Palo Alto, CA -- According to a press release from their corporate site, HP will make their webOS software available to the open source community. That does not mean that they are letting go by any means, however. HP will continue to support and develop web OS further. With the open source community having access, HP hopes that the end result will be a richer product capable of doing more and helping define future devices.
For developers who choose to work with webOS, there are some advantages. HP notes that “applications can be easily built using standard web technologies. In addition, its single integrated stack offers multiplatform portability.” For those that manufacture devices, the software is optimized to run in web environments and can be deployed across multiple devices easily. In the long run, the user also experiences the benefits with a better product and experience.
Chief executive officer and president of HP, Meg Whitman, said “webOS is the only platform designed from the ground up to be mobile, cloud-connected and scalable. By contributing this innovation, HP unleashes the creativity of the open source community to advance a new generation of applications and devices.”
Currently the plan is to put out in the open the underlying code of webOS via open source license. The developers, partners, HP, and other manufacturers will be able to change and enhance the code and then make their enhancements available to the community. In addition to the opening of webOS, in the near future HP will make ENYO –which is the application framework for webOS—available to the open source community as well.
As of December 9th, developers and customers and encouraged to provide input and suggestions at the following URL: http://developer.palm.com/blog/.
