Tivo never did anything wrong, and the FSF even acknowledged that. The fact that they do their hardware and have some DRM issues with the content producers and thus want to protect the integrity of that hardware.
The kernel license covers the *kernel*. It does not cover boot loaders and hardware, and as far as I’m concerned, people who make their own hardware can design them any which way they want. Whether that means “booting only a specific kernel” or “sharks with lasers”, I don’t care.

Back to Android, the complete source code is available online. Yes, it might not be the latest and greatest available source code residing in the memory cells of the Android developers’ computers. But is that the point? Even with GPL’d software one does not always see the latest version until the “developers” decide to make it public. There are benevolent dictators to every open source project.

Android does have an open bug management system, accepts patches and have also put up web pages describing the “Life of a patch” and “Life of a bug”.

I still don’t see why Android is NOT Free Software. By definition, it adheres to all rules and regulations of the license. This tweet from Andy Rubin is good enough an answer for everything.

However as I mentioned here, all that matters to me is how much a system can be explored and learned. Android + Nexus One / Nexus S is one heck of a platform to get a system’s perspective right from the core operating system to the application layer.

If the revolt is against hardware lockup of Android devices, I re-iterate: Its got NOTHING to do with openness of Android. I see only two ways of fixing this. First option – change Android’s license to GPLv3 (which has got additional clauses to prevent such Tivoisation). This would lead to a whole bunch of recursive license compatibility issues a.k.a heavily affect Android’s growth and adoption. Second option would be to force all manufacturers to “open” up their devices running Android. This I have no clue how it can be done without changing the licensing of Android. Plus, put yourself in the manufacturer’s shoes for a moment — Way too much headache in supporting all the “rooted” but “bricked” devices coming into their service centres. No one is here for charity and each of us have to feed some stomachs in the end.

Bottom line : Android is free and open enough for me as an end user of Nexus One / S devices.

PS: I am NOT an Android fanbhoi. JFYI, I own an iPhone 4.

• Meeting up with friends in Pune and Bangalore, discussing a wide range of topics from life to capitalism to Indian media to Ekta Kapoor / Indian film industry to state of Indian education to anything under the sky.
• A memorable night out at a farm house near East Coast Road with college friends and spending most part inside the pool again discussing random things.
• Finished reading Gone with the wind, AIDS Sutra, Animal Farm, A Whole New Mind and An Indian Odyssey. 5 books in a month. The last time I achieved this number was a long time back.
• Traveled more that 5000 Kms by air and land.
• Spent a good amount of time with parents.

The BIGGEST thing I will be missing back in Switzerland is the casual chit-chat with family and friends over a whole lot of issues – basically the feeling of connection at the emotional level and of-course the HOME comfort. Strangely enough, I DONT seem to miss Indian food. @sidcarter put it very well in this tweet earlier today. There were of-course some disappointments/frustrations; but I am in a very light mood as of now to even think about them.

Tonight I head back to work in Zurich, Switzerland. See you later, India.

Google Summer of Code 2009

I am participating in this year’s google summer of code program as a student (yes, you read it right , as a student ).  You can find my proposal to RTEMS here (pdf). The Community Bonding period is almost coming to a close and the work package is getting more clear day by day. My mentor, Thomas Doerfler from Embedded Brains Gmbh has helped me refine and catch up with all the necessary required knowledge to start work. Thank you Thomas. So this summer is already scheduled for me. Oh! You can find the project related wiki page here.

Photography

Whenever I feel like “Its getting on to me”, I take my good friend (now its got some companions like tripod, UV-Filter, Polariser etc) and go shooting. Outcomes are the sets of Tulip Show (one of my favourites), Geneva Autoshow, random pics of my town and nearby areas. The photos I liked the most are in the Masterpieces set. Some preview below.

 

Oh and my cooking skills have improved tremendously. I can now cook Palak Paneer too

Academia

Its been hectic, hectic and hectic. But things are looking good. If everything goes well I should be able to get some experiment results out of my project by July which could be great. I have decided to put all my code that I have written for my assignments on the interweb under the WTFPL. Thanks to Thibault to have suggested it If FEL team accepts we can package it under different sections and provide it along with the FEL Spin for F12. I have a few blog posts to make on some roadblocks I came across which could be really very interesting and informative for fellow Computer Architects, students and in general to anybody interested in Hardware Modeling and Design.

Thats all folks! Later!

Will begin digging out all my mails shortly and slowly reply to all you folks who have bombarded me with your thoughts

Complete flickr set

So its the w810i and I am just loving it. I guess I have become a complete SE Mobile phone fanbhoi now! Two SE phones in a row…

All this happened while returning from the picnic. It must be in the van but the driver says the obvious! Guys, please message me your number (if you think I had your number) with your name (Include any special identification statements if any to avoid same name confusions). My number remains the same.

Sorry for the trouble.

We began the day with a small trek, followed by what is called a “Chimney Climb”. Not many could do it (Yay! I did it). It was followed by another small trek downhill and then lunch. This was followed by the famous “Rappelling” activity. We had to descend down from a height of about 130-140 feet hill. It was loads of fun. I met up with my Old boss and had very good time with the guys. Most of them stayed overnight while I decided to return back. Reached Bangalore by around 10 PM.
Complete flickr set here