Stories
Slash Boxes
Comments

SoylentNews is people

posted by on Wednesday May 10 2017, @07:48PM   Printer-friendly
from the the-flower-or-the-color? dept.

Google's Fuchsia System UI can now be previewed. The operating system could potentially replace Android and even ChromeOS:

Google, never one to compete in a market with a single product, is apparently hard at work on a third operating system after Android and Chrome OS. This one is an open source, real-time OS called "Fuchsia." The OS first popped up in August last year, but back then it was just a command line. Now the mysterious project has a crazy new UI we can look at, so let's dive in.

Unlike Android and Chrome OS, Fuchsia is not based on Linux—it uses a new, Google-developed microkernel called "Magenta." With Fuchsia, Google would not only be dumping the Linux kernel, but also the GPL: the OS is licensed under a mix of BSD 3 clause, MIT, and Apache 2.0. Dumping Linux might come as a bit of a shock, but the Android ecosystem seems to have no desire to keep up with upstream Linux releases. Even the Google Pixel is still stuck on Linux Kernel 3.18, which was first released at the end of 2014.

[...] This all leads us to an interesting point right now: the Fuchsia interface is written with the Flutter SDK, which is cross-platform. This means that, right now, you can grab chunks of Fuchsia and run it on an Android device. Fuchsia first went public in August 2016, and but back then compiling it would get you nothing more than a command line. Thanks to Hotfixit.net for pointing out that the Fuchsia System UI, called "Armadillo" is actually pretty interesting now.

It's possible to download the source and compile Fuchsia's System UI into an Android APK and install it on an Android device. It consists of a wild reimagining of a home screen along with a keyboard, a home button, and (kind of) a window manager. Nothing really "works"—it's all a bunch of placeholder interfaces that don't do anything. There's also a great readme in the Fuchsia source that describes what the heck is going on.

It's about time for Linux Torvalds' domination of the smartphone industry to end.

Also at BGR, ZDNet, ComputerWorld, and The Register. Preview video.

Fuchsia on Google Git.


Original Submission

Related Stories

Google to Add Swift Language Support to Fuchsia OS 17 comments

Google will contribute changes to Apple's Swift programming language, and will support the language in the Fuchsia OS, a presumed replacement for Android, ChromeOS, etc. that is designed to work on all devices:

Fuchsia is Google's not-at-all-but-kind-of-secret operating system that's being developed in the open, but with almost zero official messaging about what it's for, or what it's built to replace. (Android? Chrome OS? Both? Neither?) The operating system's core is written in mostly C and C++, with Dart for the default "Flutter" UI, but other languages like Go, Rust, Python, and now Swift have also found a home in the project.

Of course, just because you'll be able to compile Swift to run on Fuchsia doesn't mean you'll be able to instantly port any iOS app to Google's new OS when or if it ships. While Apple has open sourced the Swift language itself, much of the iOS platform (like the UI stuff, for instance) is closed source, so code that relies on those closed Apple libraries won't be portable.

One possible future in a world where Fuchsia is an important and relevant platform for apps is that you write the "core logic" of your app in your language of choice — Swift, Go, Rust, JavaScript, etc. — and then you build a custom UI for each platform — Android, iOS, Fuchsia, Linux, Windows, the web — using the appropriate tools for each.

Also at Android Police.

Previously: Google's New Non-Linux OS: Fuchsia
Google's Not-So-Secret New OS
Google Fuchsia UI Previewed


Original Submission

Google's Fuchsia OS Adds Emulator for Debian Linux Applications 22 comments

Google's Fuchsia OS will support Linux apps

Google's non-Linux-based Fuchsia OS has added an emulator for running Debian Linux apps. Like its upcoming Linux emulator for Chrome OS, Fuchsia's "Guest" app will offer tighter integration than typical emulators.

Google has added a Guest app to its emergent and currently open source Fuchsia OS to enable Linux apps to run within Fuchsia as a virtual machine (VM). The Guest app makes use of a library called Machina that permits closer integration with the OS than is available with typical emulators, according to a recent 9to5Google story.

Last month, Google announced a Project Crostini technology that will soon let Chromebook users more easily run mainstream Linux applications within a Chrome OS VM. This week, Acer's Chromebook Flip C101 joined the short list of Chromebooks that will offer Linux support later this year.

Previously: Google's New Non-Linux OS: Fuchsia
Google's Not-So-Secret New OS
Google Fuchsia UI Previewed
Google to Add Swift Language Support to Fuchsia OS
ChromeOS Gains the Ability to Run Linux Applications


Original Submission

Google's Cross-Platform Flutter SDK Moves Out of Beta With Release Preview 1 7 comments

Google has updated a mobile framework that targets Android, iOS, and the in-development Google Fuchsia OS:

On Wednesday, Google's cross-platform mobile framework Flutter reached Preview Release 1, a designation that places the code somewhere between buggy beta and less buggy 1.0.

"The shift from beta to release preview signals our confidence in the stability and quality of what we have, and our focus on bug fixing and stabilization," said Google group product manager Tim Sneath in a blog post.

Introduced in May 2017, Flutter provides a way for Linux, macOS and Windows developers to create mobile apps in the Dart programming language that can run on Android, iOS or Google Fuchsia, an operating system that Google is working on.

Apps would be bundled with the Flutter engine:

Flutter is Google's second swing at a mobile SDK (the first being a little platform called "Android"). Flutter's claim to fame is that it's cross-platform—Flutter apps run on Android and iOS—and it's really fast. Flutter apps sidestep the app platforms of Android and iOS and instead run on the Flutter rendering engine (written in C++) and Flutter framework (written in Google's Dart language, just like Flutter apps). When it's time to ship a Flutter app off to Google's and Apple's respective app stores, the requisite Flutter engine code gets bundled up with the app code, and the Flutter SDK spits out Android and iOS versions of your single code base. Each version comes complete with built-in app themes for Android or iOS, so they still feel like native apps. Along with Android and iOS, Flutter is also the platform used for apps in Google's experimental Fuchsia OS.

Related: Google's New Non-Linux OS: Fuchsia
Google's Not-So-Secret New OS
Google Fuchsia UI Previewed
Google to Add Swift Language Support to Fuchsia OS


Original Submission

Google's Fuchsia OS Appears ... on a Nest Hub 11 comments

Google is officially releasing its Fuchsia OS, starting w/ first-gen Nest Hub

Google's long-in-development, from-scratch operating system, Fuchsia, is now running on real Made by Google devices, namely, the first-generation Nest Hub.

Google has told us that as of today, an update is beginning to roll out to owners of the first-generation Nest Hub, first released in 2018. For all intents and purposes, this update will not change any of the functionality of the Nest Hub, but under the hood, the smart display will be running Fuchsia OS instead of the Linux-based "Cast OS" it used before. In fact, your experience with the Nest Hub should be essentially identical. This is possible because Google's smart display experience is built with Flutter, which is designed to consistently bring apps to multiple platforms, Fuchsia included.

We've been tracking the development of Fuchsia since 2016, starting from an ambitious experimental UI, to running on Google's many internal testing devices for Fuchsia, ranging the full gamut of Google's smart home and Chromebook lineup. In the time since then, the OS has gradually progressed and recently even begun a steady release schedule.

Google Fuchsia.

Also at The Verge and Notebookcheck.

Previously:

This discussion has been archived. No new comments can be posted.
Display Options Threshold/Breakthrough Mark All as Read Mark All as Unread
The Fine Print: The following comments are owned by whoever posted them. We are not responsible for them in any way.
(1)
  • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday May 10 2017, @07:56PM (5 children)

    by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday May 10 2017, @07:56PM (#507708)

    N/T

    • (Score: 3, Funny) by turgid on Wednesday May 10 2017, @07:58PM

      by turgid (4318) Subscriber Badge on Wednesday May 10 2017, @07:58PM (#507709) Journal

      As long as Pat still churns out Slackware, the world will not end.

    • (Score: 4, Insightful) by edIII on Wednesday May 10 2017, @08:08PM (3 children)

      by edIII (791) on Wednesday May 10 2017, @08:08PM (#507716)

      That translates into R.I.P Android and SystemD to me.

      Linux already jumped the shark with SystemD and its too damn difficult to find anything in Linux worth a damn anymore that isn't also infected with SystemD. If you don't choose a mainstream distro, the chances of your platform working at all without a lot of work are next to nil. Everybody is coding to support SystemD infected distros.

      In other words, the BSD world hardly gives two shits that the Linux world is disappearing (IMO). Good riddance is about how I feel right now with most of the bullshit going in Linux development (Code of Conduct is more important than writing and peer reviewing code). It seems to me that the interesting projects attempting to build "Freedom boxes" starting with free hardware are choosing BSD for the embedded OS.

      Personally, Linux and Microsoft both dying in a suicide pact is just fine with me. I've had it with the SystemD bullshit and it trying to take over *everything*. BSD seems to be a saner pool of developers at the moment.

      Google? They are only interested in siphoning off information from you to sell to their customers. Choose a Google OS, and you're just fucking asking for it.

      --
      Technically, lunchtime is at any moment. It's just a wave function.
      • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday May 10 2017, @08:19PM (2 children)

        by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday May 10 2017, @08:19PM (#507719)

        There is theoretically one way around Google spying on you, and that is using G Suite for Work. $5 - $10 per month supposedly excludes you from Google's peeping eyes.

        Also, as both the summary and article mention, Fuchsia is open source. So, again theoretically, the code is there to examine and compile.

        • (Score: 2) by art guerrilla on Wednesday May 10 2017, @08:29PM

          by art guerrilla (3082) on Wednesday May 10 2017, @08:29PM (#507726)

          " $5 - $10 per month supposedly excludes you from Google's peeping eyes."
          .
          ...and you would believe ANY fictitious legal entity with super-person powers exactly WHY ? ? ?
          .
          besides the idea that, well, sure, *GOOGLE* doesn't slurp your shit, but, well, they have an agreement with X to do that...
          i am certain it is all legally covered and all...

        • (Score: 3, Insightful) by edIII on Wednesday May 10 2017, @08:54PM

          by edIII (791) on Wednesday May 10 2017, @08:54PM (#507738)

          Interesting.... so do you think one day I could pay the government $20/month so they would stop spying on me too? Of course, they still collect and possess all of the data. All of their employees still have access to it, or at least to what is at their level, and the board members and shareholders of course are really deciding what happens with my personal and/or business data.

          Yeah, sure. That token monthly payment makes me completely believe that Google will respect my privacy and NOT monetize that data at all.

          You might as well believe in Santa Claus. Except, that in this context Santa also makes his living primarily by stealing a kid and giving them to the Thuggees trying to find the last stone in some mine in India.

          If Google had NOTHING to do with advertisers, I might feel a little bit better about handing them business data, but that is not the world we live in. Google cannot be serving both the interests of Big Advertising, and the interests of a regular person or small company at the same time. Especially when they admit to the SEC just how much more revenue they receive from the former.

          --
          Technically, lunchtime is at any moment. It's just a wave function.
  • (Score: 5, Insightful) by edIII on Wednesday May 10 2017, @07:59PM

    by edIII (791) on Wednesday May 10 2017, @07:59PM (#507710)

    It's about time for Linux Torvalds' domination of the smartphone industry to end.

    Yeah, but I trust Linus about two hundred fucking trillion gajillion squintillion times more than those two fuckers at Google/Alphabet/Whatever.... who used to be in the NSA.

    The bigger question is will Google solve the issues, not just introduce a new player in the market? What about that modular project they had where we could have complete control over the phone hardware, upgrades, etc.? Will this play nice with that project?

    I welcome another OS, but only if it is really and truly fully open. Meaning no binaries and no blobs. Peer review turned out to be a fucking delusion too, so how are we going to trust that process? How can we trust it when this is brand new and peer review of code has not happened yet?

    Google cannot be trusted, since you will never be the primary customer. The primary customer is the one paying for access to all the sheep running the hardware and software. You might as well be depositing your eyeballs into a drop box as those two fuckers personal property.

    I guess in the end the real question is do you want to trust an advertiser that bases their revenue off the invasion and monetization of your privacy to build you the operating system in which you will need to base all of your trust in? Smartphones have started taking over the go to device for financial transactions so trust will be a very big thing with such devices going forward, if not critical right now.

    This is about exciting and ground breaking as Trump introducing new health care. I'm just jumping up and down filled with hope and freedom....

    --
    Technically, lunchtime is at any moment. It's just a wave function.
  • (Score: 4, Interesting) by looorg on Wednesday May 10 2017, @08:18PM (1 child)

    by looorg (578) on Wednesday May 10 2017, @08:18PM (#507718)

    It is interesting, after all most normal people love Google. The internet more or less is Google for the average person. They don't look things up on the internet, they look them up on Google. They don't really seem to be able to differentiate between the two, as noted Google pretty much is the internet as far as they are concerned. So if they bring out a new OS that will run on your phone and on your new laptop people will use it. They integrate all their current search and mail functions, the googleofficesuite (or whatever it is called these days) and then start pushing that out onto all devices, for free, they'll be golden (and probably run into the same issues Microsoft did when they wanted to give IE away for free in the beginning).

    I personally really like the idea of moving to a microkernel architecture. I do wonders why Google just didn't open up it's wallet and bought something like QNX. It's real-time, microkernal and has been around since like the early '80s. Plus they are already phonesavvy with Blackberry. Why reinvent the wheel. But I guess that is their thing. It's only good if it's Google made or something.

    I guess the scarey part is that they are Google. I don't know which Telemetry-master I'm most afraid of, Microsoft or Google.

    • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday May 10 2017, @10:24PM

      by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday May 10 2017, @10:24PM (#507782)

      Don't worry, you can fear both equally...
      But mostly google, you should fear google most.

  • (Score: 4, Insightful) by its_gonna_be_yuge! on Wednesday May 10 2017, @08:20PM (2 children)

    by its_gonna_be_yuge! (6454) on Wednesday May 10 2017, @08:20PM (#507720)

    It's about time for Linux Torvalds' domination of the smartphone industry to end.

    Somehow I doubt Linus Torvalds gives a sh*t about domination of smartphones. He just wants to do the best job on _linux_ as possible.

  • (Score: 2) by krishnoid on Wednesday May 10 2017, @08:25PM (5 children)

    by krishnoid (1156) on Wednesday May 10 2017, @08:25PM (#507722)

    Well, at least it'll get enough press so people learn how to spell [typepad.com] (and pronounce) it correctly. Small victories.

    • (Score: 2) by VLM on Wednesday May 10 2017, @09:06PM (4 children)

      by VLM (445) Subscriber Badge on Wednesday May 10 2017, @09:06PM (#507745)

      Well, at least it'll get enough press so people learn how to spell (and pronounce) it correctly

      Oh kind optimistic soul ... if only, if only.

      I predict "fuck shia" and lots of spellings like fussychia or fusschia or fucksi or fusschee

      Who comes up with these names anyway?

      • (Score: 2) by takyon on Wednesday May 10 2017, @09:13PM (1 child)

        by takyon (881) <reversethis-{gro ... s} {ta} {noykat}> on Wednesday May 10 2017, @09:13PM (#507752) Journal

        The 16th century German botanist Leonhart Fuchs.

        --
        [SIG] 10/28/2017: Soylent Upgrade v14 [soylentnews.org]
        • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday May 11 2017, @08:24AM

          by Anonymous Coward on Thursday May 11 2017, @08:24AM (#507982)

          Of course that explains only the spelling, not the pronunciation, as the German word "Fuchs" is pronounced "fooks".

      • (Score: 3, Funny) by inertnet on Wednesday May 10 2017, @11:18PM (1 child)

        by inertnet (4071) on Wednesday May 10 2017, @11:18PM (#507799) Journal

        Let me Google that for you:

        "Google fuck shia"

        • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday May 11 2017, @01:29AM

          by Anonymous Coward on Thursday May 11 2017, @01:29AM (#507858)

          Google fuck Sia.

  • (Score: 3, Funny) by iWantToKeepAnon on Wednesday May 10 2017, @08:37PM

    by iWantToKeepAnon (686) on Wednesday May 10 2017, @08:37PM (#507728) Homepage Journal
    n/t
    --
    "Happy families are all alike; every unhappy family is unhappy in its own way." -- Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy
  • (Score: 4, Informative) by Post-Nihilist on Wednesday May 10 2017, @09:27PM (3 children)

    by Post-Nihilist (5672) on Wednesday May 10 2017, @09:27PM (#507760)

    well that https://fuchsia.googlesource.com/fuchsia/+/b05cc3ec795d12d6ca3c94a4d4b6aabf7803c4a0/PATENTS [googlesource.com] file is almost everywhere in that repo it's content is :

    Additional IP Rights Grant (Patents)
    "This implementation" means the copyrightable works distributed by
    Google as part of the Fuchsia project.
    Google hereby grants to you a perpetual, worldwide, non-exclusive,
    no-charge, royalty-free, irrevocable (except as stated in this
    section) patent license to make, have made, use, offer to sell, sell,
    import, transfer, and otherwise run, modify and propagate the contents
    of this implementation of Fuchsia, where such license applies only to
    those patent claims, both currently owned by Google and acquired in
    the future, licensable by Google that are necessarily infringed by
    this implementation. This grant does not include claims that would be
    infringed only as a consequence of further modification of this
    implementation. If you or your agent or exclusive licensee institute
    or order or agree to the institution of patent litigation or any other
    patent enforcement activity against any entity (including a
    cross-claim or counterclaim in a lawsuit) alleging that this
    implementation of Fuchsia constitutes direct or contributory patent
    infringement, or inducement of patent infringement, then any patent
    rights granted to you under this License for this implementation of
    Fuchsia shall terminate as of the date such litigation is filed.

    --
    Be like us, be different, be a nihilist!!!
    • (Score: 3, Informative) by HiThere on Wednesday May 10 2017, @10:55PM (2 children)

      by HiThere (866) Subscriber Badge on Wednesday May 10 2017, @10:55PM (#507790) Journal

      I rather despise the appearance of the screen on the liked site, but that patent license is one of the least abusive I've ever encountered.

      --
      Javascript is what you use to allow unknown third parties to run software you have no idea about on your computer.
      • (Score: 1, Informative) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday May 11 2017, @12:13AM (1 child)

        by Anonymous Coward on Thursday May 11 2017, @12:13AM (#507824)

        It's a google trap. Permissive license until it gains traction, then close it up tight and move on with new exciting features.

        • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday May 11 2017, @03:19PM

          by Anonymous Coward on Thursday May 11 2017, @03:19PM (#508114)

          yeah, and with a whore's license (MIT/BSD) it's so much easier.

  • (Score: 1, Informative) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday May 10 2017, @10:54PM (2 children)

    by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday May 10 2017, @10:54PM (#507789)

    First, Apple chooses BSD instead of GPL and replaces GCC with Clang. Now, Google chooses BSD instead of GPL and replaces Linux with MAGA to Make Android Great Again.

    If only Dick Bathroom Stall-Man could have been happy to settle for FreeBSD , the Saint of all Wildebeests wouldn't have wasted his life on GNU.

    • (Score: 1, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday May 11 2017, @08:21AM

      by Anonymous Coward on Thursday May 11 2017, @08:21AM (#507981)

      If not for the GPL, Free Software would never have gotten the traction it got. The GPL gives Free Software a level field with proprietary software. Free software cannot use proprietary stuff, and proprietary software cannot use GPLed stuff. With non-copyleft licenses, proprietary software is at an advantage as they can freely use the open code while Free software cannot do the same with proprietary code.

      Even if in the long term BSD-style licensing should take the lead, it couldn't have done so had not the GPL prepared the field. So the time spent on the GPL certainly was not wasted.

    • (Score: 2) by c0lo on Thursday May 11 2017, @11:54AM

      by c0lo (156) Subscriber Badge on Thursday May 11 2017, @11:54AM (#508038) Journal

      If only Dick Bathroom Stall-Man could have been happy to settle for FreeBSD , the Saint of all Wildebeests wouldn't have wasted his life on GNU.

      What's in a "failure", ummm?
      You know why we have mobile computing devices now? Because of the almost failed OLPC [wikipedia.org]: first to show that a small, cheap laptop is possible and useful (in a time when you couldn't get a decent laptop for less that $900-$1000).
      Followed by Asus EEE PC [wikipedia.org] - still got one somewhere, paid like $200-something for one.

      --
      https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aoFiw2jMy-0 https://soylentnews.org/~MichaelDavidCrawford
  • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday May 10 2017, @10:58PM (10 children)

    by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday May 10 2017, @10:58PM (#507791)

    Would be suicide at this point. The user base and infrastructure is far too great.

    • (Score: 1, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday May 11 2017, @12:18AM (8 children)

      by Anonymous Coward on Thursday May 11 2017, @12:18AM (#507827)

      No it isn't. Everyone buys a new phone every year so Android will be phased out by planned obsolescence. Android developers are all 20-year-old Indian coders whose careers last at most 5 years so the developers will be phased out as they grow too old to work in the industry.

      • (Score: 2) by fnj on Thursday May 11 2017, @06:13AM (2 children)

        by fnj (1654) on Thursday May 11 2017, @06:13AM (#507951)

        Everyone buys a new phone every year

        No they don't. Speak for your own goddam self. Mine is still a Galaxy S2 from 2011.

        • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday May 11 2017, @06:56AM

          by Anonymous Coward on Thursday May 11 2017, @06:56AM (#507962)

          I hope you're not paying very much for cell/data service.

        • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday May 11 2017, @03:22PM

          by Anonymous Coward on Thursday May 11 2017, @03:22PM (#508117)

          me too. s2 with cyanogenmod. use csipsimple and my freeswitch server as my main phone. zrtp baby! next upgrade will be to copperheadOS supported phone

      • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday May 11 2017, @10:20AM (3 children)

        by Anonymous Coward on Thursday May 11 2017, @10:20AM (#508017)

        You are assuming that all manufacturers would jump on the bandwagon. But there is nothing stopping them from simply continuing the use of Android anyway. If Google stops development, they could just continue development in-house, maybe taking Cyanogen-Mod as a base (which itself won't disappear either).

        And of course all the applications available for Android won't magically pop up on the replacement. And if Google should close Play Store, alternative will pop up. Note that some companies like Samsung already have their own Android stores.

        • (Score: 2) by KritonK on Thursday May 11 2017, @10:38AM (2 children)

          by KritonK (465) on Thursday May 11 2017, @10:38AM (#508022)

          maybe taking Cyanogen-Mod as a base (which itself won't disappear either)

          It already has [wikipedia.org].

          • (Score: 2) by maxwell demon on Thursday May 11 2017, @05:36PM (1 child)

            by maxwell demon (1608) on Thursday May 11 2017, @05:36PM (#508203) Journal

            From the linked Wikipedia article:

            This was shortly followed by news that the main CyanogenMod project would migrate, renaming itself as "LineageOS".

            So no, CyanogenMod (the product) didn't disappear. It just changed leadership and name.

            --
            The Tao of math: The numbers you can count are not the real numbers.
            • (Score: 2) by KritonK on Friday May 12 2017, @09:29AM

              by KritonK (465) on Friday May 12 2017, @09:29AM (#508552)

              In other words, CyanogenMod no longer exists, having been replaced by LineageOS.

      • (Score: 2) by LoRdTAW on Thursday May 11 2017, @07:23PM

        by LoRdTAW (3755) on Thursday May 11 2017, @07:23PM (#508255) Journal

        Android developers are all 20-year-old Indian coders whose careers last at most 5 years so the developers will be phased out as they grow too old to work in the industry.
        Reply to This

        Would explain why a simple remote disply and data logger from Fluke (test equipment) consumes 100MB and requires you to have an account.

    • (Score: 2) by turgid on Friday May 12 2017, @08:28AM

      by turgid (4318) Subscriber Badge on Friday May 12 2017, @08:28AM (#508539) Journal

      Not if the new system runs all the old apps seamlessly.

  • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday May 11 2017, @06:26AM

    by Anonymous Coward on Thursday May 11 2017, @06:26AM (#507956)

    News at 11.

(1)