Will 2014 Be the Year of Android-Enabled Cars?
Google has officially entered the in-car computer arena by announcing the Open Automotive Alliance (OAA) together with Nvidia and several automobile manufacturers, including Audi, GM, Honda, and Hyundai. The Alliance’s mission, according to its official announcement, is bringing the Android platform to cars by the end of 2014.
Is Android Moving to a Closed Source Model?
In an interesting analysis appeared on Ars Technica, Ron Amadeo argues that Google is progressively shifting Android towards a closed source model. Google’s strategy would aim at making Android suitable to be freely customised and used “for little hobbies”, while hampering the choices of “anyone trying to use Android without Google’s blessing”.
Mozilla Foundation Announces Firefox OS Contribution Program
In an effort to accelerate the development of Firefox OS, Mozilla announced a Contribution Program which will aim at providing dedicated developers with access to resources and reference hardware. Foxconn will manufacture the initial reference hardware, a tablet. The program will be open to developers, localizers, testers, and bug fixers.
Resources to Start Developing for Firefox OS
Firefox OS pursues “the goal of building a complete, standalone operating system for the open web” and lets users install and run applications created using HTML, CSS, and JavaScript. It is based on Linux and Mozilla’s Gecko and is a completely open stack that is 100 per cent free from proprietary technology. It allows developers to contribute to its code base or develop mobile apps.
Parse Announces Bolts, a Collection of Low-level Libraries for iOS and Android
Parse, acquired by Facebook a few months ago, has recently open-sourced a collection of low-level libraries for Android and iOS collectively called Bolts. According to Parse announcement, Bolts is the outcome of the joint Parse/Facebook effort to consolidate small, low-level utility classes that both companies had already developed on their own.