This is a sad day peeps, something we never expected. JBQ aka Jean-Baptiste Quéru is quitting AOSP. For those of you who do not know who JBQ is, he is the technical lead of Android Open Source Project (AOSP) over at Google.
Why is he quitting AOSP
Well looks like he is finally frustrated, when the Nexus 4 was released there were some issues with releasing the source and factory images for the Nexus 4. Those issues were eventually sorted out and Google released the source and factory images for the nexus 4 after a few months of launch. But Google never told anyone about the issues and what caused the delay.
It seems those issues are now back with the Nexus 7 flo aka Nexus 7 FHD. When asked about the timeline on the Nexus 7 flo’s factory images here is what JBQ had to say:-
When will flo get factory images?
JBQ: No ETA, and I don’t know if they’ll ever be available at all.What is the reason for this?
JBQ: Same as http://www.droid-life.com/2012/12/13…mment-on-that/
JBQ: You’ll also note that Google never distributed factory images for Nexus One.Just to clarify: we’re talking both factory images and proprietary binaries here, right?
JBQ: Lemme try to figure out how much more I’m allowed to say on that matter.
Then we had a series of tweets from JBQ himself.
Jean-Baptiste Queru @jbqueru
That feeling when lawyers sabotage the launch you spent 6 months working on? I haz it. Sad sad sad sad sad sad.Jean-Baptiste Queru @jbqueru
I don’t want to go to work tomorrow. I don’t want to be doing that job any more.
As you can JBQ mentions the Nexus One as well, factory images for Nexus One were later released by HTC and not Google. Keep in mind all of these are devices running Qualcomm GPU’s and it’s pretty clear Qualcomm doesn’t want to open source or even provide binaries for that matter. Trust me Google should have dumped Qualcomm after the Nexus 4 but they did not and no one knows why.
Eventually JBQ ran out of patience and posted this on his Google+ page:-
We are not sure if he is leaving only AOSP and moving to another role at Google or quitting Google all together, whatever be the case this is a sad day for a sure.
We wish you all the best in your future endeavors JBQ and you will be missed.
Source:-Google+ via AndroidPolice
Written by munchy
Munchy is a Cobol Programmer by profession, Android diehard by choice. He currently owns a Red Droid DNA running Carbon, a T-Mobile Galaxy S4 running MIUIv5 & a Nexus 7 2013.When he is not thinking about Android he loves to take his Mustang out for a drive to no where.
Follow @munchy