You may have heard recently of the Remix OS [jide.com], a fork of Android that targets desktop computing. The operating system, which was created by former Google employees and features a traditional desktop layout in addition to the ability to run Android apps, was previewed [arstechnica.com] on Ars Technica a few weeks ago, but it was not actually released for end-users to download until earlier this week [arstechnica.com].
Now that Remix OS has been released, The Linux Homefront Project [tlhp.cf] is reporting [tlhp.cf] that the Android-based operating system, for which source code is not readily available, violates both the GPL and the Apache License. The RemixOS installer includes a "Remix OS USB Tool" that is really a re-branded copy of popular disk imaging tool UNetbootin [wikipedia.org], which falls under the GPL. Additionally, browsing through the install image files reveals that the operating system is based on the Apache Licensed Android-x86 project. From the article:
Output is absolutely clear – no differences! No authors, no changed files, no trademarks, just copy-paste development.
Is this a blatant disregard for the GPL and Apache licenses by an optimistic startup, or were the authors too eager to release that they forgot to provide access to the repo?