Open Source Fact and Fiction: HP Should Open Source WebOS(networkworld.com)
networkworld.com
Open Source Fact and Fiction: HP Should Open Source WebOS
http://www.networkworld.com/community/node/77901
5 comments
Touchpads at rock bottom prices, ripe for toying with? Check. An OS (that is known to be compatible) to mod and run on this hardware? Hopefully their next step in this royal screw up.
I mean, they could even make it more open than Android, completely transparent development. I would probably contribute to the project.
I mean, they could even make it more open than Android, completely transparent development. I would probably contribute to the project.
I'd rate this as highly unlikely. They are more likely to want to sell off the Palm IP to someone else, and they aren't going to weaken the value of that by open sourcing parts of it.
Just face the reality - comparing to Android, let alone iOS that thing does not exist. That is why HP dumped it. Even money cannot make it fly. ^_^
It was only a matter of time before somebody suggested this.
Well, it's not a bad idea. Why let WebOS have the same faith BeOS (another Palm owned OS) be forgotten?
Oh yeah absolutely. It is just an unimpressive one as it is so easy to come up with. :-)
Have a look at Google's strategy. Google maintains an open source mobile OS as a strategy for controlling the platform that delivers their product to consumers. Along with this major benefit, there are other strategic benefits as well. Giving away Android applies pressure to other competitors that encroach on Google's search product (Microsoft Bing) and other developing markets (Apple, Amazon, Facebook, etc).
HP has, until recently, been a hardware company. It's hard to make a case for open sourcing the mobile OS you just paid $1.2bn for when there's the very real possibility that your competitors will pick it up and make a better device than you.
I guess I need help seeing the strategic benefit to HP for open sourcing webOS. The two ways I see them extracting shareholder value are:
* Selling the Palm patent portfolio outright
* Identifying companies that encroach on their patents and extracting licensing fees