're like the RIAA trying to defend CD sales in the era of internet downloads.