Cloud computing, open-standard hardware and gaming: These are all areas in which the Linux Foundation has recently forged important new connections, announcing the addition of Cloudius Systems, HSA Foundation and Valve Software as the newest members of the organization. Together, these collaborations highlight the continuing dynamism of the open source world, and provide hints into where it is headed next.

The Linux Foundation, a non-profit consortium that promotes the interests of Linux and related open source projects, detailed the signing-on of these three companies in an announcement that highlighted the particular strengths they stand to contribute to the open source ecosystem.

First, Cloudius Systems will help to advance the open source cloud. Its major product is OSv, a sleek operating system that the company recently introduced and designed specifically for the cloud. Interestingly, OSv—which runs as a guest virtual machine on top of the open source KVM and Xen hypervisors—could be considered a competitor with Linux, which forms the basis for many other cloud-oriented virtualization platforms. But Cloudious's entry into the Linux Foundation is a sign that the future of the open cloud is about more than Linux itself, and that open source innovators recognize that the Linux kernel, which was built for desktops and servers, can only go so far in the cloud.

Meanwhile, the non-profit HSA Foundation aims to advance open hardware standards—a key interest for open source developers whether they focus on desktops, servers, the cloud or mobile. Lack of hardware compatibility due to proprietary, undocumented standards has been a thorn in Linux's side from day one, and investing in collaboration to help overcome that barrier is in the interest of virtually everyone within the open source ecosystem.

Last but not least, Valve, which develops the popular Steam platform for cloud-based games and other content, injects the Linux world with new energy in the gaming realm, an area that has traditionally been very unwelcoming to Linux users. Valve could be on the forefront of a major shift in open source entertainment that will use the power of the cloud to bring Linux into the mainstream fold—while also promoting Linux as the basis for specialized gaming hardware such as Valve's Steam Machines, home gaming devices that run on Linux.