Notice that we said apps and components, meaning that some core elements of Android -- input methods, for instance -- should get this treatment.

ENGADGET: Exclusive: Android Froyo to take a serious shot at stemming platform fragmentation

Barra's mission is to make the hard product decisions early--and stick with them--so that GM can speed the transition to "global architectures": meaning the use of single sets of components for vehicles worldwide to drive up GM's economies of scale.

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Remember that most applications are operationally simple, meaning they depend on the performance of the components.

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