Inside The OS: Google Code?

BitPusher2600

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I need a minute folks. It would take a long time to explain myself so instead try to give me the benefit of the doubt. A long story short, I am very extremely anti-Google and try to do whatever I can, no matter how small, to keep any single piece of data, any statistic, any metric whatsoever from Google Inc and it has been burning my arse since the release of BlackBerry 10 that they have Android onboard. I have many years with BlackBerry and actually switched back from a Q10 to my old Bold 9930. For my usage needs, OS 7 worked just fine so I'm OK with being "legacy", but I found out doing some digging that some elements of even BBOS7 utilizes code from Google and the AOSP as well.

After a many years deep stretch of loyalty to the brand, I just found this out about OS7 today that has screwed my day up to say the very least.

In this, I'm here to ask if anyone knows anything at all with regards to if there is any code from Google anywhere within Windows Phone, be it an element of the browser, the core of the OS itself, anything? I have no idea what exactly is being utilized in BBOS7 regarding the Android codebase, yet its there. I'm also digging into iOS, I'm that determined to have a mobile OS that does not have even a single line of code from Google onboard if that's even possible.

PS: I am asking about the OS itself and built-in software (such as the browser), not external/third-party apps and the like.
 

AR2186

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Can't guarantee it, but you're pretty unlikely to find any Google code in Windows Phone or iOS. Given how avidly google is avoiding Windows Phone, it may be your best bet (and Apple used to have partnerships with Google).
 

Jas00555

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To the best of my knowledge, no. The kernel is entirely different, and the OS is pretty locked down, so I don't think any open source code would be in it. The only thing that I can think of is that in IE 10, it gives you the option to change your search engine (on the browser) to Google instead of Bing.
 

jmshub

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Windows is closed source, and it's based off the Win NT kernal, so I doubt there is any Google code in there. I am not a big fan of Google these days, but I'm not sure exactly what you're trying to avoid. If you're using a Google service, you will be subject to all of the tracking that Google utilizes in it's services. But, if a Google employee would contribute to an open source library, for instance, it won't be calling back to the Goog mothership for any reason.
 

Jan Tomsic

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Well there is an option to select google as your default search engine and another occurrence of google is where you set up your accounts, once you log in your google account there is email, contacts and calendar. I think this is all from google in the whole OS, but I highy doubt google wrote any of it.
Oh, and a microsoft written YouTube app that google blocked (and can be removed)

Google keeps blocking microsoft from any google service so I really doubt google went undercover and wrote some background system process.
 

BitPusher2600

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I thought BlackBerry OS7 was closed source for sure, I just can't find where code from the AOSP is being utilized, my guess is the browser as its based on webkit and maybe there's something there. As for BB10 its extremely obvious, an Android has an entire native tree in the filesystem. Although also closed source, its a good point, the NT kernel has been around for a long time and I'm fairly certain as well it's purely MS. Is the rendering engine of mobile IE Trident?
 

Jas00555

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I thought BlackBerry OS7 was closed source for sure, I just can't find where code from the AOSP is being utilized, my guess is the browser as its based on webkit and maybe there's something there. As for BB10 its extremely obvious, an Android has an entire native tree in the filesystem. Although also closed source, its a good point, the NT kernel has been around for a long time and I'm fairly certain as well it's purely MS. Is the rendering engine of mobile IE Trident?

Yeah, dude, NT has been around longer than Google has been in existence, so it's fair to say that none of the code is Google-based.

Now, with that being said, there are some Google bits in WP such as the support for Gmail and 8.1 is suppose to include support for Google Calendar, but if you don't use those services, you'll never touch them.

Yes, it's Trident.
 

SSgt Bruskowiz

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Google is something else than Android, Droid can excist without Google, But Google not without Droid.
Look at the X series of Nokia, Its Droid, but not Google.

And no one can say there is yes or no "Droid" code in the OS.
Because no one has dig that far in the OS.
But comon sense says why use Droidcode in a completely other ecosystem?
It wont work, so i think its save to say NO

BUT, yes i know, always a but.
If the gossips are correct and MS is trying to implement in the future something that gives users the oppertunity to use some Droidapplications
Then there is no choise than to use some droidcode, otherwhise it cant do the "translation" between the Apk data and the WP os.

Apps are a completely different story.
Some apps are rebuild from APK to XAP and not always on the cleanest way.
Sure, the code is dorment and wont work with in the WP ecosystem, but as i said thats a other story.
 

rockstarzzz

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You do realize that Google, Microsoft and Apple - all have some patents under their wings? Some technological advances in mobile space would halt if they didn't use these patented elements from each other after paying some license. For example, Nokia has patents for something as core to mobile as SMS or MMS (can't remember what) - but Nokia's patent portfolio includes ridiculously day to day use stuff for mobiles. Apple, Microsoft or Google everyone need to use those features for their phones. They have no way out. They pay the fees and use it. Doesn't mean they are using Nokia technology per say but means they are using Nokia tech anyway.

So some elements of any mobile OS that depends on Google's patented tech, will be used by all OS. Does it mean Google benefits from it? Yes, but not from you, from Blackberry or Microsoft. Is it different that Google using your data for their own benefit and selling it? Yes. It is totally different and you are not giving away your data by using an OS that depends on AOSP. However, you should worry if BBM backend is based on Google Hangouts. If you find such code, be worried, very worried.
 

AR2186

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You do realize that Google, Microsoft and Apple - all have some patents under their wings? Some technological advances in mobile space would halt if they didn't use these patented elements from each other after paying some license. For example, Nokia has patents for something as core to mobile as SMS or MMS (can't remember what) - but Nokia's patent portfolio includes ridiculously day to day use stuff for mobiles. Apple, Microsoft or Google everyone need to use those features for their phones. They have no way out. They pay the fees and use it. Doesn't mean they are using Nokia technology per say but means they are using Nokia tech anyway.

So some elements of any mobile OS that depends on Google's patented tech, will be used by all OS. Does it mean Google benefits from it? Yes, but not from you, from Blackberry or Microsoft. Is it different that Google using your data for their own benefit and selling it? Yes. It is totally different and you are not giving away your data by using an OS that depends on AOSP. However, you should worry if BBM backend is based on Google Hangouts. If you find such code, be worried, very worried.

Just a heads up, patents basically have nothing to do with code. A patent is basically a way to copyright a method of doing something that you were the first to think of, not the actual code to accomplish it. Apple has a patent on their method for Multitouch in the US, which is why early android phones released here didn't have it built in until google created another way to accomplish it that didn't violate the patent. No code was exchanged, and given that code for Android (Linux) work on iOS (Unix kernel derivative) and Windows Phone (Windows NT kernel), you pretty much cant have overlap
 

Pranjal Rai

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i think you need to keep a cool head....avoiding lagdroid is something else and Google as a company on the whole is a different thing, maybe you're too desperate, i dont know...but to answer your question, wp8 is your best bet
(but seriously dude, think about what i said....i don't understand that much intense hatred)
 

brainwaved

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The only thing that I can think of is that in IE 10, it gives you the option to change your search engine (on the browser) to Google instead of Bing.


I didn't recall that IE thing. Ty for that :D here's another connection in the OS with google:
If you open your "email+accounts" section in settings, you will find that there is an option for adding your google account and synchronizing it. You can rename the account name and pin it to start (like your hotmail acc). It acts EXACTLY like the live/hotmail account application. You can view your inbox, browse folders, add another account; in short: it acts just like a basic gmail application. This is the most significant connection with google that i can think of.







Sent from my Nokia Lumia 520 using Tapatalk
 

Markham Ranja

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Software patents, which are insanely common in the tech industry, have everything to do with code.

-E

Sigh. No, not at all.

A patent cannot be granted for a specific piece of code, or body of code. You can write something in C++ and patent it - does that mean I can now re-implement it in Haskell or something and get another patent? No, that would make no sense...

One can only be granted for a specific concept, or method of accomplishing a given task. For example, maybe Motorola can patent the concept of having a low-power dedicated processor for always-on voice recognition. They would patent this concept, not the exact designs of the chip which does this, not the firmware of that chip, not the driver binaries and not the part of Android which interfaces with such a chip. Anyone who accomplished always-on voice recognition by having a low-power chip would then violate this patent.

The final kicker is that all patents and the contents of a patent application are, by law, public. So if you are correct and software patents are all about code, MS would have to make source code publicly known.
 

E Lizzle

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I didn't say anything about "specific piece of code". I said software patents have everything to do with code. And they do. They describe how to code a particular solution. You cannot use that method to code a solution unless you license the patent.

-E
 

BitPusher2600

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Well as an update here I've spent time reading MS's TOU, third party acknowledgments, and of course digging around on the web.

I am certain WP is free of any Google or Android codebase whatsoever. I can't even find anything Microsoft is using patent wise owned by Google Inc. The ability to use Google as a default search in the browser or to link a Gmail account is an option for something to connect to, but does not use any special software to make it happen, or that is to say if you don't have a Gmail and don't use Google search, then it is entirely possible to have not one line of code from any of the above onboard.

The years of loyalty and emotional attachment to BlackBerry are very hard to fully let go of knowing I don't technically have to, its strictly a personal thing that I probably cannot justify to anyone else but myself (which I should think is the most important thing at the end of the day.) At any rate, I guess this is really going to happen. A voluntary, full-scale jump to Windows Phone. I suppose Microsoft sure won't mind.

PS: on the subject of patents I'm thoroughly amused that Google pays MS considerably per device sold for sets of patents they are licensing from MS. Kind of funny.
 

Markham Ranja

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Well as an update here I've spent time reading MS's TOU, third party acknowledgments, and of course digging around on the web.

I am certain WP is free of any Google or Android codebase whatsoever. I can't even find anything Microsoft is using patent wise owned by Google Inc. The ability to use Google as a default search in the browser or to link a Gmail account is an option for something to connect to, but does not use any special software to make it happen, or that is to say if you don't have a Gmail and don't use Google search, then it is entirely possible to have not one line of code from any of the above onboard.

The years of loyalty and emotional attachment to BlackBerry are very hard to fully let go of knowing I don't technically have to, its strictly a personal thing that I probably cannot justify to anyone else but myself (which I should think is the most important thing at the end of the day.) At any rate, I guess this is really going to happen. A voluntary, full-scale jump to Windows Phone. I suppose Microsoft sure won't mind.

PS: on the subject of patents I'm thoroughly amused that Google pays MS considerably per device sold for sets of patents they are licensing from MS. Kind of funny.

I'd like to know more about what seems to be an unreasonable degree of hatred towards a corporate entity. Any chance you can tell us the long story? :D

Also, on your last point: Google doesn't pay MS anything, it's the OEMs like Samsung et al. This is widely believed to be due to the fact that some Android phones, those with SD card slots, use the FAT32 filesystem and they pay MS a fee for this. It is not applicable to other handsets.

Finally: there have been rumours of a possible Dalvik/ART runtime emulator that may become available for WP, allowing it to run some Android apps. This may sound highly unlikely, but after the Nokia X announce nothing seems impossible anymore...
 

rockstarzzz

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I'd like to know more about what seems to be an unreasonable degree of hatred towards a corporate entity. Any chance you can tell us the long story? :D

Also, on your last point: Google doesn't pay MS anything, it's the OEMs like Samsung et al. This is widely believed to be due to the fact that some Android phones, those with SD card slots, use the FAT32 filesystem and they pay MS a fee for this. It is not applicable to other handsets.

Finally: there have been rumours of a possible Dalvik/ART runtime emulator that may become available for WP, allowing it to run some Android apps. This may sound highly unlikely, but after the Nokia X announce nothing seems impossible anymore...

Google pays MSFT for their Nexus devices. All Androids in some or the other way end up using Microsoft's patented technology. Remember, Microsoft is the leader in tech who laid out the foundation of what computers, consoles and phones are today.
 

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