I don’t understand why Google didn’t just made Android closed source. They would’ve made custom roms impossible and therefore more able to control and spy on it’s users. Why did Google made Android open source, while Microsoft’s Windows is still closed source to this day?

  • WhoRoger@lemmy.world
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    1 year ago

    Pretty much everything is based on open source these days. Apple’s macOS and iOS are BSD, which, unlike Linux’s GPL, allows them to not provide the source for changes.

    Everything else then runs Linux, so it was a natural choice for Android, as it’s more lightweight than Unix like BSD, and better suited for mobile and low-power devices.

    Windows is a bit of an oddball. First off, a lot of its code and philosophy is taken from elsewhere. The original DOS was bought for peanuts under a ruse. A lot of original Windows came from Apple’s OS (which was originally stolen by Apple from Xerox) of the time that MS had access to due to making Office for Mac.

    Then for the NT family (which includes everything up to W10), Microsoft stole a lot of code from IBM and their OS/2, when they collaborated. And some other stuff from BSD, without telling anybody. Which is why the NT line managed to stay relatively good for so long.

    Basically Windows is a hodge-podge of other systems, which MS has managed to push thanks to their predatory business practices and eventual monopoly. It’s been like that forever.

    If there’s any good MS product on desktop, it’s bought or stolen from somewhere else. If it’s shit, it’s their own.

    • esty@lemmy.ca
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      1 year ago

      Windows 11 is also descended from NT isn’t it? Or is it considered too different now?