Why not merging with Tizen to be a dominant platform？
HP to Contribute webOS to Open Source
21–30 of 201 posts
Re: HP to Contribute webOS to Open Source
#22Interesting solution to their problem with webOS. I am not convinced that open sourcing it without any HP hardware to officially run it or any announcement of partners that will produce compatible hardware will allow webOS to take off. At least this is a potential credible alternative to Android open source model... if some HW folks decide to go with it. [copied from my previous comment on the 'precentral' news]
Meh... No reason android devices can't be ported to webos.
1 huge reason: proprietary drivers.
Re: HP to Contribute webOS to Open Source
#23Isn't it a little too late now? WebOS is way behind in terms of functionality compared to Android and so even someone picks it up they need to spend considerable time and resources to bring it up to par to compete with it. It has to be some company that does not mind waiting and spending the resources. I don't see any one in that position right now. Unless this is purely a move to generate excitement in the developer community so that HP can at least make a meaningful effort to push it.
Re: HP to Contribute webOS to Open Source
#24'Contribute to open source'? More like 'dump onto open source'.
whatever. at this point, open sourcing it is probably the best possible outcome anybody could have hoped for. be happy they didn't just say "we're going to lock it in a safe and nobody will ever see it again"
Re: HP to Contribute webOS to Open Source
#25Earlier quoted context omitted.
Meh... No reason android devices can't be ported to webos.
1 huge reason: proprietary drivers.
If the driver links to the Linux kernel underneath, porting shouldn't pose a big problem.
Oh... Isn't distributing proprietary drivers linked to the Linux kernel a violation of the GPL?
Re: HP to Contribute webOS to Open Source
#26OK... Now, who'll make WebOS devices?
Re: HP to Contribute webOS to Open Source
#27Was half expecting them to donate it to the apache foundation.. seems to be the in thing to do right now
The Apache foundation is turning out to be where large companies send their projects that they acquired through acquisition and never really loved or understood to die. It's kind of the old folks home of the software industry.
Re: HP to Contribute webOS to Open Source
#28Honest question: to what end is this happening? They receive no money from a sale of the project, they still have to commit engineering resources, they lose some level of control over its development and its future,and how is it going to be placed into someone else's aboveboard commercial mobile product if there aren't any guarantees against patent attacks? What is the upside?
Well, if nothing else, good publicity.
(There might be other upsides, but that must be a fairly major reason)
Re: HP to Contribute webOS to Open Source
#29Isn't it a little too late now? WebOS is way behind in terms of functionality compared to Android and so even someone picks it up they need to spend considerable time and resources to bring it up to par to compete with it. It has to be some company that does not mind waiting and spending the resources. I don't see any one in that position right now. Unless this is purely a move to generate excitement in the developer…
This may be true assuming that targeting those platforms is desirable.
Now if you're in the market to do something new...
Re: HP to Contribute webOS to Open Source
#30Isn't it a little too late now? WebOS is way behind in terms of functionality compared to Android and so even someone picks it up they need to spend considerable time and resources to bring it up to par to compete with it. It has to be some company that does not mind waiting and spending the resources. I don't see any one in that position right now. Unless this is purely a move to generate excitement in the developer…
Android may be further ahead in features, but there's a lot of people who got a TouchPad in HP's firesale who would want extra functionality and now they can add it. I hope a OpenOS project starts soon rather than loads of people rushing to add small bits.