An Android kill switch?
On The Future of the Internet blog, Jason Neal poses some questions about the Google Android Market's terms of service:
Readers of FOI [The Future of the Internet--And How to Stop It] may recall the introduction’s focus on the iPhone as the book’s first example of a tethered appliance. The release of Android was viewed with some excitement as a challenge to Apple, in more ways than one.
Google, and later the Open Handset Alliance, have touted Android as an open source alternative to the iPhone’s tight control of applications. Android, for instance, allows users to download applications from developers without a central gate-keeper deciding what applications can and cannot be run. Even key components like the dialer or the home screen can be replaced. Sounds like a great victory for generativity, even in the face of the iPhone’s popularity, right?
Maybe not...
