Google’s Andy Rubin has been arguing with Steve Jobs over the issue of Android being open. According to prominent Facebook programmer Joe Hewitt, it’s completely disingenuous from both parties. Hewitt is, notably, working on Facebook for Android right now and is reliant on updates released by Google for his own progress.
“How does Android get away with the ‘open’ claim when the source isn’t public until major releases, and no one outside Google can check in?” tweeted Hewitt. “Compare the Android ‘open source’ model to Firefox or Linux if you want to see how disingenuous that ‘open’ claim is. Until Android is read/write open, it’s no different than iOS to me. Open source means sharing control with the community, not show and tell.”
“I think it is the lack of visibility into daily progress that bothers me about Android more than the lack of write access. Refusing to share your vision and progress until the big event… how very open,” he added. “[You] can’t argue Google is doing bare minimum to meet the definition of open. Point I am trying to make is, Rubin bickering with Jobs is a farce, because both refuse to share the one thing that matters: control.
Source: Twitter
