I thought WebOS was going Opensource?

Bypassing a Palm Pre Activation

Me and David were arguing like old times about the state of the industry and we got around to the mobile industry… We talked about mobile operating systems and got around to Firefox OS and Ubuntu. David said remember WebOS, look how that ended…

I reminded him that it was going Opensource, however today David pointed me at this

Electronics giant HP is selling off the code, staff and technology involved in its WebOS software to Korean firm LG.

HP acquired the WebOS operating system when it bought veteran gadget maker Palm in 2011 for $1.2bn (£789m).

Financial details of the deal have not been disclosed but HP is not thought to have recouped much of the money it paid for Palm.

LG said the WebOS code would be used to power its next-generation smart TV technology.

The WebOS was created to run smartphones, tablets and other devices developed by Palm that, in its early days, pioneered the handheld gadget industry. However, Palm’s influence has diminished as Apple, Google’s Android and RIM’s Blackberry have come to dominate the smartphone and tablet markets.

In the deal, LG gets WebOS source code, engineers working on it, documentation and the websites that promote it. HP is holding on to patents underlying WebOS as well as technology that helps it connect to web-based services.

It looks like the deal doesn’t effect the code? maybe? who knows?

So much for going Opensource?, I had thought it was going to be like the BeOS of the mobile operating systems.

Its wired, tired and expired time

In the wired magazine style, these are the things I’m thinking about and I’m not. Its not meant to be serious, just a bit of fun! (Honestly!)

Not done one of these since 2004!

Wired

  • Bluetooth 4.0
  • Open streetmap
  • Social Engineering
  • Android 4.1
  • Tent.is/App.net
  • Solid State
  • Quantified Self data
  • Sharing implicit data
  • LED
  • WordPress
  • Mozilla Open Badges
  • Github
  • Mesh networking
  • Mobile Ubuntu, FirefoxOS
  • Magnet links
  • Amazon Glacier backup
  • Google Now
  • Fibre Channel networking
  • Xbian on RaspberryPi
  • Love in the time of algorithms
  • Toml
Tired

  • Bluetooth 2.1
  • Google maps
  • Hacking
  • Android 4.0
  • Status.net
  • Magnetic platters
  • Lifestreams
  • Sharing explicit data
  • Halogen
  • Google plus
  • Ubuntu Accomplishments
  • Google Code
  • Metropolitan area networks
  • Android, Windows 8
  • Bit Torrent files
  • Cloud backup
  • Wolfram Alpha
  • Gigabit networking
  • Apple TV
  • The Art of Immersion
  • XML
Expired

  • Bluetooth 1.0
  • Apple maps
  • Cracking
  • Android 2.3
  • Twitter
  • Optical discs
  • Facebook timeline
  • Sharing no data
  • Incandescent
  • Facebook
  • Xbox Live Rewards
  • Sourceforge
  • WiMax
  • iOS
  • Binary Usenet
  • External Drive backup
  • Siri
  • 10/100 networking
  • Roku
  • The Paradox of Choice
  • Json/ini

Could a robot take care of us when were old?

Robot & Frank

Watched Robot & Frank… and thought about the elderly care crisis.

A delightful dramatic comedy, a buddy picture, and, for good measure, a heist film. Curmudgeonly old Frank lives by himself. His routine involves daily visits to his local library, where he has a twinkle in his eye for the librarian. His grown children are concerned about their father’s well-being and buy him a caretaker robot. Initially resistant to the idea, Frank soon appreciates the benefits of robotic support – like nutritious meals and a clean house – and eventually begins to treat his robot like a true companion. With his robot’s assistance, Frank’s passion for his old, unlawful profession is reignited, for better or worse.

Its certainly something you might prefer to watch at home than in the cinema but its a really lovely story… And reminds me of something I saw a while ago on Wired.co.uk about how the ageing population could be the key to domestic robots.

Also got me remembering the only real contact I’ve had with domestic robots. Although the Pleo autospy was slightly distressing to see.