All right, let’s see how this is supposed to work. Google releases the Android OS under an open source license, meaning that any handset maker can download the code and use it to power their smartphones. Only it hasn’t quite worked the way they expected. Each handset maker and wireless carrier is free to change […]

You have heard over and over again how Apple’s tight control over software and hardware is a bad thing. Software needs to be open, Apple needs to license their OS to other companies to be a credible player in the tech industry. And how dare they rule upon which apps can appear in their various […]

Andy Rubin and the rest of the people who manage the Android OS at Google can’t be feeling the love these days. Such Android licensees as HTC, Motorola and even Samsung are being pounded with look and feel lawsuits from Apple, claiming patent violations. Indeed, Apple scored a major victory against HTC covering three patents, […]

Just this week, my son told me of a curious episode involving a friend of his who owns an Android OS smartphone. She downloaded an update to the Google Market software, only to have a content filter activated in the process. The result? A 25-year-old woman suddenly had to deal with removing parental controls settings. […]