Greg's message is an interesting read about the dynamics of peripheral code in the kernel and really makes it painfully clear that technology is all about people, both in terms of innovation and maintenance. Tech does not just happen by itself but is dependent on the skills, ambitions and resources of individuals. I hope that some people will step up to adopt a few of those drivers.
Really, you Android guys need to get aboard and show your colleagues over at HTC what open source development really is.
The Android platform is the messiest linux system I have ever used, with OS "ROMs" (that is, not distros in the usual sense but bundles of packages wrapped up by single individuals), custom boot loaders and hacks to gain root access. The fact that some guys needed to reverse engineer the freakin HTC Magic kernel to enable netfilter/iptables and tethering capabilites because HTC refused to release the code for a long time is just sad (they just did though).
If the Android kernel guys start working more closely with the main kernel project perhaps HTC and others will realize the benefits and do so too, which in turn might make the platform more interesting for other projects as well. I would not mind being able to dual boot the new Maemo stack on my Android phone.


Reply With Quote
