Google is designing a new operating system (also at Github) based on its own new kernel (Magenta), which may be intended to unify/replace Android and ChromeOS. It is also expected to run on a wide range of ARM and x64 devices, such as Chromecast, Raspberry Pi 3, smartphones, laptops, and desktops.
(Score: 3, Interesting) by Celestial on Sunday August 14 2016, @10:17PM
Indeed. The two good sides to this are that it's open source, and maybe... just maybe... having learned from the debacle that is Android security, Google will make it easier to update. Doubtful, but hey, I can wish.
(Score: 4, Informative) by MostCynical on Sunday August 14 2016, @10:48PM
Google already knows how to do security updates.
So do the handset manufacturers.
That they don't bother (in some casss, they don't bother updating the phone's OS *ever*) tells you all you kneed to know about the manufacturers. They *love you*, so long as you buy a new phone every year or two.
Otherwise, you are a loser, and no one likes a loser.
"I guess once you start doubting, there's no end to it." -Batou, Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex
(Score: 5, Informative) by Nerdfest on Sunday August 14 2016, @11:16PM
I have a 3 year old Nexus and still get OS and security updates. Yeah, I don't think Google is the problem in this case.
(Score: 1, Interesting) by Anonymous Coward on Monday August 15 2016, @03:31AM
Here's half of the reason why: http://www.htc.com/us/go/htc-software-updates-process/ [htc.com]
It costs money and time. And for what benefit to them and to their users?
The fact is there are plenty of people with unpatched phones that don't get pwned. What you need to prioritize is patch/secure their default browsers. Nowadays not as people install random apps anymore. For those who do, not having updates matters little since they're the sort who'd allow random apps max permissions anyway.
(Score: 2) by bob_super on Monday August 15 2016, @10:01PM
> It costs money and time. And for what benefit to them and to their users?
My BB Priv updates about monthly. Makes me want to buy a new device from a company providing regular security updates next time, which narrows the field very quickly and benefits the people doing it.
It's like buying cars, but people do it more often. Give people a good experience and reliability, and they'll come back to you even if you don't have the best specs on paper.
(Score: 2) by urza9814 on Tuesday August 16 2016, @09:39PM
But a lot of users don't consider frequent updates to be a good experience. To the average user, if there's no update and the phone works as expected, then there's no problem. If they get infected and it starts slowing down, it's just getting old. If the company releases frequent updates, they must not know what they're doing since they couldn't get it right the first time. If the update doesn't change anything in the UI, then it was a waste of their time and bandwidth. If it DOES change something in the UI, then it's an annoyance making them relearn things.
WE know why frequent updates may be beneficial, and we understand that security is not static...but the average cellphone user doesn't always have that same understanding.