Cincinnati Bell Provides Android Update

Read:

• http://www.h-online.com/open/news/item/Cell-phone-carrier-provides-its-own-Android-update-1275306.html

Glad to heat that a cell phone carrier is self-motivated enough to do it's customer's a favor by pushing down an Android custom  ROM update when Motorola doesn't seem to care about their customers at all. Well done Cincinnati !!! :D

Locked down Android

Read:

• http://www.androidcentral.com/moto-employee-confirms-locked-bootloaders-and-bad-attitude

Android is becoming a controlled platofrm like Apple's iPhone thanks to companies like Motorola who does not respect the consumers and their rights to modify and also the openness of Android which Motorola is delberately demolishing.

If Google doesn't squeeze phone makers like Motorola, to follow the openness of what Android should be, how would Google's fragmented Android platform be any better than iPhone's closed source iOS ?

FOSS or the open source community should create a list of non-open source compliant companies and rally a campaign in an attempt to change such a scenario.

UPDATE

Read:

• http://www.engadget.com/2011/01/21/motorola-ready-to-make-sweet-love-to-rom-devs-and-rooters/

Android's in a mess. Now it's hard to tell who to trust.

Is it going to be another wolf under sheep skin ?

Read: http://www.osnews.com/story/23861/EFF_and_Microsoft_Want_to_Invalidate_Software_Patents

If is a great news to hear that Microsoft has filed an amicus brief in an attempt to make invalidating U.S. patents that threatens open source developments on a very frequent and scary rate.

Read: http://www.osnews.com/story/23860/Microsoft_Slaps_Motorola_with_Patent_Lawsuit_over_Android

But apparently, Microsoft decides to slap Android, an open source mobile OS originally developed by Google, with patent lawsuits which is contradicting it's amicus brief as stated above.

What is this all about ? Wolf in sheep skin ? Can we trust Microsoft's open source friendly stance ? The amicus brief was a great benefit if it managed to get through but can we really trust Microsoft that they are really true hearted being open source friendly ?

Evil Softwares: Droid X

I would kick off a new commentary called Evil Softwares where softwares that are 'EVIL' and restricts the 'FREEDOM' would be listed and given a bad 'dressing down' here.


The first victim we have here is... 'Droid X' by Motorola. 


Read: 

• http://www.mobilecrunch.com/2010/07/14/droid-x-actually-self-destructs-if-you-try-to-mod-it/
• http://www.mydroidworld.com/forums/droid-x-discussion/3330-how-droid-x-locked-down-let-me-tell-you-what-i-know.html

I don't remember Android being released as a closed source software. Android is released as GPL v2 and Apache v2.0 license ! Now what gives Motorola the rights to remove the freedom of user's mod-ing ? 


At most it's the lost of warranty but if Motorola is going to 'self-destruct' mods besides users losing warranties for mod-ing, then why bother use Android, which is a 'FREE' (as in FSF definition of freedom) software. Go use Win 7 mobile or something non-FREE if you want to lock people down so much.


Isn't that simply the misusing of the name of Android ? Android's reputation of 'FREE' HAS BEEN STAINED BY MOTOROLA.

so hated...