It never fails.
I give an interview, and my statements get warped. This time wasn’t as bad as some, but I’m still not terribly happy.
Yesterday, InfoWorld ran an article about the mindset of the Android developer community in the wake of the communications lockdown from the project. A lockdown, mind you, that seems to have been relaxed a notch since ADC wrapped last week.
Overall, the article is fairly decent. But, considering how many foaming-at-the-mouth Android detractors there are, it’s unclear why I got painted in that light:
Mark Murphy, author of The Busy Coder’s Guide to Android Development, says that Google’s recent actions have managed to split the development community. “Undoubtedly, some developers have written Android off and will never return,” he says. But Murphy also notes that many developers remain unperturbed by the commotion, and some plan to assess the situation over time. “Lots aren’t paying a darn bit of attention to the whole mess because there aren’t any devices ready yet,” he says.
The good news is that he actually quoted me accurately — I’ve had quotes attributed to me in the past that were made up of snips and snails and puppy-dog tails, not anything I actually said. However, he took a few of my statements out of context, making it seem way more doom-and-gloom than is apropos.
My full email response to his interview questions can be found at the CommonsWare site. However, here’s what I said in response to “How have Google’s misstep’s hurt its reputation with the developer community?”, where he got his quotes:
Sure. What impact it will have, though, has yet to be determined.
What people call “the developer community” is an amalgamation of lots of individuals with their own ideas, opinions, etc. It’s not like it’s a trade union with an elected set of officials and a publicly-stated position or something.
Undoubtedly, some developers have written Android off and will never return. Some developers might return in a year or two. Some aren’t that worried yet. Lots aren’t paying a darn bit of attention to the whole mess because there aren’t any devices ready yet. And some are ADC winners or other selected insiders, who probably think things are just peachy.
As for me, I’m in the “not that worried yet” bucket. The past few months have been disappointing but still largely within the confines of what Google/OHA said they were going to do.
