Android

Oracle v. Google has all the ingredients of an epic, high-stakes courtroom battle: a damages claim of up to $1 billion over the use of Java in the popular Android operating system, testimony by both Larrys (CEOs Page and Ellison) in the first week alone, and, of course, the disposition of some interesting legal issues, not the least of them whether APIs can be copyrighted.

But, more than all of that, the case serves as an important teaching moment, illustrating much of what doesn’t work in our patent system. » Read more

Five months ago, HealthTap launched its public beta to help people share health information based not around symptoms or treatments, but around the individual. This week they've expanded the system by launching iPhone and Android apps. » Read more

HP's attempt to kill the TouchPad proved two things: the appeal of a $99 tablet and the power of open source communities.

The first is clear--even if you hadn't decided how a tablet would fit into your life, it's a lot easier to figure it out for $99 than for $500. Too bad the BOM to build the TouchPad was more than $300. (Maybe it's time to subsidize tablets.) » Read more

Mobile Linux platforms are making incredible inroads into the emerging smartphone market. The market leading position that Apple developed and which seemed insurmountable just 18 months ago has now been eclipsed by the Android platform, alone. As the MeeGo smartphone platform enters the market this trend toward mobile linux ubiquity can only be expected to continue.  Further, the extension of these linux-based operating systems into higher value computing devices is, in parallel, threatening to transform the nature of personal computing. » Read more

Even people inside the open source market tend to underestimate it.

They think of it the way they think of the software market. If you're not collecting cash tribute for support (the equivalent of a cash price for the code) you somehow don't count. » Read more

Phrases I considered for this post's title ranged from "surprising choice" to "sign of the apocalypse." More than a few years ago, I remember buying my first piece of Sony hardware--a video camera. It was one of the first that also let you take digital stills, which it saved to a tiny, purple, proprietary Sony memory stick that was an expensive pain to replace or get a spare of. And that was how I first learned that Sony was mostly only interested in Sony. » Read more

In the few weeks I have owned a smartphone (a Kyocera Zio with Android), I've been fascinated to see how many non-technical users are experiencing the power of open source for the first time.

Between the proliferation of free and inexpensive apps in the Android Market and the numerous mobile companies offering their own Android phones, it's hard to believe it all started with a single G1 phone.

(Yes, I remember the Trolltech Greenphone and other predecessors, but nevertheless, a tip of the hat to Google for getting Android onto 19%—perhaps 20% before I finish typing this parenthetical disclaimer—of all smartphones.) » Read more

Over the last few months, the battle to define the meaning of the word "open" has intensified into one of the more interesting brand positioning exercises I've seen in the technology industry (if you aren't familiar with brand positioning and would like to learn more, consider starting here).

I thought I'd do a quick report from the front lines, diving in specifically to examine the battle for smartphone leadership, and looking at things from a brand positioning strategy perspective. » Read more

At 64 Studio, we use the Linux kernel with real-time patches to ensure reliable, glitch-free I/O for our customers' demanding audio applications. Having source code and full control over the design of the system means that we can tweak the machine for the best possible performance on the target hardware. Typically, our end users are in the "pro audio" market--music production, recording, or broadcast. When an audio engineer switches on their new mixing desk, they probably don't realise that it's actually an embedded GNU/Linux device, albeit one that weighs a few hundred times as much as their Android phone. » Read more

The FreeMED Software Foundation has been involved with a medical clinic and teaching project in Guatemala for some time. The project, hosted by Pop-Wuj, a non-profit Spanish language school in Xela (Quetzeltenango), Guatemala, hosts a medical clinic for the poor in the city and surrounding pueblos.

The project, through the efforts of Jonathan St George, MD who founded the idea, has been » Read more