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by fleitz 4668 days ago
Perhaps you shouldn't have to modify a firmware to install your own OS on an 'open' platform.

IBM somehow figured out how to do it on an IBM 5150 back in the early 80s and my Raspberry Pi supports it on ARM systems.

I'm happy to use my iPhone which doesn't allow firmware mods under warranty, however, I've never heard Apple talk about the iPhone being an open platform. Google's stance on the openness of Android strikes me as disingenuous.
2 comments
ZeroGravitas 4668 days ago
Apple talking point # 3124: we never claimed our platform was open so we can be more hardline than RMS when critiquing Android.

Yeah, that one never gets boring.

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fleitz 4668 days ago
Apple requested Google call it GNU/Android? Must have missed that one.
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simias 4668 days ago
What are you talking about? The android userland is not provided by GNU (and is not even GPL to begin with).
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saraid216 4668 days ago
That's #3125. #3124 is "We are sexy and we know it."
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lokedhs 4668 days ago
What part of Android requires keys to install?

Oh, you mean the _hardware_ is locked down? Guess what, I can't install Ubuntu on an Iphone either. I guess that makes Ubuntu non-open then?

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