As I strive to find myself enough time to properly contribute further to the issue, I offer fellow readers this link.
While I don't agree with the assertion that Cyanogen is "a company which hoped to do for Android what Red Hat had done for Linux", the article offers some good follow-the-money research, providing some history that preceded Microsoft's involvement. It also offers some insight about the opportunities and challenges facing those trying to create Google-services-free versions of Android.
Cheers,
- Evan