
Open Source Fact and Fiction: HP Should Open Source WebOS - darkduck
http://www.networkworld.com/community/node/77901
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bradleyland
HP paid $1.2bn for Palm and all it's IP just over a year ago. If they were to
open source webOS in any meaningful way (meaning, people could actually use
it), they would have to similarly release the Palm patent portfolio to the
public domain. For leadership in a publicly traded company to do this, they
need some kind of plan to show that this would enhance shareholder value, and
it needs to be a strong plan.

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

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aaront
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.

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tzs
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.

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schiptsov
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. ^_^

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yalimgerger
It was only a matter of time before somebody suggested this.

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Ubersoldat
Well, it's not a bad idea. Why let WebOS have the same faith BeOS (another
Palm owned OS) be forgotten?

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yalimgerger
Oh yeah absolutely. It is just an unimpressive one as it is so easy to come up
with. :-)

