Bonum Certa Men Certa

Big Milestones in the World of Android/Linux

Summary: Important new developments that show the rapid growth of the Linux-based Android operating system

ANDROID hardly needs to prove itself anymore. It has become somewhat of a de facto standard and its domination is assured for the time being. Suffice to say, Android has been a thing for the Linux Foundation to brag about. Android is a myth buster. It helps bust the myth that Linux somehow "failed". Android smartphones shipment is said to have just crossed 800 million [1].



Android is now going after Windows' turf, expanding more and more to x86 [2] and even running Windows applications natively [3] (Android is already being put on some desktops). Remember Microsoft's "Surface" (the one before the failure which was a portable device)? Well, a 46-inch touchscreen coffee table now runs Android [4], not Windows (prior Microsoft's "Surface" there were numerous that ran GNU/Linux). Linux is clearly ahead of the game and for robotics Foxconn is now turning to Android [5]. It's not just about tablets [6] and smartphones anymore [7,8] (Android clearly dominates these areas). With Chromebox out [9] from large OEMs such as Acer [10] it sure seems like the future is very Android-centric, and by extension Linux-powered.

Android is one of the greatest things that ever happened to Linux, but it's not to be confused with freedom. A lot of advocacy work remains to be done. High morale is highly justified.

Related/contextual items from the news:


  1. Android Smartphone shipment crosses 800 million
    The year 2013 has seen smartphones cross an important milestone. The global smartphone shipment hit the billion mark for the first time, with 800 million contributed by Android. It is clear that Android dominated the smartphone market with Apple’s iPhone shipments maxing out at 153.4 million. These stats are according to data published by IDC on Wednesday.


  2. Android-x86 4.4 review – first Release Candidate
    Android-x86 4.4 RC1 review is a review of the latest development release of Android-x86, a port of Android designed to run on computers powered by Intel and AMD x86 processors, including netbooks and laptops and all-in-ones.


  3. Wine On Android Is Making Progress, Running Solitaire
    Last year was the last time we had a chance to talk about Wine on Android for running Windows programs on Google's mobile operating system. While it's not quite mainline yet, Wine on Android has been making much progress and can now run Windows' Solitaire game on your Android device.

    Wine leader Alexandre Julliard provided a status update at FOSDEM last weekend for Wine on Google Android. The Wine on Android project is still focused upon supporting Windows binaries on Android for both Intel x86 and ARM devices.

    Julliard shared that they now have working support for Android's Bionic C library, cross-compilation is supported for Wine on Android with both i686 and ARM architectures, and there's a basic graphics driver using the desktop mode.


  4. 46-inch touchscreen coffee table runs Android
    Ideum is prepping an Android 4.1 version of its 46-inch, Intel Core i7-based Platform 46 Coffee Table, featuring 3M’s 60-touch, capacitive HD touchscreen.


  5. Google and Foxconn partner on robotics, report says
    The Taiwanese manufacturer is reportedly helping to carry out Google's "vision for robotics," and in return, Google will help the manufacturer deploy robotics in its factories.


  6. Google Nexus 8 rumored for April-end launch
    A recent report by DigiTimes said: “Google has been developing an 8-inch tablet to avoid price competition in the 7-inch segment for launch at the end of April with initial shipments of two million units, according to Taiwan-based supply chain makers.”


  7. Moto G on sale for $99 from US Cellular without contract


  8. Moto G goes on sale on Flipkart starting Rs. 12,499
    Motorola’s Moto G is trying to prove that budget Android Phones do not need to compromise on quality. Moto G takes design cues from it’s premium (costlier) sibling, the Moto X. It has good looks and reviews also state a very good build quality. It runs an almost clean version of Android 4.3 KitKat (Upgradeable to Android 4.4), with no bloatware, or fancy custom skin.


  9. Beep: a Chromecast like streamer for your speakers
    Beep is a new startup by Googlers, which has unveiled ‘Beep’, a device which takes audio streams from your Android device and plays them on the speakers it is attached to. Most latest high-end speakers have inbuilt streaming functionality, but many previous generation but decent music systems lack that feature and ‘Beep’ aims to solve that problem.


  10. Asus’ sleek new Chromebox adds industry and functionality for only $179




Recent Techrights' Posts

There Were Several Waves of Microsoft Shanghai Layoffs in 2025, Western Media Continues to Turn a Blind Eye to Chinese Layoffs of an Epic Scale
Sometimes select Taiwanese news sites (published in English) or automated translations are all we have
Brett Wilson LLP Spreads Trumpism to the United Kingdom, Looking to Profit From 'Legal Colonialism' (Overriding Sovereignty)
There's growing recognition of this conundrum worldwide
Distinguished Lecture by Richard Stallman This Coming Monday in Rome
After "Free software, Crucial for Freedom in a Digital World"
The Lawsuit by Clients of Brett Wilson LLP Against Brett Wilson LLP is Officially On, It is Progressing, The 'Experts' Pick Outside Law Firms (RPC and Mills & Reeve) to Spare Them From Litigants in Person
So it is probably quite potent
The 'Culture Wars' in Free Software Have Gone Out of Control
Social control media amplifies such utterly infantile discourse
Teaser: To Compensate for the Fact Our Clients Are Terrible Human Beings Who Strangle Women (While on Microsoft's Payroll) and We Get Paid by Mystery Parties We Bombard You and Your Wife With Almost 10 Kilograms of Legal Papers
If you can't win an argument, then drown the other side with papers?
Now Confirmed in Western Media: Microsoft Azure Layoffs This Month
Affirmed by more sources moments ago
 
All Things Open is Proprietary
The OSI has become a front group of proprietary software openwashers, led and sponsored by proprietary giants
When Microsoft Lays Off Lots of Workers They Say It "Invests in AI" (a Lie), Now It's "Reshuffles" or "Microsoft Tightens"
Microsoft "news" by bots
"I saw Richard Stallman give a talk in the mid 80s, which began my fear and loathing of software patents" and "Richard Stallman was always right."
"By betraying the legacy of our ancestors, we’ve set ourselves on a path toward self-destruction — moral, intellectual, economic, and ultimately biological."
The Demise of Shopping in Person
In a world like this, how valued is the customer?
We Are Safe in a Modern "Tech" Society, Right?
People are safer if they control their own computing
This Past Friday, "Nearly 700 People Came to Listen to RMS!" (Richard Stallman)
"Nearly 700 people came to listen to RMS!"
Slopwatch: UbuntuPIT Churning Out Plagiarism and the Slopfarm LinuxSecurity Turns to Pseudonyms
Our hunch is, UbuntuPIT will sooner or later realise that this toxic approach is just harming UbuntuPIT and tainting the reputation of past articles
Gemini Links 11/10/2025: Nyctography, Gerrymandering, and Lurking
Links for the day
Links 11/10/2025: World Mental Health Day 2025, Another European Legal Defeat for Microsoft 360
Links for the day
MIT Technology Review is Part-Time SPAMfarm of Billionaires and Mega-Corporations
Does MIT operate its own "b2b" SPAMfarm?
Open Source Initiative Executive Director Leaves, Replacement Sought by Monopolists, Not the Community or OSI Members
Serves to show who runs this show...
Links 11/10/2025: China-US Tensions Grow Again, "Hey Hi" More Widely Recognised as Bubble Made of Capital That Doesn't Exist
Links for the day
Peter O'Callaghan QC represented grandparents, Westernport Hotel, at Liquor Royal Commission
Reprinted with permission from Daniel Pocock
Either The Register MS Divests From FOSS Coverage or Liam Proven is on Long Holiday
Publishers perish when their audience loses trust in them
Microsoft Cancelling Another Datacentre is a Sign of Financial Trouble and Lack of Growth
The debt continues to grow
Gemini Links 11/10/2025: An Evening at the Fair and Fast Fourier Friday
Links for the day
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Friday, October 10, 2025
IRC logs for Friday, October 10, 2025
Geminispace is Very Large
The word continues to spread and the number of participants grows
Another Wave of Microsoft Layoffs, This Time During National Day Holiday
This time it's China again
10 Out of 10: RMS Attracts Massive Audience in Göteborg, Sweden (All Seats Occupied, Some People Standing)
a 55-second clip of his talk
Staying Happy in Times of Crackdowns on Civil Society
Optimism in this sort of "new reality" or "new normal" seems like something for the irrational person
"Nobel" Exploited Posthumously for "AI" Hype, Now They Do the Same With "Quantum"
ere have been many jokes about "Nobel" for peace (often granted to pro-war people) and a fake one for "Economics" (establishment propaganda)
Slopwatch: Plagiarism and "Linux" Articles by Bots
Sites that do this won't survive; many of them rely on slop services (suppliers) that will cease to exist after the bubble bursts
Links 10/10/2025: Putin Admits Russia Downed Azerbaijan Airlines Jet, More New Heat Records
Links for the day
Noteworthy Claim That IBM is Firing a Lot of Lawyers This Week (RAs in the Legal Department)
A lot of what they do is patent 'trolling' or lawyering up against their own staff (e.g. HR disputes)
Links 10/10/2025: US Judge Bars Attacks by ICE On Journalists and Protesters; “We Took The Freedom of Speech Away” Says the President
Links for the day
Slopwatch: Serial Sloppers, Google News Gifting Slopfarms, and Fake News/Plagiarism About "Linux"
Google itself is a slop pusher these days
Qualcomm, the New Owner of Arduino, Blasted for Its Software Patents Tax on 'Smartphones'
A lot of Qualcomm's patents are on software. We wrote about this in prior years.
XBox Layoffs Rumours, Downtime, and Criticism From XBox Co-Founder
"everyone is ditching the xbox."
Links 10/10/2025: Honoring The Legacy Of Robert Murray-Smith, Many Articles on the Hey Hi (AI) Bubble
Links for the day
Gemini Links 09/10/2025: October Gothic and Reading Middle Earth Role Playing; C and Ada
Links for the day
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Thursday, October 09, 2025
IRC logs for Thursday, October 09, 2025
Links 09/10/2025: Farewell to Jane Goodall, California Bans Algorithmic Price-Fixing
Links for the day
Gemini Links 09/10/2025: Lost Wages and a Saga Of Continuing To Use Palm PDAs
Links for the day
Richard Stallman's Talk in Helsinki is Done. Tomorrow Göteborg.
There are scarce details in Finnish about Dr. Stallman's talk
New XBox Leaks Probably Serve to Confirm XBox's Collapse (Many More Layoffs)
It's very much consistent with what many other sites have reported lately
The Slop Song
The train wreck marches on
LLM Slop/Advanced Plagiarism Flooding the Zone With Capital That Does Not Exist
Many publishers out there still participate in this bubble instead of calling it what it is
Links 09/10/2025: Sacked Microsoft Workers Make "Sackbird", IBM Taps CockroachDB for PostgreSQL
Links for the day
"Happy Hacking Day" Richard Stallman Talk This Afternoon (From 14:00 to 16:00) at Haaga-Helia University in Pasila
Richard Stallman in Helsinki, Finland
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Wednesday, October 08, 2025
IRC logs for Wednesday, October 08, 2025
Links 09/10/2025: Impact of Microsoft Layoffs, More Data Breaches
Links for the day
Gemini Links 09/10/2025: Autumn Blues and C IRC Bot
Links for the day