I’ve tried to refrain from writing this post for quite some time now, but the time has come.
Android is Linux. That is a very simple statement of fact because the Android OS is based on a Linux kernel. But I also mean it in another sense. Using Android is like using Linux.
Take a look around your friends and colleagues and see who is using Linux on a daily basis as their desktop OS. I’d wager they number very few. I know a lot of people who’ve tried Linux or use it in a secondary capacity. I know exacty two people who claim to use it daily. And that’s from all the people I know in real life and on the internet. Yet, if you go back 10 or even 15 years you’ll find numerous articles expounding Linux and how it is going to take over the world – on their desktops. But it didn’t. It hasn’t. Most likely, it never will. Why?
I’ll tell you why. Because computers have been promoted from toys to tools to appliances. Most people just want their computer to work and do not want to spend any time making sure they work. I know this because of lot of them come to me for help. And I have friends in similar situations.
Sticking with the desktop for a little longer, most people buy Windows PCs. The only reason they do this is because they are being marketed to. Give me a room full of computer users and I will find you a disgruntled Windows user. It’s not hard. I could tap myself on the shoulder as a fallback. However, most of these people get by.
Next up, I’ll give you a room of computer users and I’d like you to find me a Linux user. I’ll give you $10 if you can find one. I think my money is quite safe. The reason it’s quite safe is because Linux is not marketed, you might think. But the real reason you won’t find one in the average room full of computer users is that Linux requires geek credentials.
I’m a geek. I’ve tried Linux. My geek cred is not sufficient. I’ve tried Linux about four times from memory. Every time I’ve come unstuck on what should be a relatively simple task. The last time, I wanted to install a simple game and got stuck in an impossible loop of package dependencies. Therein lies the power and the Achilles Heel of Linux. If you know what you’re doing, and are prepared to invest the time, you can do just about anything.
This is how Android is the same. Every time I read an anti-Android comment the retort inevitably includes something like “you just install…” and often it includes “you just root the phone…” These are not the types of actions that normal users are likely to understand. Yes, Android is flexible, powerful (on the right hardware) and lets you do things your way. If you are a geek.
Up to this point, however, I’ve just been talking about pure Android. In the Linux desktop world you have choice. There are hundreds of different Linux variants. Even if we stick to “popular” there are several. There are even two popular and competing GUI frameworks to choose from in some. So it is in the Android world, also. Because with very few exceptions, any Android phone is not running pure Android.
This extra layer added by phone vendors complicates support and fractures the Android experience. If it were just bundled “crapware” it mightn’t be such an issue, but the vendors are skinning the OS and providing their own versions of key functionality. As a result, a new version of Android may not necessarily make it to any given handset even if the hardware is good enough to support it. If it does make it, there will inevitably be delays.
So do upgrades and updates matter to the average user? Maybe not. Should it? Yes! In today’s cyber-world, updates provide protection. If you’re not running the latest, then you are exposing yourself to exploitation through known vulnerabilities. All OSes have them.
And so to my conclusion. Android is a wonderful concept, just like desktop Linux. But unlike desktop Linux, Android is being marketed to ordinary people with typical “ooh, aah!” pizazz. Given the current state of affairs, this is disingenuous of Google and of the handset vendors. I guess we should expect it from the vendors but I do not believe Google is providing the experience they really intended to. Only Google can unify the experience for end users so that it is simple and staightforward to keep up to date (subject to hardware support) and ideally provide an experience that is near uniform across devices. I sincerely hope they do that.
Why? Because much like I hate supporting Windows users, I currently refuse to support Android users. Partly because I know very little about the innards of Android, but mostly because every darned phone is different. I’m not wasting my time gaining any knowledge because of the fractured landscape.
A final note. This is not “Android hate speech.” It is a plea for the many Android defenders to realise it is a platform with a fundamental issue given its widespread adoption (outside geekdom). It is an issue far more likely to be solved if there is uproar from the faithful.
There is a phrase often used in reference to open source: “Free, as in beer.” For the current state of Android, I have coined another: “Free, as in anarchy.”
Comments debunking my claims are welcome. Hate speech will be deleted. Anti-Apple sentiment (it’s fairly well known I’m an Apple fan) will be deleted – this post is about Android.
