Source code for version 4.0 (actually version 4.0.1) of Android is now available for download from Google. Get the code here.

The latest release of the Android OS, code-named Ice Cream Sandwich, is intended to run on both smart phones and tablet computers. The first announced Android 4.0 device is the Galaxy Nexus smart phone from Samsung. The Ice Cream Sandwich source code available for download from Google assumes a Nexus target. Bloggers and new sites speculate that the Nexus will be released for retail sale on November 17, at least in Europe. Canadian telecom operators Bell and Virgin are expected to ship the Nexus in December, with Rogers and Telus following in January 2012. Rumor-mongers expect Verizon so ship the Nexus first in the U.S., probably by the end of November.

According to Google software engineer Jean-Baptiste Queru, who announced the availability of Android 4.0 source code, developers who download Ice Cream Sandwich code will receive the entire Android source code tree, which includes 3.x (Honeycomb) code. Google had not previously released Honeycomb source code.

For more information, check out the Android Open Source Project home page.

Web recommendation: Professor Orin S. Kerr of the George Washington University Law School attempts to put a stake through the heart of the U.S. Computer Fraud and Abuse Act in his recent testimony before the House of Representatives subcommittee on crime, terrorism, and homeland security. According to Kerr, the CFAA criminalizes the everyday actions of millions of innocent Americans who use the Internet in routine ways. “Any of them,” Kerr says, “could fast arrest and criminal prosecution.” A PDF file of Kerr's testimony is available here. J.D. say check it out.

J.D. Hildebrand has written hundreds of articles for dozens of publications and online communities dedicated to software development. He doesn't much care for burek.