Monday, December 12, 2011

WebOS will go open source. So, it's to be a public stoning rather than a quick, merciful death for WebOS.

PCWorld STORY >>

This is no way for a once respected mobile platform to die. Is this cruel and all too usual? Given Palm's long and venerable history in the handheld space, doesn't WebOS deserve euthanasia rather than some sort of public flogging?

So, WebOS is going open source. It would be tempting to state that the track record for open source mobile platforms is miserable given attempts by some companies to open source their smartphone code, but one could also just as easily point to the Open Handset Alliance and Android. But Android is viciously maintained by one of the world's largest companies. I don't see HP giving the same level of support to WebOS, despite their stated plans to create WebOS devices. Second-hand open sourcing tends not to work too well.

I wish WebOS the best out there on its own: it can be a cruel world:

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