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Taste My Open Source Fury

Screaming “Taste my open source fury!” while forcing your Android-powered phone into their face also works for people who won’t shut up about their iPhone.  Although, you usually have to also physically hit them with the device in order to achieve maximum effect.  Blackberry users however, based upon my research, are immune.

I’ve been really excited recently by the adoption (and love) of Android by many of my family and friends, with little or no direct encouragement from me.  When the G1 was released over a year and a half ago, I was hoping for this broad sense of community that has only recently been achieved (I’d say The Droid was the main catalyst for this broader awakening, although buzz about the Nexus One has been pretty good as well).  The Android community was strong and close-knit from day 1, but in the last 6 months it has begun to move beyond the tech geeks and early adopters and into the population at large.  It’s also nice to see the broader data support my unscientific observations.

The question of superiority between Android and iPhone OS is needless.  The dismissal of either camp as kool-aid drinking fanbois is self-defeating.  What is exciting to see is the innovation and improvements being made, and that the two platforms doing the bulk on innovation are also being adopted and supported by consumers – who, regardless of market share, are the real winners.


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One response to “Taste My Open Source Fury”

  1. ryan Avatar

    This Google vs Apple fight is pretty interesting. To see how Android can adapt to itself is even more interesting than the actual fight. I really hope that Google can manage the fast growth of Android well.

    Open source is it’s own worst enemy. Sure, in concept, open source sounds like the best solution for everything but it quickly turns into a support nightmare with Frankenstein-esque features and code stitched in from all angles. Why hasn’t Linux ever posted a real threat to OSx or Windows? Because there’s hundreds of flavors to it, fragmenting development and progression into many paths that often lead in different directions.

    I count 4 different flavors of Android out right now (1.5, 1.6, 2.0 and 2.1) there are already problems with some apps not working on all builds, it’s bound to get worse. Now, Google has decided to try and split it up into just two different versions and change the app specifications to take into account the differences, but I have the feeling it’s going to be a bumpy road for anyone, not just the less-tech-savvy.

    I think there will always be a question of superiority, that’s just natural. All sides have their respective fanboy-kool-aid drinkers, but in the end, I love the recent push for innovation in tech that’s come about in the recent years. Like you said, this kind of competition is very healthy and benefits us all. I only hope it keeps up!

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