"This strikes me as a bit of propaganda: 1) "It shows how Google has simply thrown 5-10 years of Linux userspace evolution into the trashcan and re-implemented it partially for no reason." How about because a) most of it sucks b) most of it doesn't make sense for a cell phone c) their user space is entirely Java 2) "Things like hard-coded device lists/permissions in object code rather than config files" How about... for a closed device the difference between object code and config files is kind of silly (as a friend of mine once said: configuration file *are* code). 3) the lack of support for hot-plugging devices (udev) So, they don't use udev, but they do have mechanisms for this. Udev just sucks too much power and is problematic in general. 4) the lack of kernel headers Wha? There are headers. It's just not packaged separately. Also, you aren't supposed to program to the kernel interfaces (and this actually *increases* portability). 5) A libc that throws away System V IPC that every..." - Christopher Smith