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View Full Version : No More Android Tethering


Vincent Ferrari
04-02-2009, 09:00 PM
<div class='os_post_top_link'><a href='http://theappleblog.com/2009/03/31/android-pulls-tethering-app-goodness-you-mean-open-isnt-open/' target='_blank'>http://theappleblog.com/2009/03/31/...open-isnt-open/</a><br /><br /></div><p><em>"The hoopla around Google&rsquo;s Android mobile OS, and the resulting apps in the Android Market, is pretty strong. It&rsquo;s laid on thick and fast. You know the drill; it&rsquo;s &ldquo;open&rdquo; so it&rsquo;ll be free from all the constraints imposed by The Man, etc. Oops, maybe not. I&rsquo;m not sure why people believed the steaming pile of hyperbole coming out of the &ldquo;open&rdquo; pundits, but it was just a matter of time before reality stepped in. Google has pulled tethering apps from the market."</em></p><p><img src="http://images.thoughtsmedia.com//at/auto/1238677354.usr18053.gif" style="border: 1px solid #d2d2bb;" /></p><p>The word "open" is so overused these days.&nbsp; Anyone with half a brain knew this was coming, and despite all the ripping on Apple and AT&amp;T for their "closed" ecosystem, T-Mobile and Google seem to be in the same mindset.&nbsp; Of course the outrageometer is significantly lower for Android, but still.</p><p>We know that iPhone OS 3.0 will allow tethering; it'll be interesting to see if AT&amp;T locks this down to a paid feature or if they let you just use it for free.&nbsp; T-Mobile may be exploring similar options with the Android OS and that's why they locked down the tethering apps.&nbsp; Tom Reestman's closing paragraph really nails it, though:</p><p><em>Meanwhile, the &ldquo;open&rdquo; community will probably condemn Google&rsquo;s action, then deny it, then rationalize it, and then defend it. Finally, they&rsquo;ll get right back to touting how &ldquo;open&rdquo; is the panacea; the cure for all that ails us, and everything Apple&rsquo;s App Store is not. As before, they&rsquo;ll be wrong, but I&rsquo;m sure some will still believe it.</em></p><p>Amen!</p>