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www/philosophy po/android-and-users-freedom.tra...


From: GNUN
Subject: www/philosophy po/android-and-users-freedom.tra...
Date: Wed, 17 Jun 2020 05:00:27 -0400 (EDT)

CVSROOT:        /web/www
Module name:    www
Changes by:     GNUN <gnun>     20/06/17 05:00:27

Modified files:
        philosophy/po  : android-and-users-freedom.translist 
Added files:
        philosophy     : android-and-users-freedom.zh-cn.html 
        philosophy/po  : android-and-users-freedom.zh-cn-en.html 

Log message:
        Automatic update by GNUnited Nations.

CVSWeb URLs:
http://web.cvs.savannah.gnu.org/viewcvs/www/philosophy/android-and-users-freedom.zh-cn.html?cvsroot=www&rev=1.1
http://web.cvs.savannah.gnu.org/viewcvs/www/philosophy/po/android-and-users-freedom.translist?cvsroot=www&r1=1.20&r2=1.21
http://web.cvs.savannah.gnu.org/viewcvs/www/philosophy/po/android-and-users-freedom.zh-cn-en.html?cvsroot=www&rev=1.1

Patches:
Index: po/android-and-users-freedom.translist
===================================================================
RCS file: /web/www/www/philosophy/po/android-and-users-freedom.translist,v
retrieving revision 1.20
retrieving revision 1.21
diff -u -b -r1.20 -r1.21
--- po/android-and-users-freedom.translist      15 Mar 2020 18:34:45 -0000      
1.20
+++ po/android-and-users-freedom.translist      17 Jun 2020 09:00:27 -0000      
1.21
@@ -11,6 +11,7 @@
 <span dir="ltr">[pl]&nbsp;<a lang="pl" hreflang="pl" 
href="/philosophy/android-and-users-freedom.pl.html">polski</a> &nbsp;</span>
 <span dir="ltr">[ru]&nbsp;<a lang="ru" hreflang="ru" 
href="/philosophy/android-and-users-freedom.ru.html">русский</a> 
&nbsp;</span>
 <span dir="ltr">[tr]&nbsp;<a lang="tr" hreflang="tr" 
href="/philosophy/android-and-users-freedom.tr.html">Türkçe</a> &nbsp;</span>
+<span dir="ltr">[zh-cn]&nbsp;<a lang="zh-cn" hreflang="zh-cn" 
href="/philosophy/android-and-users-freedom.zh-cn.html">简体中文</a> 
&nbsp;</span>
 </p>
 </div>' -->
 <link rel="alternate" type="text/html" 
href="/philosophy/android-and-users-freedom.html" hreflang="x-default" />
@@ -23,4 +24,5 @@
 <link rel="alternate" type="text/html" lang="pl" hreflang="pl" 
href="/philosophy/android-and-users-freedom.pl.html" title="polski" />
 <link rel="alternate" type="text/html" lang="ru" hreflang="ru" 
href="/philosophy/android-and-users-freedom.ru.html" title="русский" />
 <link rel="alternate" type="text/html" lang="tr" hreflang="tr" 
href="/philosophy/android-and-users-freedom.tr.html" title="Türkçe" />
+<link rel="alternate" type="text/html" lang="zh-cn" hreflang="zh-cn" 
href="/philosophy/android-and-users-freedom.zh-cn.html" title="简体中文" />
 <!-- end translist file -->

Index: android-and-users-freedom.zh-cn.html
===================================================================
RCS file: android-and-users-freedom.zh-cn.html
diff -N android-and-users-freedom.zh-cn.html
--- /dev/null   1 Jan 1970 00:00:00 -0000
+++ android-and-users-freedom.zh-cn.html        17 Jun 2020 09:00:27 -0000      
1.1
@@ -0,0 +1,227 @@
+<!--#set var="ENGLISH_PAGE" 
value="/philosophy/android-and-users-freedom.en.html" -->
+
+<!--#include virtual="/server/header.zh-cn.html" -->
+<!-- Parent-Version: 1.86 -->
+
+<!-- This file is automatically generated by GNUnited Nations! -->
+<title>Android 和用户的自由 - GNU 工程 - 自由软件基金会</title>
+
+<!--#include virtual="/philosophy/po/android-and-users-freedom.translist" -->
+<!--#include virtual="/server/banner.zh-cn.html" -->
+<h2>Android 和用户的自由</h2>
+<p>Richard Stallman 著<br />在 <em><a
+href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/2011/sep/19/android-free-software-stallman";>卫报(The
+Guardian)</a></em>首发</p>
+
+<hr class="thin" />
+
+<p class="comment">
+Android 
系统在多大程度上尊重用户的自由呢?对看中自由的计算机用户来说,这是对任何软件系统最重要的问题。</p>
+
+<p>通过 <a
+href="http://fsf.org";>自由软件运动</a>,我们开发了尊重用户自由的软件,å›
 æ­¤æˆ‘们和你们可以摆脱非自由软件。相反,&ldquo;开源&rdquo;
+的思想关注于如何开发代ç 
ï¼›è¿™æ˜¯ä¸åŒçš„理念,它的基本价值观 <a
+href="/philosophy/open-source-misses-the-point.html">不是自由而是代ç 
è´¨é‡</a>。所以,我们在此关心的不是
+Android 是否 &ldquo;<a
+href="/philosophy/free-open-overlap.html">开放</a>&rdquo;,而是它的用户是否拥有自由。</p>
+
+<p>Android 是一个主要用于手机等设备的操作系统,它由 
Linux(Torvalds 写的内核)、一些库、一个 Java 
平台和一些应用构成。除了
+Linux,Android 版本 1 和 2 的软件主要由 Google 开发;Google 将å…
¶æŒ‰ç…§ Apache 2.0 许可证发布,这是一个非
+<a href="/licenses/copyleft.html">copyleft</a> 
的松散型自由软件许可证。</p>
+
+<p>Android 包含的 Linux 并不是完全的自由软件,因为å…
¶ä¸­æœ‰éžè‡ªç”±çš„ &ldquo;二进制 blobs&rdquo;(就像 Torvalds 的
+Linux 版本一样),其中一些 Android 设备真的要用到。Android 
平台还使用其他非自由的固件、非自由的库。除了这些,由 
Google
+发布的 Android 版本 1 和 2 的源代ç 
æ˜¯è‡ªç”±è½¯ä»¶&mdash;但是这些代码不足以在设备上运行。Android 
常带的一些应用也不是自由软件。</p>
+
+<div class="announcement comment">
+<p><em>请支持 <a href="http://FreeYourAndroid.org/";>让 Android 自由</a> 
运动。</em></p>
+</div>
+
+<p>Android 和 <a href="/gnu/the-gnu-project.html">GNU/Linux 操作系统</a>
+非常不同,因为它基本不包含 GNU。实际上,Android 和 
GNU/Linux 的唯一共同点大概就是 Linux 内核。哪些错误地认为
+&ldquo;Linux&rdquo; 就是指整个 GNU/Linux 
组合的人对这些事实感到非常困惑,并自相矛盾地声称 
&ldquo;Android
+包含 Linux,但并不是 Linux。&rdquo;(<a 
href="#linuxnote">1</a>)不管这个混淆,情况很简单:Android
+含有 Linux,但是不包含 GNU;因此,Android 和 GNU/Linux 
大不相同,因为它们的公共部分只有 Linux。</p>
+
+<p>å°± Android 来说,Linux 内核仍是一个单独的程序,其源代ç 
ä½¿ç”¨ <a href="/licenses/gpl-2.0.html">GNU
+GPL 版本 2</a>。要把 Linux 代码放在 Apache 2.0 
许可证下会侵犯版权,因为 GPL 版本 2 和 Apache 2.0 <a
+href="/licenses/license-list.html#apache2">不兼容</a>。关于 Google 
设法把 Linux 转换到
+Apache 许可证的传言是错误的;Google 没有权力改变 Linux 代ç 
çš„许可证,也没有这样去做。如果 Linux 的作者群允许其按ç…
§ <a
+href="/licenses/gpl.html">GPL 版本 3</a> 发布,那么其代码就兼容 
Apache 许可证,并且整个组合可以按照 GPL
+版本 3 发布。但是 Linux 并没有这样发布。</p>
+
+<p>Google 对 Linux 遵循了 GNU 通用公共许可证,而 Android 的å…
¶ä»–部分使用 Apache 许可证,没有要求发布源代码。Google
+曾经说它永远不会公开 Android 3.0(Linux 除外)的源代ç 
ã€‚Android 3.1 的源代码也被保留了,这使 Android 3,除
+Linux 外,是非自由软件,简单明了。</p>
+
+<p>Google 说保留 3.0 的代码是因
为问题太多,还说大家应该等待
下一版发布。这个对只想运行 Android
+系统的人可能是个好建议,但是用户应该是做出决定的一方。æ—
 è®ºå¦‚何,希望在自己的版本里加上改动的开发者和钻研者
使用有问题的代码也是可以的。</p>
+
+<p>所幸的是,Google 后来在发布版本 4(含源代ç 
ï¼‰æ—¶ä¹Ÿå‘布了 Android 3.*
+的源代ç 
ã€‚上述问题看来只是临时偏离,而非政策改变。不过,这也是前车之鉴。</p>
+
+<p>不过怎样,Android 各种版本的代码都按ç…
§è‡ªç”±è½¯ä»¶å‘布了。这是不是意味着使用这些 Android
+版本的产品就尊重用户的自由了呢?不,不是的。有几
个原因。</p>
+
+<p>首先,它们大多数都包含非自由的 Google 
应用,这些应用和 YouTube 以及 Google Maps 
等服务沟通。虽然它们不是 Android
+的正式部分,但这并不是说这些产品就没问题。许多 Android 
早期版本的自由应用 <a
+href="http://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2013/10/googles-iron-grip-on-android-controlling-open-source-by-any-means-necessary/";>被非自由应用替换</a>;在
+2013 年,出现了一些 Android 设备,<a
+href="http://www.androidbeat.com/2013/12/new-google-play-edition-devices-lack-photo-gallery-app-use-google/";>它们除了使用非自由的
+Google+ 应用之外,无法查看照片</a>。在 2014 年,Google 宣布 <a
+href="http://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2014/06/android-wear-auto-and-tv-save-you-from-skins-and-oems-from-themselves/";>Android
+TV 版、手表版和汽车版的大部分都不是自由的。</a>
+</p>
+
+<p>大多数 Android 设备都会带有非自由的 Google Play 软件(原å…
ˆå« &ldquo;Android
+市场&rdquo;)。此软件邀请用户使用 Google 账号安装
非自由应用。它还带有一个后门,Google
+可以用它强制安装或卸载应用。(这相当于是个å…
¨å±€åŽé—¨ï¼Œè™½ç„¶æœªç»è¯å®žã€‚)Google Play 不是 Android 
的正式部分,但是这并未减少其恶。
+</p>
+
+<p>Google 把许多常规的基础工具都转移到非自由的 <a
+href="https://blog.grobox.de/2016/the-proprietarization-of-android-google-play-services-and-apps/";>Google
+Play 服务库</a>。如果一个应用本身的代ç 
æ˜¯è‡ªç”±è½¯ä»¶ï¼Œä½†æ˜¯å®ƒä¾èµ– Google Play
+服务才能运行,那么整个应用等效于非自由的;它无
法在非自由版本的 Android 上运行,比如不能在 Replicant 
上运行。
+</p>
+
+<p>如果你看中自由,那么你不会要 Google Play 
提供的非自由应用。要安装自由的 Android 应用,你无需 Google 
Play,因为你可以从
+<a href="http://f-droid.org";>f-droid.org</a> 获得。
+</p>
+
+<p>Android 产品也带有非自由库。这些不是 Android 
的正式部分,但是由于多种 Android 
功能都依赖它们,所以实际是 Android
+安装必备的内容。</p>
+
+<p>即使是 Android 正式部分的程序也可能不对应 Google 
发布的源代码。制造商可能会修改代码,而且经常不会发布å…
¶ç‰ˆæœ¬çš„源代码。GNU GPL
+要求它们发布其 Linux 版本的代ç 
ï¼Œå§‘且假设他们遵守了。而其余部分使用松散的 Apache 
许可证的代码,并没有要求他们发布实际使用的代码。</p>
+
+<p>有一个用户发现其 Android 手机的多个程序 <a
+href="http://www.beneaththewaves.net/Projects/Motorola_Is_Listening.html";>被修改成向
+Motorola 发送个人数据。</a>有些制造商会添加一个 <a
+href="http://androidsecuritytest.com/features/logs-and-services/loggers/carrieriq/";>诸如
+Carrier IQ 的通用性监控软件包。</a></p>
+
+<p><a href="http://replicant.us";>Replicant</a> 是一个自由版的 
Android。Replicant
+的开发者
替换掉了一些特定设备的许多非自由的软件库。非自由的应用也被剔除,不过ä½
 å½“然不要用它们。反过来,CyanogenMod(Android
+的另外一个修改版)是非自由的,因
为它带有非自由程序。</p>
+
+<p>许多 Android 设备是
+&ldquo;暴君&rdquo;:它们设计为用户无法安装
和运行他们自己的修改版软件,只能使用授权å…
¬å¸æä¾›çš„版本。在这种情
况下,这些可执行程序不是自由软件,即使其源代ç 
è‡ªç”±å¯å¾—。不过,有些
+Android 设备可以被 &ldquo;rooted&rdquo;<sup><a
+href="#TransNote1">1</a></sup>,因而用户可以安装不同的软件。</p>
+
+<p>重要的固件或驱动一般也是专有软件。它们处理电话网络射频信号、WiFi、蓝牙、GPS、3D
+图形、摄像头、扬声器等,有时也包括麦å…
‹é£Žã€‚对有些电话,一些驱动程序是自由的,还有一些驱动你
可以不要&mdash;&mdash;但是你不能没有麦å…
‹é£Žæˆ–电话网络射频信号的驱动。</p>
+
+<p>电话网络固件是预装好的。如果它只是按照你
的需要和电话网络通讯,那么我们可以把它等效为一个电路板。当我们坚持计算设备上的软件å¿
…须自由时,我们可以放过预装的不再升级的固件,因
为对用户来说这个软件和电路板是一样的。</p>
+
+<p>不幸的是,这是一个恶意的电路板。无
论恶意功能是如何实现的,我们都不能接受。</p>
+
+<p>在大多数 Android
+设备上,该固件控制太多功能以至于它可以把整个产品变成一个监听器。在有些设备上,它控制麦å
…‹é£Žã€‚在另一些设备上,它可以通过共享内存完å…
¨æŽ§åˆ¶ä¸»è®¡ç®—单元,因此就可以忽略或替换掉你安装
的任何自由软件。还有一些设备,也可能是所有的设备,有可能远程操控该固件来重新刷写设备的软件。自由软件的重点在于我们对软件和计算有控制权;有后门的系统显然不合æ
 ¼ã€‚虽然任何计算机系统都可能
+<em>有</em> 缺陷,但是这些设备本身 <em>就是</em> 
缺陷。(Craig Murray,在 <a
+href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2006/aug/12/politics";>Murder in
+Samarkand</a> 
中,论及他参与的一次谍报活动,就是远程把未起疑心的目æ 
‡å¯¹è±¡çš„非 Android 手机变成了监听设备。)</p>
+
+<p>总而言之,Android
+设备的电话网络固件并不等同于一个电路板,因为其硬件å…
è®¸å®‰è£…新的版本而且也在实际
运用该功能。由于它是专有固件,实际上只有制造
商可以提供新版本&mdash;&mdash;用户不行。</p>
+
+<p>归纳一下,我们可以接受电话网络固件不加
载新版本、不控制主计算单元,而且它只能按ç…
§è‡ªç”±æ“ä½œç³»ç»Ÿçš„需要来通讯。换句话说,它必
须等同于一个电路板,而且必须不是恶意的电路板。按照这æ 
·çš„特点来制造
+Android 手机没有技术困难,但是我们没有看到这æ 
·çš„手机。</p>
+
+<p>Android 不是一个自我加载的系统;Android 的开发需要在å…
¶ä»–系统上进行。Google 的
+&ldquo;软件开发套件&rdquo;(SDK)看来是自由的,但是需要大量检查才能判断。某些
 Google API 的定义文件不是自由的。安装 SDK
+需要签署一个专有的软件许可证,你应该拒绝签署。<a
+href="http://redmine.replicant.us/projects/replicant/wiki/ReplicantSDK";>
+Replicant SDK</a> 是一个自由替代。</p>
+
+<p>最近媒体关注 Android 的专利战争。历经 20 
年的废除软件专利运动,我们一直在警告这æ 
·çš„战争。软件专利可能会消灭 Android
+的功能,甚至使之不可用。请参看 <a 
href="http://endsoftpatents.org";>endsoftpatents.org</a>
+了解更多为何要废除软件专利的信息。</p>
+
+<p>不过,专利攻击和 Google 的反应并不直接和本文的主题相å…
³ï¼šAndroid
+产品如何部分寻求成为一个讲道德的发布系统,以及如何没能实现目æ
 ‡ã€‚这个问题也值得媒体关注。</p>
+
+<p>Android 
是实现一个讲道德、用户可控、自由软件的手机系统的重要一步,但是道路还很漫长,而且
 Google 正在把它带到错误的方向上去。黑客们正在为
+<a href="http://replicant.us";>Replicant</a> 
工作,但支持新的设备型号是巨大的工作,加
上还留有固件的问题。尽管
+Android 手机没有 Apple 或 Windows 
手机那么恶劣,但是他们还是不能说它尊重你的自由。</p>
+
+<hr class="thin" />
+
+<ol>
+<li id="linuxnote">这个混淆的极端例子出现在 linuxonandroid.com 
网站,该网站提供 &ldquo;在 Android 设备上安装 Linux
+[sic]&rdquo; 的帮助。这整个都错了:他们是在安装一个 GNU 
系统的版本,<em>不包括</em> Linux,因为 Linux 已经是
+Android 的一部分。由于该网站仅支持 <a 
href="/distros/distros.html">非自由的 GNU/Linux
+发行版</a>,我们不推荐使用。
+</li>
+</ol>
+
+<!-- If needed, change the copyright block at the bottom. In general,
+     all pages on the GNU web server should have the section about
+     verbatim copying.  Please do NOT remove this without talking
+     with the webmasters first.
+     Please make sure the copyright date is consistent with the document
+     and that it is like this: "2001, 2002", not this: "2001-2002". -->
+<div class="translators-notes">
+
+<!--TRANSLATORS: Use space (SPC) as msgstr if you don't have notes.-->
+<h3>译注</h3>
+<ol>
+<li 
id="TransNote1">rooted:此处指获得手机等设备的操作系统管理员权限,即
 root 权限。此后就可以安装修改版软件。</li>
+</ol></div>
+</div>
+
+<!-- for id="content", starts in the include above -->
+<!--#include virtual="/server/footer.zh-cn.html" -->
+<div id="footer">
+<div class="unprintable">
+
+<p>请将有关自由软件基金会(FSF) &amp; 
GNU的一般性问题发送到<a
+href="mailto:gnu@gnu.org";>&lt;gnu@gnu.org&gt;</a>。也可以通过<a
+href="/contact/">其他联系方法</a>联系自由软件基金会(FSF)。有å…
³å¤±æ•ˆé“¾æŽ¥æˆ–其他错误和建议,请发送邮件到<a
+href="mailto:webmasters@gnu.org";>&lt;webmasters@gnu.org&gt;</a>。</p>
+
+<p>
+<!-- TRANSLATORS: Ignore the original text in this paragraph,
+        replace it with the translation of these two:
+
+        We work hard and do our best to provide accurate, good quality
+        translations.  However, we are not exempt from imperfection.
+        Please send your comments and general suggestions in this regard
+        to <a href="mailto:web-translators@gnu.org";>
+
+        &lt;web-translators@gnu.org&gt;</a>.</p>
+
+        <p>For information on coordinating and submitting translations of
+        our web pages, see <a
+        href="/server/standards/README.translations.html">Translations
+        README</a>. -->
+我们尽最大努力来提供精准和高质量的翻译,但难å…
ä¼šå­˜åœ¨é”™è¯¯å’Œä¸è¶³ã€‚如果您在这方面有评论或一般性的建议,请发送至
 <a
+href="mailto:web-translators@gnu.org";>&lt;web-translators@gnu.org&gt;</a>。</p><p>å
…³äºŽè¿›è¡Œåè°ƒä¸Žæäº¤ç¿»è¯‘的更多信息参见
+<a href="/server/standards/README.translators.html">《译者
指南》</a>。</p>
+</div>
+
+<p>Copyright &copy; 2011, 2012, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2018, 2020 Richard 
Stallman</p>
+
+<p>本页面使用 <a rel="license"
+href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/4.0/";>Creative Commons
+Attribution-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License</a> 授权。</p>
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+<b>翻译团队</b>:<a rel="team"
+href="https://savannah.gnu.org/projects/www-zh-cn/";>&lt;CTT&gt;</a>,2020。</div>
+
+<p class="unprintable"><!-- timestamp start -->
+最后更新:
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+$Date: 2020/06/17 09:00:27 $
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+<!--#include virtual="/server/header.html" -->
+<!-- Parent-Version: 1.86 -->
+<title>Android and Users' Freedom
+- GNU Project - Free Software Foundation</title>
+<!--#include virtual="/philosophy/po/android-and-users-freedom.translist" -->
+<!--#include virtual="/server/banner.html" -->
+<h2>Android and Users' Freedom</h2>
+<p>by Richard Stallman<br />First published in <em><a
+href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/2011/sep/19/android-free-software-stallman";>
+The Guardian</a></em></p>
+
+<hr class="thin" />
+
+<p class="comment">
+To what extent does Android respect the freedom of its users? For a
+computer user that values freedom, that is the most important question
+to ask about any software system.</p>
+
+<p>In the <a href="http://fsf.org";>free/libre software movement</a>, we
+develop software that respects users' freedom, so we and you can escape
+from software that doesn't. By contrast, the idea of &ldquo;open
+source&rdquo; focuses on how to develop code; it is a different current
+of thought whose principal value is <a
+href="/philosophy/open-source-misses-the-point.html">code
+quality rather than freedom</a>. Thus, the concern here is not whether
+Android is &ldquo;<a href="/philosophy/free-open-overlap.html">open</a>&rdquo;,
+but whether it allows users to be free.</p>
+
+<p>Android is an operating system primarily for mobile phones and
+other devices, which
+consists of Linux (Torvalds' kernel), some libraries, a Java platform
+and some applications. Linux aside, the software of Android versions
+1 and 2 was mostly developed by Google; Google released it under the
+Apache 2.0 license, which is a lax free software license without
+<a href="/licenses/copyleft.html">copyleft</a>.</p>
+
+<p>The version of Linux included in Android is not entirely free
+software, since it contains nonfree &ldquo;binary blobs&rdquo; (just
+like Torvalds' version of Linux), some of which are really used in some
+Android devices. Android platforms use other nonfree firmware, too,
+and nonfree libraries. Aside from those, the source code of Android
+versions 1 and 2, as released by Google, is free software&mdash;but this
+code is insufficient to run the device. Some of the applications that
+generally come with Android are nonfree, too.</p>
+
+<div class="announcement comment">
+<p><em>Support the <a href="http://FreeYourAndroid.org/";>Free Your
+Android</a> campaign.</em></p>
+</div>
+
+<p>Android is very different from the <a
+href="/gnu/the-gnu-project.html">GNU/Linux operating
+system</a> because it contains very little of GNU. Indeed, just about
+the only component in common between Android and GNU/Linux is Linux, the
+kernel. People who erroneously think &ldquo;Linux&rdquo; refers to the
+entire GNU/Linux combination get tied in knots by these facts, and make
+paradoxical statements such as &ldquo;Android contains Linux, but it
+isn't Linux.&rdquo;(<a href="#linuxnote">1</a>) Absent this confusion,
+the situation is simple: Android contains Linux, but not GNU; thus,
+Android and GNU/Linux are mostly different, because all they have in
+common is Linux.</p>
+
+<p>Within Android, Linux the kernel remains a separate program, with its
+source code under <a href="/licenses/gpl-2.0.html">GNU GPL
+version 2</a>. To combine Linux with code under the Apache 2.0 license
+would be copyright infringement, since GPL version 2 and Apache 2.0 are
+<a href="/licenses/license-list.html#apache2">incompatible</a>.
+Rumors that Google has somehow converted Linux to the Apache license are
+erroneous; Google has no power to change the license on the code of
+Linux, and did not try. If the authors of Linux allowed its use under <a
+href="/licenses/gpl.html">GPL version 3</a>,
+then that code could be combined with Apache-licensed code, and the
+combination could be released under GPL version 3. But Linux has not
+been released that way.</p>
+
+<p>Google has complied with the requirements of the GNU General Public
+License for Linux, but the Apache license on the rest of Android does
+not require source release. Google said it would never publish the
+source code of Android 3.0 (aside from Linux). Android 3.1 source code
+was also withheld, making Android 3, apart from Linux, nonfree
+software pure and simple.</p>
+
+<p>Google said it withheld the 3.0 source code because it was buggy, and
+that people should wait for the next release. That may be good advice
+for people who simply want to run the Android system, but the users
+should be the ones to decide this. Anyway, developers and tinkerers
+who want to include some of the changes in their own versions could
+use that code just fine.</p>
+
+<p>Fortunately, Google later released the source code for Android 3.*
+when it released version 4 (also with source code).  The problem above
+turned out to be a temporary aberration rather than a policy shift.
+However, what happens once may happen again.</p>
+
+<p>In any case, most of the source code of various versions of Android
+has been released as free software. Does that mean that products using
+those Android versions respect users' freedom? No, for several
+reasons.</p>
+
+<p>First of all, most of them contain nonfree Google applications for
+talking to services such as YouTube and Google Maps. These are
+officially not part of Android, but that doesn't make the product ok.
+Many of the free applications available for earlier versions of
+Android have
+been <a 
href="http://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2013/10/googles-iron-grip-on-android-controlling-open-source-by-any-means-necessary/";>
+replaced by nonfree applications</a>; in 2013 Android devices appeared
+which <a 
href="http://www.androidbeat.com/2013/12/new-google-play-edition-devices-lack-photo-gallery-app-use-google/";>
+provided no way to view photos except through a nonfree Google+
+app</a>.  In 2014 Google announced
+that <a 
href="http://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2014/06/android-wear-auto-and-tv-save-you-from-skins-and-oems-from-themselves/";>Android
+versions for TVs, watches and cars would be largely nonfree.</a>
+</p>
+
+<p>Most Android devices come with the nonfree Google Play software
+(formerly &ldquo;Android Market&rdquo;).  This software invites users
+with a Google account to install nonfree apps.  It also has a back
+door with which Google can forcibly install or deinstall apps.  (This
+probably makes it a universal back door, though that is not proved.)
+Google Play is officially not part of Android, but that doesn't make
+it any less bad.
+</p>
+
+<p>Google has moved many basic general facilities into the
+nonfree <a 
href="https://blog.grobox.de/2016/the-proprietarization-of-android-google-play-services-and-apps/";>Google
+Play Services library</a>.  If an app's own code is free software but
+it depends on Google Play Services, that app as a whole is effectively
+nonfree; it can't run on a free version of Android, such as Replicant.
+</p>
+
+<p>If you value freedom, you don't want the nonfree apps that Google
+Play offers.  To install free Android apps, you don't need Google
+Play, because you can get them
+from <a href="http://f-droid.org";>f-droid.org</a>.
+</p>
+
+<p>Android products also come with nonfree libraries.  These are
+officially not part of Android, but since various Android
+functionalities depend on them, they are part of any real Android
+installation.</p>
+
+<p>Even the programs that are officially part of Android may not
+correspond to the source code Google releases. Manufacturers may
+change this code, and often they don't release the source code for
+their versions. The GNU GPL requires them to distribute the code for
+their versions of Linux, assuming they comply. The rest of the code,
+under the lax Apache license, does not require them to release the
+source version that they really use.</p>
+
+<p>One user discovered that many of the programs in the Android system
+that came with his phone
+were <a 
href="http://www.beneaththewaves.net/Projects/Motorola_Is_Listening.html";>modified
+to send personal data to Motorola.</a>  Some manufacturers add
+a <a 
href="http://androidsecuritytest.com/features/logs-and-services/loggers/carrieriq/";>
+hidden general surveillance package such as Carrier IQ.</a></p>
+
+<p><a href="http://replicant.us";>Replicant</a> is the free version of
+Android.  The Replicant developers have replaced many nonfree
+libraries, for certain device models.  The nonfree apps are excluded,
+but you certainly don't want to use those.  By contrast, CyanogenMod
+(another modified version of Android) is nonfree, as it contains some
+nonfree programs.</p>
+
+<p>Many Android devices are &ldquo;tyrants&rdquo;: they are designed so users
+cannot install and run their own modified software, only the versions
+approved by some company. In that situation, the executables are not
+free even if they were made from sources that are free and available
+to you. However, some Android devices can be &ldquo;rooted&rdquo; so
+users can install different software.</p>
+
+<p>Important firmware or drivers are generally proprietary also. These
+handle the phone network radio, WiFi, bluetooth, GPS, 3D graphics, the
+camera, the speaker, and in some cases the microphone too. On some
+models, a few of these drivers are free, and there are some that you
+can do without&mdash;but you can't do without the microphone or the
+phone network radio.</p>
+
+<p>The phone network firmware comes preinstalled. If all it did was
+sit there and talk to the phone network when you wish, we could regard
+it as equivalent to a circuit. When we insist that the software in a
+computing device must be free, we can overlook preinstalled firmware
+that will never be upgraded, because it makes no difference to the
+user that it's a program rather than a circuit.</p>
+
+<p>Unfortunately, in this case it would be a malicious circuit.
+Malicious features are unacceptable no matter how they are
+implemented.</p>
+
+<p>On most Android devices, this firmware has so much control that it
+could turn the product into a listening device. On some, it controls
+the microphone. On some, it can take full control of the main
+computer, through shared memory, and can thus override or replace
+whatever free software you have installed. With some, perhaps all,
+models it is possible to exercise remote control of this firmware to
+overwrite the rest of the software in the device.  The point of free
+software is that we have control of our software and our computing;
+a system with a back door doesn't qualify. While any computing system
+might <em>have</em> bugs, these devices can <em>be</em> bugs. (Craig
+Murray,
+in <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2006/aug/12/politics";>Murder
+in Samarkand</a>, relates his involvement in an intelligence operation
+that remotely converted an unsuspecting target's non-Android portable
+phone into a listening device.)</p>
+
+<p>In any case, the phone network firmware in an Android phone is not
+equivalent to a circuit, because the hardware allows installation of
+new versions and this is actually done. Since it is proprietary
+firmware, in practice only the manufacturer can make new
+versions&mdash;users can't.</p>
+
+<p>Putting these points together, we can tolerate nonfree phone
+network firmware provided new versions of it won't be loaded, it can't
+take control of the main computer, and it can only communicate when
+and as the free operating system chooses to let it communicate. In
+other words, it has to be equivalent to circuitry, and that circuitry
+must not be malicious. There is no technical obstacle to building an
+Android phone which has these characteristics, but we don't know of
+any.</p>
+
+<p>Android is not a self-hosting system; development for Android needs
+to be done on some other system.  The tools in Google's
+&ldquo;software development kit&rdquo; (SDK) appear to be free,
+but it is hard work to check this.  The definition files for certain
+Google APIs are nonfree.  Installing the SDK requires signing a
+proprietary software license, which you should refuse to sign.
+<a href="http://redmine.replicant.us/projects/replicant/wiki/ReplicantSDK";>
+Replicant's SDK</a> is a free replacement.</p>
+
+<p>Recent press coverage of Android focuses on the patent wars. During
+20 years of campaigning for the abolition of software patents, we have
+warned such wars could happen. Software patents could force
+elimination of features from Android, or even make it unavailable.
+See <a href="http://endsoftpatents.org";>endsoftpatents.org</a> for more
+information about why software patents must be abolished.</p>
+
+<p>However, the patent attacks and Google's responses are not directly
+relevant to the topic of this article: how Android products partly
+approach an ethically system of distribution, and how they fall
+short. This issue merits the attention of the press too.</p>
+
+<p>Android is a major step towards an ethical, user-controlled, free
+software portable phone, but there is a long way to go, and Google is
+taking it in the wrong direction.  Hackers are working
+on <a href="http://replicant.us";>Replicant</a>, but it's a big job to
+support a new device model, and there remains the problem of the
+firmware. Even though the Android phones of today are considerably
+less bad than Apple or Windows phones, they cannot be said to
+respect your freedom.</p>
+
+<hr class="thin" />
+
+<ol>
+<li id="linuxnote">The extreme example of this confusion appears in
+the site linuxonandroid.com, which offers help to &ldquo;install Linux
+[sic] on your Android devices.&rdquo; This is entirely false: what
+they are installing is a version of the GNU system, <em>excluding</em>
+Linux, which is already present as part of Android.  Since that site
+supports only <a href="/distros/distros.html">nonfree GNU/Linux
+distros</a>, we do not recommend it.
+</li>
+</ol>
+
+<!-- If needed, change the copyright block at the bottom. In general,
+     all pages on the GNU web server should have the section about
+     verbatim copying.  Please do NOT remove this without talking
+     with the webmasters first.
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+<!--#include virtual="/server/footer.html" -->
+<div id="footer">
+<div class="unprintable">
+
+<p>Please send general FSF &amp; GNU inquiries to <a
+href="mailto:gnu@gnu.org";>&lt;gnu@gnu.org&gt;</a>.  There are also <a
+href="/contact/">other ways to contact</a> the FSF.  Broken links and other
+corrections or suggestions can be sent to <a
+href="mailto:webmasters@gnu.org";>&lt;webmasters@gnu.org&gt;</a>.</p>
+
+<p><!-- TRANSLATORS: Ignore the original text in this paragraph,
+        replace it with the translation of these two:
+
+        We work hard and do our best to provide accurate, good quality
+        translations.  However, we are not exempt from imperfection.
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+Please see the <a
+href="/server/standards/README.translations.html">Translations README</a> for
+information on coordinating and submitting translations of this article.</p>
+</div>
+
+<p>Copyright &copy; 2011, 2012, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2018, 2020 Richard 
Stallman</p>
+
+<p>This page is licensed under a <a rel="license"
+href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/4.0/";>Creative
+Commons Attribution-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License</a>.</p>
+
+<!--#include virtual="/server/bottom-notes.html" -->
+
+<p class="unprintable">Updated:
+<!-- timestamp start -->
+$Date: 2020/06/17 09:00:27 $
+<!-- timestamp end -->
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