You’d think that because Google is maintaining not just one, but two operating systems based on Linux, that they’d be contributing more to the Linux kernel than anyone else, but according to data compiled by InfoWorld, that’s not the case. Since Linux 2.6.36 went live back in October 2010, the most active contributor to the kernel’s source code has been Samsung.
In second place is Texas Instruments, who got out of the smartphone game and bet the farm on embedded. Scroll down the list a bit, however, and you get to number four and number five. As you can tell by the headline, Nokia is in 4th place, while Google is in 5th place. What exactly does all this mean? Google has always been terrible when it comes to maintaining relationships with the open source community. Many analysts I’ve spoken to have explained Android to me like this: Google builds an operating system behind closed doors. Whenever a new release of Android comes out, they open their doors, throw a bunch of code on the floor because they’re required to by law, and then shut their doors again until the next version. That’s not too far from the truth, but you know what? It doesn’t really matter. Most people buying Android powered device, myself included, couldn’t care less what’s under the hood. They just want their email, their maps, and Chrome.
