Android and Linux Foundation to Reunite?
The Linux Kernel Archive hasn’t been too pleased with the direction Android has taken. Claiming Android’s developers offer little cooperation and are slow to patch and update their code, they parted ways last year.
But all of that may change soon, as Google has extended the old proverbial olive branch at the Linux Collaboration Summit taking place today and tomorrow in San Francisco. Executive Director of the Linux Foundation Jim Zemlin and open source and public engineering manager for Google Chris DiBona both see hope for Android to rejoin the good graces of Linux.
While DiBona admits it may take a few years, Google is set to hire two new engineers to help make sure Android meets the expectations of the people at Linux. Issues of fragmentation could be a stumbling block, but DiBona just doesn’t see this as the case, noting that it is hard to compare the smartphone OS to its desktop predecessor, and seeing them as two separate Linux entities rather than a single unified project.
Android and Linux working together again could never be bad news. If the Linux people had their way it would mean quicker and more plentiful patches and updates for the OS, and with a few more engineers dedicated to the project on Google’s end, this is a definite possibility. Even if this isn’t the case, simply having the support of Linux could act as a powerful leveraging tool as Android makes its way to more and more non-smartphone devices.
[via ReadWriteWeb]