In and around all of the hullabaloo with the T-Mobile G1 launch, Android 1.0r1 was released as open source this past Tuesday. You can visit http://source.android.com and download the whole thing, from kernel to SDK.
Now, in principle, it should be much easier for people to make modifications to the firmware, for either loading on their own device, for loading onto devices their firm will be selling, or to improve the Android OS itself.
The sincere hope is that Android works out like a normal open source project, particularly larger ones like Mozilla. Already, people have been submitting patches and they are being approved, where appropriate. While at the moment it appears only Google staff can approve and apply changes, there is nothing in the description of Android project roles that would seem to preclude non-Googlers from eventually being approved for more senior roles.
The open source release now changes the relationship between Google and the community.
Heretofore, the community was stuck pretty much in “whine mode” — if something needed to be changed, only Google could change it. Now, we need to start banging out code of our own. If we have itches, we need to try to scratch them ourselves and get them approved as changes, rather than expecting Google to solve all our problems for us. If you see something needing changing and are not in position to code it up yourself, consider raising funds to hire somebody to make the change, using a service like Fundable or something.
On the flip side, Google needs to start directly encouraging innovation of the Android platform itself, as well as applications built atop the platform. After all, as Android gets employed by a wider range of phones, more and more people will start using it who simply do not download other applications — the phone does what it does, and they’ll measure their experience on the Android OS itself. Fortunately, Google has a number of existing patterns to follow to help promote development of Android itself, from the Google Summer of Code up to perhaps hosting another Android Developer Challenge dedicated to the platform, not apps.
Google, however, also needs to be careful when dealing with contentious issues. Heretofore, Google staff haven’t really had to answer to the public vis a vis design decisions. That’s going to change, particularly when patches are submitted for review that attempt to undo some of those design decisions. In the end, Google probably will always retain control over Android releases and so will have final say on matters. But, woe is Google if the community decides that Google is being capricious in its decision-making, inadequately defending their positions and adopting instead a “it’s this way because we said so” model.
In the end, though, this will be a classic cathedral vs. bazaar smackdown, with the Android bazaar trying to demonstrate that it can compete with, and perhaps even exceed, cathedral-developed platforms like iPhone or Windows Mobile. Google will not get there alone. And for those in the community who have been calling for an open source phone, now is your chance — let’s not blow it.
