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HP to Contribute webOS to Open Source

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Re: HP to Contribute webOS to Open Source

#51

Post by jnbiche »

siglesias wrote: post #13

Dumb question, but what's in it for HP?

Good PR, yes, but it may also be a good strategic move for HP, particularly if this is a sign of things to come. HP is fighting hard to remain relevant, and a vibrant competitor to iOS and Android would push them back into relevancy. Everything tech seems to be heading toward mobile, and if HP can establish a firm foothold there, they'll be a stronger company for it.

Now, I'm not saying this will happen, but at least it's possible now. webOS wasn't going to do anything for anyone sitting in a corner. Personally, I think a lot of its success depends on if/how they manage to set up a competitive webOS app store, facilitate at least one device that can run it, and letting webOS run as openly as possible on that device. Open source advocates would flock to buy and develop for a device running on a truly open OS with an open development model.

I'm also curious about a compatibility layer for Android. Dalvik has already been ported to maemo/meego, although it's closed-source. I'm relatively sure someone will now port Dalvik to webOS. I think a webOS with a vibrant, open-source community, able to run Android apps, could pose a significant challenge to portions of the Android market (to iOS to a lesser extent).

Re: HP to Contribute webOS to Open Source

#52

Post by mikecane »

jnbiche wrote: post #41
jpxxx wrote: post #16

Honest 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?

And the upside of Google doing the same to Android was?

Google gets Google Search on devices. And HP will get ... oops. A piece is missing here.

Re: HP to Contribute webOS to Open Source

#53

Post by peterb »

mchanson wrote: post #7

I'm really interested to see if this means WebOS would compete with Android in a meaningful way. Google puts a lot of work into outreach/support/evangelism to handset makers and I think also carriers. Android's big because of being open, but also because of all of the efforts Google is making. HP is not really known for being reliable lately in their strategic direction... My prediction (for all that is worth) is tha…

Why wouldn't Google embrace WebOS? Their business is advertising and this will be as good a platform as any.

Re: HP to Contribute webOS to Open Source

#54

Post by bad_user »

peterarmstrong wrote: post #27
thehodge wrote: post #8

Was 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.

Only if Oracle donated Java or MySQL to Apache, maybe with a change of license like they did for OpenOffice - now that would be something.

Re: HP to Contribute webOS to Open Source

#55

Post by angryasian »

hugoroy wrote: post #31
yalogin wrote: post #23

Isn'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…

too late? Why? The iPad is only at version 2, and Android tablets are having a hard time to take off (while the HP TouchPad has been selling very well apparently). Honestly, I am using one, and I have an Android phone (Nexus S) I don't think it's that far behind (and there are other good features I don't have on Android). Disclaimer: I'm right now an intern at HP, but I'm first a Free Software hacktivist and user.

hp is selling well because they are selling $500 hardware at $100, which a lot of people are putting android on.

Re: HP to Contribute webOS to Open Source

#56

Post by gravitronic »

I own a Touchpad ($150 sale) and have dabbled in Android development. What I find amazing about WebOS is that the native development platform (not the Enyo javascript/html side) is SDL&OpenGL. This makes porting/developing on any desktop OS very simple and the learning friction very low.

Re: HP to Contribute webOS to Open Source

#57

Post by notauser »

beatle wrote: post #34
megaduck wrote: post #12

This is fantastic news. WebOS has always been full of great ideas, but held back by shaky underpinnings. It's like the inverse of most open-source projects. Great UI, not-so-hot implementation. There's a lot of folks (myself included) that would have been happy to jump in and assist, but couldn't due to the closed-source nature of the platform. The real prize, however, is Enyo. It's a great Javascript framework, and…

Fantastic news. WebOS > Android

If they had done this before Nokia bought in to Windows Phone 7 then we might actually have seen a great user interface on Nokia's excellent hardware.

Maybe RIM could adopt it instead? They could really use a better UI, plus a platform that actually scales well to tablets. Plus they have a large enough install base that once they get rid of their disastrous programming environment developers might actually start writing good apps for their phones.

Re: HP to Contribute webOS to Open Source

#59

Post by mark-r »

rbanffy wrote: post #26

OK... Now, who'll make WebOS devices?

The devices exist already, except they're all running Android. It shouldn't take more than a few tweaks to get WebOS running instead. Any HW manufacturer could try it to test the waters, and if they're first it would be good PR.

Re: HP to Contribute webOS to Open Source

#60

Post by jaysonelliot »

siglesias wrote: post #46
gms wrote: post #17

Earlier quoted context omitted.

PR. They haven't got a clue about what do with webOS, so instead of announcing its shutdown, they 'donate' it to open source.

And this is worth the tens of millions, if not hundreds, that they would have received for selling it?

You can only sell if you can find a buyer.
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