Android Linux ... GPL?

[lifelike27]

I have a question related to Android. People like Google because they were nice enough to open-source the OS but now that I think about it. Android runs on a modified version of Linux, and Linux falls under the GPL.

Correct me if I'm wrong, but doesn't the GPL state that if code under the GPL is used to create an application (for example) that should be open sourced as well.

If that's true, Google had to eventually open source the Android project. Yes?

Just random thoughts at 6.30am with no sleep... :)

[grahammechanical]

Do people like Google? It seems to me that some people get worried whenever a group of other people get big, powerful and rich. And maybe they are right to the concerned.

I do not know if the people who set up Google are the same people who are now running the company. I do not know if the present Google people are really tricky and devious and only pretending to be nice people. But I do know this:

http://source.android.com/

I can get hold of the latest Android source code. So, they are complying with the GPL.

Regards.

[LowSky]

Linux code remains free... additional code remains under google's control if they will it.

best example is honeycomb. google is holding onto the source code until the bugs are ironed out..

another example is canonical holding control on things like ubuntuone, and unity.

[LowSky]

Do people like Google? It seems to me that some people get worried whenever a group of other people get big, powerful and rich. And maybe they are right to the concerned.

I do not know if the people who set up Google are the same people who are now running the company. I do not know if the present Google people are really tricky and devious and only pretending to be nice people. But I do know this:

http://source.android.com/

I can get hold of the latest Android source code. So, they are complying with the GPL.

Regards.

google is still run by the same guys who started it.
also android 2.4/3.0(tablet) are the latest and are not open source as of yet. but 3.0 is available on the motorola xoom.

[lifelike27]

also android 2.4/3.0(tablet) are the latest and are not open source as of yet. but 3.0 is available on the motorola xoom.

2.4? I was under the impression we're still on 2.3.4...

I can understand why Google and Canonical would hold out the code for the latest releases. It makes sense. Fix everything first, then let everyone ticker with it later.

I just wanted to know if the reason they open source Android is because it uses a (modified) linux kernel...

[zekopeko]

Ok let me stop you guys from making unfounded assumptions.

The Linux kernel is GPL and they do release that. Anything above it is released under an Apache 2 license which doesn't require anyone to release the code.

To the person mentioning Unity it's released under GPL so they have to release the source code unless they change the license.

[lifelike27]

Ok let me stop you guys from making unfounded assumptions.

The Linux kernel is GPL and they do release that. Anything above it is released under an Apache 2 license which doesn't require anyone to release the code.

To the person mentioning Unity it's released under GPL so they have to release the source code unless they change the license.

That's the answer I was looking for!

[aysiu]

Correct me if I'm wrong, but doesn't the GPL state that if code under the GPL is used to create an application (for example) that should be open sourced as well. No, that isn't true. The Linux kernel is GPL'ed, and Google has kept it that way, but you can build on top of the kernel with other stuff and even install closed source applications (check out Skype, Opera, and Dropbox, which are all closed source but available for Linux distros, including Ubuntu).

The Linux kernel is GPL'ed. The Android operating system uses a different open source license. And then the Google Android applications (YouTube, Music, Gmail, Google Maps) are all proprietary and closed source.