Andy Rubin Responds to Jobs in Geek Speak
Oooh, this is heating up! After an investors’ call yesterday where CEO Steve Jobs felt it necessary for him to personally field questions (with the occasion being this is Apple’s first $20 billion quarter), we learned he said some nice things and some not so nice things about Android and Google as a whole. Andy Rubin – the father of Android – apparently doesn’t take too kindly to his sentiments.
Assuming this Twitter account is not a fake, Rubin decided to respond in the only way an original Android developer would know how: by showing him how easy it is to compile Android from source.
It does a peachy job of bringing a lone tear to my eye. Folks need to realize that Android is open in ways that everyone doesn’t see. Even Steve Jobs himself is confused, as he says Android’s “openness” is compromised by the unfortunate effects of fragmentation brought on by carrier and manufacturer customizations. If Android weren’t open, Jobs, why would Google allow the use of the operating system however anyone sees fit to their personal and business needs? Sure, the end-users might end up with a device that isn’t open to customization and “hackage” for them, but at that point it’s up to them to vote with their wallets. (And who’s stopping unsatisfied users from building their own devices and applying the software how they see fit? That’s unlikely, but still possible.)
And are you trying to say that everything needs to look and feel the same across the board? This is what a lot of users don’t like about the iPhone, and even when we’re just talking about stock Android, it gives us way more freedom to make our devices our own through the advent of flexible, extensible software. I think Jobs needs to revisit the Open Source Initiative’s website to brush up on his knowledge before speaking out about it. Then again, he’s a billionaire. He doesn’t need to do anything. Eh.
[via TechCrunch]