HP to Announce WebOS Fate Week of December 12?
Judgment Day apparently is just around the corner for Hewlett-Packard’s WebOS tablet and smartphone operating system. Piece together statements from HP, and it sounds like CEO Meg Whitman will disclose some sort of WebOS update — live or die — today or sometime the week of December 12. But ultimately, WebOS’s fate may have been sealed when HP killed its associated WebOS TouchPad tablet and smartphone strategy.
UPDATED, 3:30 p.m. eastern, Dec. 9: HP open sources WebOS. The blog below is now out of date.
On the upside, notes The Register, HP has continued to update the WebOS operating system — which suggests HP may find a way to maintain, reinvent, reposition, sell or spin-off the operating system (decisions, decisions). But on the downside, HP badly bruised WebOS’s image when former CEO Leo Apotheker killed the WebOS TouchPad tablet in August 2011. Soon after, HP’s board ousted Apotheker and Whitman was named CEO in September 2011.
Looking ahead, TechCrunch believes HP will launch another WebOS device firesale Dec. 11 on eBay. And Whitman in late November said HP would likely offer an update on WebOS’s status within two weeks. Quick math says decision day is nearly here…
News are out – HP releases WebOS to FOSS.
Some sort of consolidation will be needed amongst the projects working towards mobile units and embedded tech such as car nav and home security +++.
Lessons to be learned wrt how corporations handles seriously good FOSS/Linux technology. There was a lot of people being ready to shop GOOD WebOS and MeeGO units.
Lessons also to be learned about corporate communication and shareholders loosing huge amounts of money.