Tag Archives: Operating System

Expanding Fuchsia’s open source model

Fuchsia is a long-term project to create a general-purpose, open source operating system, and today we are expanding Fuchsia’s open source model to welcome contributions from the public.

Fuchsia is designed to prioritize security, updatability, and performance, and is currently under active development by the Fuchsia team. We have been developing Fuchsia in the open, in our git repository for the last four years. You can browse the repository history at https://fuchsia.googlesource.com to see how Fuchsia has evolved over time. We are laying this foundation from the kernel up to make it easier to create long-lasting, secure products and experiences.

Starting today, we are expanding Fuchsia's open source model to make it easier for the public to engage with the project. We have created new public mailing lists for project discussions, added a governance model to clarify how strategic decisions are made, and opened up the issue tracker for public contributors to see what’s being worked on. As an open source effort, we welcome high-quality, well-tested contributions from all. There is now a process to become a member to submit patches, or a committer with full write access.

In addition, we are also publishing a technical roadmap for Fuchsia to provide better insights for project direction and priorities. Some of the highlights of the roadmap are working on a driver framework for updating the kernel independently of the drivers, improving file systems for performance, and expanding the input pipeline for accessibility.

Fuchsia is an open source project that is inclusive by design, from the architecture of the platform itself, to the open source community that we’re building. The project is still evolving rapidly, but the underlying principles and values of the system have remained relatively constant throughout the project. More information about the core architectural principles are available in the documentation: secure, updatable, inclusive, and pragmatic.

Fuchsia is not ready for general product development or as a development target, but you can clone, compile, and contribute to it. It has support for a limited set of x64-based hardware, and you can also test it with Fuchsia’s emulator. You can download and build the source code by following the getting started guide.

Fuchsia emulator startup with fx emu
If you would like to learn more about Fuchsia, join our mailing lists and browse the documentation at fuchsia.dev. You can now be part of the project and help build the future of this operating system. We are looking forward to receiving contributions from the community as we grow Fuchsia together.

By Wayne Piekarski, Developer Advocate for Fuchsia

Android Platform Codelab Kickstarts OS Development

Posted by Clay Murphy, Technical Writer

The Android Platform Codelab has been published to take developers from bare metal to a (virtual) device under test in a single page. This document will help new Android operating system engineers quickly learn the tools and processes needed to establish a build environment, sync the repository, build a virtual device image, and load that image onto an Android virtual device (AVD), allowing quick iteration of platform changes.

The codelab walks through:

  1. Environment setup
  2. Downloading of code
  3. Creating a Cuttlefish Android Virtual Device (AVD) image
  4. Building the OS
  5. Using Acloud to set up and render the Cuttlefish AVD
  6. Creating and testing changes
  7. Uploading, reviewing, and reverting those modifications

If you encounter errors during this codelab, please report them using the Site feedback link on the bottom of any page. Send questions to the android-building group.

10 things to know about Android 10

https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-1m5fpSI-6n8/XW9U2K1ZmUI/AAAAAAAAA4Y/jJ-kRw1JXkoEgFeJyE5ZidZqAp_bulAjwCLcBGAs/s1600/Screenshot%2B2019-09-04%2Bat%2B11.36.25%2BAM.png Dave Burke VP Engineering


Android 10 is here! With this release, we focused on making your everyday life easier with features powered by on-device machine learning, as well as supporting new technologies like Foldables and 5G. At the same time, with almost 50 changes related to privacy and security, Android 10 gives you greater protection, transparency, and control over your data. This builds on top of our ongoing commitment to provide industry-leading security and privacy protections on Android. We also built new tools that empower people of all abilities, and help you find the right balance with technology.

Here are the 10 things you should know, centered on innovation, security and privacy and digital wellbeing: 

Simpler, smarter, and more helpful



1. Smart Reply now suggests actions. So when someone sends you a message with an address or a YouTube video, you can open and navigate in Google Maps or open up the video in YouTube—no copying and pasting required. And Smart Reply now works across all your favorite messaging apps.
2. Come to the dark side… with Dark Theme. You can enable Dark Theme for your entire phone or for specific apps like Photos and Calendar. It’s easier on your eyes, and your phone battery too. 
3. Take advantage of larger, edge-to-edge screens with the new gesture navigation. With simple swipes, you can go backwards, pull up the homescreen, and fluidly move between tasks. After switching, you won’t want to go back to visible buttons. 
4. With a single tap, Live Caption will automatically caption videos, podcasts and audio messages across any app—even stuff you record yourself. Live Caption will become available this fall, starting with Pixel.

New privacy and security features put you in control

5. You can choose to only share location data with apps while you’re using them. You’ll also receive reminders when an app that you are not actively using is accessing your location, so you can decide whether or not to continue sharing. 
6. In a new Privacy section under Settings, you’ll find important controls like Web & App Activity and Ad Settings in one place. 
7. With Google Play system updates, important security and privacy fixes can now be sent to your phone from Google Play, in the same way your apps update. So you get these fixes as soon as they’re available, without having to wait for a full OS update. 

Find the right balance with technology for you and your family

8. You have greater control over where and when notifications will alert you. Mark notifications as “Silent” and they won’t make noise or appear on your lockscreen, so you're only alerted by notifications when you want to be.
9. Now Family Link is part of every device running Android 9 or 10, right in settings under Digital Wellbeing. Parents can use these tools to set digital ground rules like daily screen time limits, device bedtime, time limits on specific apps, and more. They can also review the apps children install on their devices, as well as their usage.
10. Want to be in the zone but not off the grid? Digital Wellbeing now brings you Focus mode. Select the apps you find distracting—such as email or the news—and silence them until you come out of Focus mode. Sign up for the Beta to try it.
There’s lots more in Android 10, including a new enterprise feature that lets you use different keyboards for your personal and work profiles, app timers for specific websites so you can balance your time on the web, new gender-inclusive emoji, and support for direct audio streaming to hearing aid devices. 
Android 10 begins rolling out to Pixel phones today, and we’re working with our partners to launch and upgrade devices to Android 10 this year. Learn more at android.com/10.


Posted by Dave Burke, VP of Engineering