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HP to Contribute webOS to Open Source

hp.com

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Re: HP to Contribute webOS to Open Source

#161

Post by bergie »

shmerl wrote: post #97
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…

If you are interested in assisting an open source mobile project, why not to give a hand to Mer and Nemo Mobile? http://merproject.org/ http://wiki.merproject.org/wiki/Nemo

I'd love to see Enyo apps on Mer. Probably something we also need to think about in the context of http://apps.formeego.org

Re: HP to Contribute webOS to Open Source

#163

Post by freehunter »

Karunamon wrote: post #117
j_col wrote: post #61

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I really hope they manage to do that, and avoid the fragmentation that Android experienced, especially with multiple app stores and no centralised over-the-air update mechanism.

especially with multiple app stores I hope you're not seriously saying that having multiple app stores is a weakness of some kind.

It is when vendors lock out the public app store in favor of their own (Kindle Fire).

Re: HP to Contribute webOS to Open Source

#164

Post by buu700 »

blntechie wrote: post #130

Welcome the decision. But a honest question - has there been any predecessors for a software succeeding after being open sourced from closed? I can think of Firefox but nothing else.

StarOffice/OpenOffice is a major example as well. Java, WebKit, Reddit, Tornado, Cassandra, and probably tons of other projects began as closed source releases/deployments.

Re: HP to Contribute webOS to Open Source

#165

Post by wcchandler »

sjs wrote: post #5

"under an open source license" is vague. I hope more details emerge soon. If it's a liberal license this could be very interesting. Without a group leading development the project may languish so ideally a competent group, with a vision, decides to run with webOS.

They'll probably rely on whomever adopts it -- which will probably (and hopefully) be Apache Foundation. Once that happens, then the conditions of the licensing can be decided by people who have a better understanding of what is going on. Ideally the community will want a GPL or BSD, but HP will probably want a GPLv3, LGPL or Apache.

Re: HP to Contribute webOS to Open Source

#166

Post by bmajz »

akmiller wrote: post #122
betterth wrote: post #114

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Why hate on Mango? Windows 7.5 has a fantastic UI -- I prefer it to every flavor of Android I've ever seen!

I've been an iPhone user since 2007 and have had every model with the exception of the 4s. I fully intended on moving to Android, specifically the Galaxy Nexus, but after playing with the Mango UI I bought the Samsung Focus S and I'm glad I did. It is by far the best OS I've used on a phone yet! It makes the iOS UI simply look dated (which in all honesty it hasn't changed much since 2007).

Unfortunately, the app ecosystem has not caught up to the system UX yet. A lot of the apps are slower and have fewer features than their iOS/Android counterparts. That seems to be the case with webOS as well. Hopefully, these platforms catch on a little bit to provide a refreshing counterbalance to the app grid UX of iOS/Android.

Re: HP to Contribute webOS to Open Source

#167

Post by bmajz »

jpxxx wrote: post #99
mikecane wrote: post #86

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I figured out the piece: the webOS App Catalog. Keep it going. Future profit justifies webOS continued development.

I don't think there's remotely enough money in apps to justify future development. This OS will need hundreds of millions of dollars in development to stay competitive and it's not starting with a userbase of any real size.

It could be a good way for them to claim "units" of sale vs. Apple since iOS+Mac already has Apple in a strong second in PC sales. There's some face to be saved in being the top PC seller. Oh wait, Apothekar already tried to jettison that.

Re: HP to Contribute webOS to Open Source

#168

Post by Karunamon »

j_col wrote: post #134
Karunamon wrote: post #117

Earlier quoted context omitted.

especially with multiple app stores I hope you're not seriously saying that having multiple app stores is a weakness of some kind.

Yes I am.

Huh. Where I come from, people having a choice as to where they can get their apps is a Good Thing©. Care to elaborate why you think it's so bad?

Re: HP to Contribute webOS to Open Source

#169

Post by suprgeek »

The race is now officially on to see who can become the "CynogenMod" for webOS :). I cannot wait for a Port of this on some of my Currently Android Only Devices (Nexus One and ASUS Xformer).

I will now spend the rest of the day dreaming about dual booting my Tablet into WebOS and Android and all the funky apps that can come with that prospect :)

Re: HP to Contribute webOS to Open Source

#170

Post by aaront »

untog wrote: post #19
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…

Seconding the excitement about Enyo. This could/should be absolutely huge. Speaks to the level of disorganisation in HP that the blog they link to has no mention of the open sourcing, though. Woops.

Enyo is most definitely the best mobile development I've ever done. Clean & simple implementation, and I can use the Chrome dev tools to debug.
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