Apple makes use of a number of open source technologies in its software products, but operating systems like iOS and OS X are hardly considered “open.” Apple has tight control over nearly every aspect of its mobile and desktop operating systems, ensuring that its products come as close as possible to resembling Apple’s vision from the moment they reach consumers’ hands until they are eventually replaced. While no one can deny the fact that Apple’s strategy has been a recipe for success thus far, a number of pundits believe Apple needs to loosen its grip on iOS and OS X if it hopes to maintain this success moving forward. Now, digital freedom fighters at the Electronic Frontier Foundation have weighed in on the issue.

“Apple’s recent products, especially their mobile iOS devices, are like beautiful crystal prisons, with a wide range of restrictions imposed by the OS, the hardware, and Apple’s contracts with carriers as well as contracts with developers,” the EFF’s Micah Lee and Peter Eckersley wrote in a post on the group’s blog. “Only users who can hack or ‘jailbreak’ their devices can escape these limitations.”

Apple pundits argue that this very notion is the reason Apple’s products are so successful. According to the EFF, however, consumers are being hurt by Apple’s closed model. Using the iOS App Store as an example, the group states that Apple is locking down its devices and preventing users from accessing an endless supply of great apps since only software approved by Apple makes it into the App Store.

“Apple changed the way we think about mobile computing with the iPhone, but they have also lead the charge in creating restrictive computers and restrictive marketplaces for software,” the EFF wrote. “You may have purchased an iPad, but unless you’ve exploited a vulnerability in iOS to jailbreak it, there are many things you cannot install on it. The App Store has thousands of apps to choose from, but your choices are limited to apps that both Apple has approved, and which can function without ‘root’ or ‘administrator’ privileges.”

The organization continued, “Apple has been known to reject or remove apps from sale because of their content (WikiLeaks app banned, eBook reader with access to Kama Sutra banned), for not using Apple to process payments, and for being capable of executing code that Apple can’t approve. While Apple’s policies have improved in the the years since the iPhone first launched, the company still maintains total control over what apps are available to consumers. Unlike Android, iOS does not have an option to install apps from sources other than the App Store.”

Lee and Eckersley conclude that Apple and its customers would be best served if the company takes the advice of Apple co-founder and former executive Steve Wozniak, who recently called for the Cupertino, California-based company to open its platforms for those who wish to alter them or add functionality not approved by Apple. ”No place, and no system, can be perfect if it denies its citizens the freedom to change it, or the freedom to leave,” the EFF said.

While I may recommend the iPhone to the majority of people who ask, Android is still my mobile operating system of choice. Google has created a truly amazing and innovative platform, and because it is open-source anyone can tweak it and customize it. Even devices that weren’t meant for Android, such as my HP TouchPad, can run the mobile OS beautifully thanks to dedicated third-party developers. As I spend more and more time with an iPhone, however, I realize that my love for open-source is slowly beginning to fade. While I used to believe open-source would play a huge role in pushing Android ahead of the competition, which it did, I now believe it may end up being the thing that kills it.

With the release of Ice Cream Sandwich, Google revamped Android, making it prettier and more user-friendly. If you were to ask me what the best Android smartphone is, I would confidently state “the Galaxy Nexus.” While the handset has its flaws — for example, the camera is dreadful compared to the iPhone 4S and HTC One X — it is one of the very few smartphones that runs an unskinned version of Android, not to mention the latest version of Google’s Android software. Skins are the reason 90% of Android devices aren’t running Ice Cream Sandwich.

I understand that vendors need to distinguish their devices from the competition, but forcing customers to use a clunky, battery-wasting skin is not the answer. I wouldn’t be so against Android skins if the manufacturers allowed the average user to remove them completely, and I mean without the need to root a device. I praise HTC and Samsung for making their devices developer friendly, but it would be great for them to take things a step further and give users the option of going skinless without voiding warranties.

The days of Android may be limited when you can walk into your local Kohls or Sears store and buy an “Android tablet” for between $25 and $150. These no-name tablets, that in many cases run something crazy like Android 2.2, are killing Android brand and further confusing consumers. I am a big advocate of buyer beware and I always suggest that people do extensive research before buying anything, but this might be solved with a more closed approach to the Android operating system.

If Google were to license Android to manufacturers such as Samsung, HTC, LG and Sony, little would change where the end user is concerned, but it would put an end to what I call “craplets” — off-brand, no-name, crappy tablets.

Lastly, if Android can survive the dangers of being open-source, can survive the sale of “craplets,” and doesn’t get skinned to death by vendors, there is another matter at hand — the carriers. Verizon, AT&T, T-Mobile and Sprint — they all do it, some more than others — pre-install apps on their devices. This “bloatware” often cannot be uninstalled and is found on just about every Android device, including my “pure Google” Galaxy Nexus.

To make matters worse, carriers and vendors sometimes enter into exclusive partnerships to offer services on certain devices. The latest example is Flipboard for Android exclusively for the Galaxy S III, and although it was eventually pulled from the device and made available for all, leaving a large portion of a carrier’s user base in the dark could end up coming back to haunt them.

Another and perhaps the worse case was when Verizon partnered with Microsoft and replaced numerous Google services with Bing as the default option. Yes, Bing was forced upon numerous Android users.

Google might be well-served to follow in Apple’s footsteps to a degree, at least, and take more control. Whether or not that means closing Android off to an extent, something must be done. The company might tell the carriers to back off with the bloatware and exclusives as well, but rumors of multiple vendors selling Nexus devices directly to end users — which Google has been considering for quite some time, as BGR reported last year — likely isn’t the answer.

When discussing the matter publicly, Google measures Android’s success in daily activations. The most recent figure sits at a sky-high 850,000. While that remarkable stat might be the best way for an advertising company to measure its success, Research In Motion and Nokia can both attest to the fact that it takes more than volume to stay on top in the mobile business.

Android has been good to Samsung. Very, very good. Samsung recently reported its second consecutive quarter of record earnings, thanks in no small part to its wildly popular line of Android-powered Galaxy smartphones. The South Korea-based vendor also just took the wraps off its next-generation flagship Android smartphone, the Galaxy S III. While the device may have opened the door for rivals to make some moves if they can act quickly enough, Samsung is currently the No.1 smartphone vendor in the world by volume and the Galaxy S III should help it retain that title. As good as Android has been for Samsung, however, the vendor continues to make it clear that it does not want to put all its eggs in one basket.

Samsung sells smartphones running its in-house Bada platform in the Asian region, and channel sales approached the 10 million-mark in 2011. The consumer electronics giant also said it is interested in making some acquisitions in the mobile space, and while RIM may not be on the table, the numerous software customizations seen on the upcoming Galaxy S III smartphone suggest that Samsung is looking to gain more control over the experience offered by its smartphones.

This past January, Samsung announced that it will be folding its Bada efforts into a new project headed by Intel. Tizen, an off-shoot of MeeGo, is an open-source smartphone platform based on Linux. While Samsung’s long-term goals with Tizen may be unclear, the company is working closely with Intel and it debuted a developer reference handset at the 2012 Tizen Developer Conference on Monday, TizenTalk reported.

Pictured above, the reference hardware for the Tizen platform features a high-definition 720p display and a 1.2GHz dual-core ARM-based processor, suggesting that Tizen might not just be destined for entry-level Samsung smartphones as previously reported. What’s more, Samsung has been heavily involved with developing the Tizen user interface, as can be seen in The Handheld Blog’s video below.

While Android will be the fuel the powers the bulk of Samsung’s smartphones for some time, the vendor is clearly beginning to realize that it will have to take ownership of the end-to-end product if it wants to have more control over the user experience — interface layers like TouchWiz and custom software tweaks like the ones we saw when Samsung unveiled the Galaxy S III are limited by nature when dealing with another company’s platform. While Tizen is open-source and is by no means controlled by Samsung, the company is deeply involved with its development, and it may at least give us a taste of things to come.

Google co-founder Sergey Brin said during an interview published on Sunday that Apple and Facebook pose serious threats to Internet freedom because of their closed approaches to software. While speaking with The Guardian, Brin said there are ”very powerful forces that have lined up against the open Internet on all sides and around the world. I am more worried than I have been in the past. It’s scary.” The executive pointed to the “walled-garden” philosophy that sees companies like Apple and Facebook maintain tight control over third-party software on their respective platforms as the cause for his concerns. Read on for more.

Brin voiced concerns that this closed approach prevents companies like Google from accessing the information stored on the companies’ networks, possibly revealing one of the main causes for his position. ”There’s a lot to be lost,” Brin said. “For example, all the information in apps, that data is not crawlable by web crawlers. You can’t search it.”

The Google co-founder acknowledged that there are much more serious threats to freedom on the Web than his company’s two nearest rivals, however — namely the efforts of countries like China, Saudi Arabia and Iran to censor and restrict access to the Internet. Brin also noted that the entertainment industry’s anti-piracy efforts stand to impede Internet freedom.

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Microsoft on Thursday formed a new subsidiary that will work with open-source projects, open-standards groups and interoperability initiatives. The subsidiary is called Microsoft Open Technologies Inc., and it will be formed from the company’s Interoperability Strategy team. Microsoft executive Jean Paoli will lead the new spin-off, which will consist of between 50 and 75 employees. In an interview with GeekWire, Paoli said Microsoft’s existing groups and divisions will continue to be involved with open-source projects, but at the same time the subsidiary will have the ability to work with outside projects at a faster pace. “We believe that the subsidiary will provide a new way of engaging with open-source communities in a more clearly defined manner,” he said, adding that the effort is about “bridging Microsoft and non-Microsoft technologies.” Microsoft Open Technologies will be a wholly owned subsidiary of Microsoft and will feature a board of directors that includes executives from the company’s business groups.

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Hewlett-Packard will cut 275 of its 500 remaining employees on the webOS team as its mobile platform transitions to open source, WebOS Nation reported on Tuesday. “As webOS continues the transition from making mobile devices to open source software, it no longer needs many of the engineering and other related positions that it required before,” the company said in a statement. “This creates a smaller and more nimble team that is well-equipped to deliver an open source webOS and sustain HP’s commitment to the software over the long term.” While positions are being cut, HP hopes to redeploy employees to other areas of the company. The move leaves the webOS team with roughly 225 workers.

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While speaking at HP’s global partner summit in Las Vegas on Wednesday, Hewlett-Packard CEO Meg Whitman discussed her company’s strategy moving forward, further emphasizing the potential of the now open-source webOS platform. Whitman is already on record saying that webOS offers big benefits compared to iOS (which is closed) and Android (which is fragmented), and now the chief executive is pushing things a step further. ”I think there is room for another operating system,” Whitman said at the summit according to Channel EMEA. “IOS is great but it is a closed system. I think that Android may end up as a closed system because of [Google’s] relationship with Motorola.” Google’s $12.5 billion acquisition of Motorola Mobility was approved by U.S. and European regulators earlier this week, and Whitman suggests the union may end up having a huge impact on Android’s future. Google has said that its Motorola buy won’t affect other Android partners adversely but as the company works to develop a new generation of own-brand hardware, the future of the platform as it stands today is anything but certain.

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Though Hewlett-Packard was unable to produce webOS devices that consumers were interested in buying — at a positive margin, at least — CEO Meg Whitman still thinks the beleaguered platform has legs. After unsuccessfully trying to sell or license webOS, HP decided late last year to donate its $1.2 billion platform to the open source community. The firm still plans to launch new webOS devices in the future, however, and Meg Whitman explained HP’s position while speaking with CRN. Read on for more.

“There is a clear vision of what we’re trying to accomplish,” Whitman said in an interview. “There will be some people who will not love that vision, and then there are people who are very excited about this vision, and what it can mean for an alternative, open-source operating system that has some real strengths to it.”

Despite the overwhelming failure of the TouchPad — HP discontinued the slate a mere two months after it launched — the CEO stressed the fact that HP is not done with tablets. WebOS is seemingly no longer a part of HP’s core tablet strategy, however, having been replaced by Microsoft’s upcoming Windows 8 platform.

“We have to have a tablet offering,” Whitman said. “We will be back in that business. We’re coming back into the market with a Windows 8 tablet, first on an x86 chip and then maybe on an ARM chip.” She also stated that security would be HP’s “sweet spot,” noting that security on tablets is a big concern for small, medium-sized and large businesses. WebOS will still play a role at HP it seems, though it remains unclear what exactly that role will be.

When asked if Whitman was concerned that a number of high-level executives formerly on the webOS team were fleeing, the executive was optimistic. “We’re going to build a new business together,” she told CRN. ”We’re going to build another operating system that has huge advantages, in my view, over iOS, which is a closed system, [and] Android, which is incredibly fragmented and may ultimately be more closed with [Google's] acquisition of Motorola Mobility.”

Whether or not being more open than iOS and less fragmented than Android will translate into webOS device sales remains to be seen.

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HP cut its losses last month and announced the company’s webOS mobile operating system would move to an open source model. On Wednesday, HP released a roadmap detailing the open source future of webOS. The company said it expects the software to be fully open-sourced by September, at which point it will be known as Open webOS 1.0. “HP is bringing the innovation of the webOS platform to the open source community,” said Bill Veghte, executive vice president and chief strategy officer at HP. “This is a decisive step toward meeting our goal of accelerating the platform’s development and ensuring that its benefits will be delivered to the entire ecosystem of web applications.” The second-generation Enyo framework, which debuted on the TouchPad, is now available with a bundle of related developer tools, and HP plans to release additional information nearly every month until September. The company also revealed that the mobile operating system will be moving to a standard Linux kernel in the hopes of attracting manufacturers who are experienced with Linux and Android. HP’s press release and roadmap can be found after the break.

HP to Commit webOS to Open Source by Fall 2012

New version of acclaimed Enyo developer tool and source code available now

PALO ALTO, Calif., Jan. 25, 2012 – HP today began executing its plan to deliver an open webOS by committing to a schedule for making the platform’s source code available under an open source license.

The company aims to complete this milestone in its entirety by September.

HP also announced it is releasing version 2.0 of webOS’s innovative developer tool, Enyo. Enyo 2.0 enables developers to write a single application that works across mobile devices and desktop web browsers, from the webOS, iOS and Android platforms to the Internet Explorer and Firefox browsers – and more. The source code for Enyo is available today, giving the open source community immediate access to the acclaimed application framework for webOS.

By contributing webOS to the open source community, HP unleashes the creativity of hardware and software developers to build a new generation of applications and devices.

“HP is bringing the innovation of the webOS platform to the open source community,” said Bill Veghte, executive vice president and chief strategy officer, HP. “This is a decisive step toward meeting our goal of accelerating the platform’s development and ensuring that its benefits will be delivered to the entire ecosystem of web applications.”

The webOS code will be made available under the Apache License, Version 2.0, beginning with the source code for Enyo.

webOS roadmap

Over the first half of the year, HP will make individual elements of webOS source code available – from core applications like Mail and Calendar to its Linux kernel – until the full code base is contributed to the open source community by September.

January: Enyo 2.0 and Enyo source code Apache License, Version 2.0

February: Intended project governance model, QT WebKit extensions, JavaScript core, UI Enyo widgets

March: Linux standard kernel, Graphics extensions EGL, LevelDB, USB extensions

April: Ares 2.0, Enyo 2.1, Node services

July: System manager (“Luna”), System manager bus, Core applications, Enyo 2.2

August: Build release model, Open webOS Beta, Open webOS 1.0

During the Consumer Electronics Show, Samsung announced that the company is working on merging its Bada mobile operating system with the open-source Tizen operating system. “We have an effort that will merge bada and Tizen,” said Tae-Jin Kan, senior vice president of Samsung’s Contents Planning Team, in an interview with Forbes. While he wasn’t aware when the work would be complete, Kang indicated that is has already begun. Read on for more.

The Tizen operating system is open-source and backed by Intel and the Linux Foundation. When the Bada integration is complete, Tizen will support programs written with Samsung’s Bada SDK, including both new and previously published apps.

Samsung is currently the second-largest cellphone maker in the world, with devices powered by four major operating systems. By focusing on its own operating system, Samsung would have more control over its devices and a greater opportunity to differentiate its products from its competitors. By merging the two operating systems, Samsung hopes existing bada developers will transition to Tizen.

At least one or two Tizen-powered devices will be released by Samsung this year, however the company does not plan to abandon Android or Windows Phone. “Tizen will not become Samsung’s main operating platform anytime soon,” said Kang.

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A new report has ranked Google’s Android operating system the most “closed” open source platform among eight major open source projects. VisionMobile on Monday published The Open Governance Index, a deep look at the relative openness of Android, Qt, Symbian, MeeGo, Mozilla, WebKit, Linux and Eclipse. Going beyond licensing models and using governance as a core metric, the firm determined that Eclipse is the most open open source platform with an Open Governance Index of 84% while Google’s Android was the most closed open source platform analyzed in its report. Read on for more.

“Android ranks as the most closed project, with an Open Governance Index of 23%, yet at the same time is one of the most successful projects in the history of open source,” VisionMobile wrote in its report. “Is Android proof that open governance is not needed to warrant success in an open source project?” The firm goes on to suggest that Android’s success has less to do with open source licensing and more to do with Google’s financial muscle.

“Google has made Android available at ‘less than zero’ cost, since Google’s core business is not software or search, but driving eyeballs to ads,” the report states. “As is now well understood, Google’s strategy has been to subsidise Android such that it can deliver cheap handsets and low-cost wireless Internet access in order to drive more eyeballs to Google’s ad inventory.”

VisionMobile goes on to stated rather conclusively that Google’s size, billions in marketing dollars from carriers and vendors, and the need to counter Apple’s momentum are responsible for Android’s success rather than the OS itself or the open source licensing model. ”Android would not have risen were it not for the billions of dollars that OEMs and network operators poured into Android in order to compete with Apple’s iconic devices,” the firm wrote. “As Stephen Elop, Nokia’s CEO, said in June, 2011, ‘Apple created the conditions necessary for Android.’ “ VisionMobile’s full infographic follows below.

Hewlett-Packard on Friday announced that is is contributing its webOS platform to the open source software community. The company confirmed that it would not build any new webOS hardware for the time being, though it said it would continue to actively develop and support the operating system. “WebOS is the only platform designed from the ground up to be mobile, cloud-connected and scalable,” said HP CEO Meg Whitman in a statement. “By contributing this innovation, HP unleashes the creativity of the open source community to advance a new generation of applications and devices.” HP announced in August that it was discontinuing its webOS hardware efforts and now, more than three months later, the company has finally decided the fate of the platform. HP took ownership of webOS as part of its $1.2 billion acquisition of Palm in July 2010. The company’s full press release follows below.

HP to Contribute webOS to Open Source

HP to enable creativity of the community to accelerate the next-generation web-centric platform

PALO ALTO, Calif., Dec. 9, 2011

HP today announced it will contribute the webOS software to the open source community.

HP plans to continue to be active in the development and support of webOS. By combining the innovative webOS platform with the development power of the open source community, there is the opportunity to significantly improve applications and web services for the next generation of devices.

webOS offers a number of benefits to the entire ecosystem of web applications. For developers, applications can be easily built using standard web technologies. In addition, its single integrated stack offers multiplatform portability. For device manufacturers, it provides a single web-centric platform to run across multiple devices. As a result, the end user benefits from a fast, immersive user experience.

“webOS is the only platform designed from the ground up to be mobile, cloud-connected and scalable,” said Meg Whitman, HP president and chief executive officer. “By contributing this innovation, HP unleashes the creativity of the open source community to advance a new generation of applications and devices.”

HP will make the underlying code of webOS available under an open source license. Developers, partners, HP engineers and other hardware manufacturers can deliver ongoing enhancements and new versions into the marketplace.

HP will engage the open source community to help define the charter of the open source project under a set of operating principles:

• The goal of the project is to accelerate the open development of the webOS platform
• HP will be an active participant and investor in the project
• Good, transparent and inclusive governance to avoid fragmentation
• Software will be provided as a pure open source project

HP also will contribute ENYO, the application framework for webOS, to the community in the near future along with a plan for the remaining components of the user space.

Beginning today, developers and customers are invited to provide input and suggestions athttp://developer.palm.com/blog/.

Samsung will open its bada mobile operating system to other manufacturers and developers next year in an effort to “reduce its reliance” on Android, The Wall Street Journal reported on Tuesday. The South Korea-based company also hopes it can deploy bada on other devices, such as smart TVs. Samsung unveiled bada in late 2009 and has used the operating system on its Wave family of handsets. According to Gartner, bada currently has a 1.9% share of the mobile OS market. Samsung’s latest bada-powered handsets include the Wave 3, Wave M and Wave Y. “For Samsung to be successful with opening bada it will need to be launched in the United States market, because that is where the most powerful developers and consumers are found,” Strategy Analytics analyst Neil Mawston told The Wall Street Journal. “If bada does not get traction in the huge U.S. market, then the odds will be stacked against success.”

Google has accused Microsoft of leaking “highly confidential source code” related to its open-source Android operating system. According to PaidContent, the search giant asked a federal United States International Trade Commission judge to sanction Microsoft after it spilled the beans on Google’s source code to a witness in Microsoft’s ongoing patent battle with Motorola. Reportedly, the witness, Dr. Robert Stevenson, has acted as a consultant for both HP and Microsoft, which Google views as “direct competitors.” Microsoft is suing Motorola because it believes Motorola’s Android-powered smartphones infringe on its patents. Microsoft responded to Google and said that Stenvenson only had “two or three conversations with Microsoft’s outside general counsel regarding a case related to printer technology.” The odd part about the motion is Google’s Android operating system is open source, so it is unclear exactly what “highly confidential” source code Microsoft might have revealed. Microsoft’s official response to the sanction is due by August 15th, PaidContent said.

[Via Business Insider]

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Android may be an open source operating system, but it’s not as open as other platforms according to a new research report from VisionMobile. The research firm compared Android, Eclipse, Firefox, the Linux kernel, MeeGo, Qt and Symbian and found that, of those open source environments, Android was the least “open.” According to the report’s “open governance index,” which scored each environment on how open it is, Android scored a 23%. It was far below the others; Eclipse scored the best with an 84% open governance index and no other platform scored less than a 58%, ArsTechnica said. Google’s Android compatibility chief Dan Morrill likely swayed the opinion on Android a bit when he said Google was using compatibility “as a club to make [phone maker's] do things we want,” and the report cites that quote specifically. However, VisionMobile also backs up its findings with a statement that can be read in full after the break.

Visibility to the roadmap is limited, as there is no Android roadmap publicly available. In fact, development of the Android private branch and the roadmap is controlled by Google, with little input from external parties or the Open Handset Alliance members,” the report says. “When launched, the Open Handset Alliance served the purpose of a public industry endorsement for Android. Today, however, the OHA serves little purpose besides a stamp of approval for OHA members; there is no formal legal entity, no communication processes for members nor frequent member meetings.

[Via Gizmodo]

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