Dan Jones

Android started as an open platform that brought together many competing companies. iPhone's launch changed Android's development and was an important reason for Android's success. Phone manufacturers and carriers wanted an "iPhone killer" and Android was a good bet, but it still had a lot of rough edges and there were many missing features. This was a great opportunity for manufactures to fill in the gaps, create their own user interfaces and develop their own apps and widgets that brought value and differentiation.

Here's an image from Android's original SDK emulator:

Why did Google acquire Andy Rubin's company and invested in Android? One of the reasons was to make a better platform for developing mobile apps. Google already had a few mobile apps for feature phones, Symbian, Blackberry and it was very difficult to add new features and to test the applications because of the inconsistent APIs and their implementations. Android seemed like an interesting opportunity, but Google never anticipated that it will take over the world. It's obvious that Android became the dominant mobile OS because so many companies invested in Android, hoping to come up with better phones than Apple's iPhone.

While Android was open source, Google created a few proprietary apps that weren't part of the Android Open Source Project (AOSP). The most important proprietary Google app was Android Market, which is now called Google Play Store, but Google developed other apps as well: Gmail, Google Search, Google Maps etc. Over time, many open source apps were replaced by proprietary Google apps: the music player became Google Play Music, the calendar app became Google Calendar, the browser became Chrome etc.



Android Market/Google Play is Google's own service and it was licensed to phone manufactures subject to confidential terms and conditions. According to the distribution agreements (MADA) revealed by companies like HTC and Motorola, Android Market was bundled with other Google apps and services, including Google Search and Network Location Provider, which had to be the default search and location services. "Devices may only be distributed if all Google Applications [listed elsewhere in the agreement] ... are pre-installed on the Device," mentions one of the distribution agreements.

The list of bundled Google apps increased over the years, as Google released more and more apps. Phone manufacturers were allowed to bundle competing apps from third-party companies and you'll find many phones that include Whatsapp and Hangouts, Microsoft OneDrive/Dropbox and Google Drive, Facebook and Google+. Here's a screenshot from Samsung Note 4, courtesy of Gsmarena, which shows that Samsung preinstalled Facebook and Google+, Hangouts, WhatsApp and Facebook Messenger, Instagram and Google Photos.


While many Android users complain that their phones have too much bloatware, some companies aren't happy that Google ties the Google Play Store with other Google apps and some default settings (Google = default search engine, Google Network Location Provider = default location provider).

Deutsche Telekom will file an anti-trust charge against Google, complaining that "Google uses its Android mobile operating system to unfairly promote its own products like Google Maps and online search over those of rivals". According to New York Times, "a number of large tech companies, including Oracle and Nokia, as well as small start-ups like Aptoide, a Portuguese online marketplace for smartphone applications, already have filed complaints to European officials connected to the Android investigation." The European Commission has opened a formal investigation into Google's mobile operating system and the Federal Trade Commission started a similar investigation last month.

Is it fair for Google to bundle the Play Store with other apps and to dictate its own terms and conditions? It's obvious that the Play Store is the most important Android app and few people outside of China would buy an Android device that can't access the Play Store. By now, Google Play Store and the associated Google Play Services are hard to separate from Android, even if they're not technically part of Android. This is Google's play: it's holding the keys to more than 1 million apps and dictates its own terms to phone manufacturers. Many of Google's apps are actually useful and they are hard to beat by competitors (Google Maps, Google Search, Gmail, YouTube), but some of the apps aren't the best in their category and Google uses distribution agreements to promote them (Hangouts, Keep, Play Books).

Back in 2008, Android Market was just another Android app store, but now it's the most important by far and it also comes with APIs that tie Android apps to the Google Play Store. I think it's not fair to tie Play Store licensing with bundling other Google apps and Google should use separate distribution agreements for them, just like Facebook and Microsoft.

Have you been searching for the perfect blueprint light? Me too. And wow. This 16-color LED desk lamp went with the Millennium Falcon as its subject! I thought I was going to be stuck with, like, the White House or some old French church. Instead, the transparent acrylic structure has been cut into the shape and etched with the details of an even greater architectural masterpiece. Star Wars fans young and old, here's what you'll own if you just gotta own an illuminated Millennium Falcon blueprint:

• 8-1/2" wide x 9-1/2" tall light, including a base with on/off switch and the Millennium Falcon insert.
• A laser-engraved image with a numbered guide indicating notable interior and exterior parts of the ship.
• A remote control to power the light on and off, as well as change its color from Light Side to Dark Side to purple, my girlfriend's favorite, so she won't make me hide it in the closet when company comes over.
• Glowing edges that create a mood-rich ambient lighting effect in the room.

In the New Yorker, Matthew J.X. Malady writes about finding his deceased mother standing outside her house on Google Street View and, more generally, when technology clumsily reminds us of loved ones who are no longer with us.

When I reached my mother's house, that all changed. First, I noticed that a gigantic American flag had been affixed to the mailbox post at the corner of the driveway. That was new. Then I spotted the fire pit in the front yard that my mom and her husband, my stepfather, used for block parties, and the grill on the patio, and my mom's car. And then there she was, out front, walking on the path that leads from the driveway to the home's front door. My mom.

At first I was convinced that it couldn't be her, that I was just seeing things. When's the last time you've spotted someone you know on Google Maps? I never had. And my mother, besides, is no longer alive. It couldn't be her.

Facebook in particular has been dinged for inadvertent algorithmic cruelty, but they have recently been making strides in a better direction. (via @tcarmody)

Tags: death   Facebook   Matthew J.X. Malady   technology

Saving the world be damned, there are Chocobos that need breeding!



See more: For the Love of Side Quests!

I love you, Maru-chan.

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The Nexus line of devices have historically been fantastic developer devices because of their fast updates, availability of source code, and easy bootloader unlock and root methods. This has also attracted all the phone modders, who love tinkering with their devices and creating new software for them.

Unfortunately, things might be moving away from that with the Nexus 6P. The device features an e-fuse that will mark when your bootloader has been unlocked. Even locking your bootloader will not reset the e-fuse; your device will permanently show that it has been tampered with.

How this will affect users is unknown. Google is in charge of warranty claims, and they may not care if it’s been unlocked. But such a feature wouldn’t be put on a Nexus device unless it was planned to be used. While you shouldn’t necessary be worried, it’s something to keep an eye on.

What do you think of a Nexus device having such an anti-unlocking measure? Is it not in the Nexus spirit?

Oh. Boy. Fresh. Sodie. Coming home to a Keurig Kold crisp Coke made to order is like waking up at 11 a.m. on the morning Daylight Savings Time ends and finding out you can sleep for another hour and still make it to Chicken & Waffles Brunch at the diner down the street. It's the small things in life that make for happy, happy days.

Keurig, the coffee pod people, now have a Kold method of helping you inject yourself with caffeine (and sugar!) Their drinkmaker system is similar to a SodaStream fountain, but probably way better because it has the abilities to create entire drinks from start to finish (SodaStream just carbonates water; you've got to add the flavoring afterwards) and produce drinks already perfectly chilled to about 39 degrees F (again, SS just carbonates water; whatever temperature the water goes in is the same it comes out).

Keurig Kold needs CO2 and, for flavored drinks, Kold pods to function. Beyond that it takes no more effort than positioning a glass and pressing a button. Available pods range from big names such as Coke, Dr. Pepper, Sprite, and Canada Dry Ginger Ale to craft sodas, iced tea, and sports drinks.

Guys, this Battle Sally has to be one of my favorite Nightmare Before Christmas cosplays of all time.

The beautiful and talented Maweezy Cosplay designed and created this entire ensemble using worbla and insulation foam, excellent body paint work, and a luscious red wig from Wigisfashion. Athough you can’t see from this photo, she confirms all three of Sally’s favorite battle potions are strapped to her shield: frogs breath, deadly night shade, and worms wort.

Dann “Madness” Media caught this fantastic shot before she headed off to hunt down Oogie.

In every part of her armor, she used elements from the movie as well as bold cross stitches—which fit this character perfectly. After the break, there’s a close-up where you can see some of her amazing costume detailing.

Thanks to John Hernandez for the tip! Send your cosplay tips to tips@fashionablygeek.com.

Amazon targets 1,114 'fake reviewers' in Seattle lawsuit - BBC News:

Amazon is taking legal action against more than 1,000 people it says have posted fake reviews on its website.

It says its brand reputation is being damaged by “false, misleading and inauthentic” reviews paid for by sellers seeking to improve the appeal of their products.

enjoy the show

Humble Mobile Bundle: KEMCO runs for two weeks before being unequipped on Monday, November 2, 2015 at 11 a.m. Pacific time.

Lunarbaboon Volume 2! Support the Kickstarter! https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/675718397/lunarbaboon-volume-2

Fake Cop Arrested for Pulling Over Real Officer in Florida

Gay-Hating Church to Protest Clerk Who Denied Marriage Licenses to Gay Couples

Ebola is now an STD