HP doing more for the Linux community

[mattmers]

HP ponies up bigger bucks for Linux Foundation | Business Tech - CNET News

HP is now a Platinum Member of the Linux Foundation at the cost of $500,000 a year

Wonder what this means for open WebOS?

[geekpeter]

or android

[steven_farkas]

Originally Posted by mattmers

HP ponies up bigger bucks for Linux Foundation | Business Tech - CNET News

HP is now a Platinum Member of the Linux Foundation at the cost of $500,000 a year

Wonder what this means for open WebOS?

my guess is it means nothing for webos and more to do with their enterprise linux products.

[gihmley]

I would imagine it means precisely... Nothing.

you, HP... you to whatever brimstone-fired Hell spawned you...

[Remy X]

I wonder if they are doing this as a "status symbol" of sorts.... or is it that HP realizes that Microsoft/Windows is losing its edge.

HP, MS and Intel used to march in lockstep, but now it's looking like members of the monopoly no longer have 100% confidence in each other. Microsoft building its own hardware (phones, tablet), HP having bought Palm and now this $500,000 membership, and Intel is doing its best to produce a mobile-sized x86 chip to compete with the ARM architecture.

Who knows what is really going on at HP, but it's starting to look like due to the market re-balancing itself towards mobile (in the last 5 years), the major players know that the old strategy of the '90s isn't going to work for them much longer. Each is on their own now, and in the mobile sphere Android is taking the place of Windows and ARM chips taking the place of x86 as the generic components available to everyone, from big name companies to hole-in-the-wall Chinese hardware vendors.

I do hope that HP will keep webOS in mind and not just go with the herd, but sacrifices will have to be made on their part and i don't know how much effort they are willing to put into getting webOS to be competitive again... there are perceptive customers and there are drones that will buy whatever their neighbor bought, there are pushy and dishonest salespeople, there are those hordes of apps that people expect to have on hand, so many factors that have to be taken care of.... webOS would have to start out with a "bad year" sales-wise, until people warm up to it again....

it's a choice of either being "the other Apple", or crawling under the desk and dying, because being "the other Android" just won't sell...

[Buddy1969]

[joke] that means, that HP buys Linux, cancels all linux-hardware and pushes it into meaninglessness [/joke]

But seriously: time will tell, but I wouldn't expect too much.

[PalmPixi_User23]

Originally Posted by Remy X

I do hope that HP will keep webOS in mind and not just go with the herd, but sacrifices will have to be made on their part and i don't know how much effort they are willing to put into getting webOS to be competitive again... there are perceptive customers and there are drones that will buy whatever their neighbor bought, there are pushy and dishonest salespeople, there are those hordes of apps that people expect to have on hand, so many factors that have to be taken care of.... webOS would have to start out with a "bad year" sales-wise, until people warm up to it again....

it's a choice of either being "the other Apple", or crawling under the desk and dying, because being "the other Android" just won't sell...

I think that HP doesn't even the luxury of deciding on which direction to go, it's enough of their own incompetence and start making the right decisions instead of the wrong ones. I agree that HP needs to continue to make progress into this ''Open WebOS Project'', however, I don't see enough efforts into this thing. They moving to slowly and making so many mistakes along the way that it will take a huge miracle for WebOS to survive or make it into a worthy competitor to the Apple's iOS or even Google's Android.

I think that the worst mistake that HP continues to make is that, they think that with going native with the Microsoft new offers with its Windows 8 will save them. There thousands of analyst claiming that going only to Windows it isn't the answer for HP problems, and there is a moment of truth there with their own assessments. I'm thinking that HP needs to act fast or become part of the history books...like Kodak.

[steven_farkas]

I think that HP doesn't even the luxury of deciding on which direction to go, it's enough of their own incompetence and start making the right decisions instead of the wrong ones.

what does this even mean? do HP have the luxury to make their own decisions or not? And are you saying that their incompetence is going to lead them to start making the right decisions or wrong ones? If you're going to go on a tirade, at least make it somewhat comprehensible.

I think that the worst mistake that HP continues to make is that, they think that with going native with the Microsoft new offers with its Windows 8 will save them.

didn't Meg Whitman say recently that they don't know what OS any future HP smartphones would run? In addition their enterprise products run both Windows, and variations of UX. In my opinion that doesn't seem like "going native" with Microsoft to me.

[Buddy1969]

Don't forget, that HP had their own Unix some years ago.
Anyone remember HP-UX??
:P

[steven_farkas]

Originally Posted by Buddy1969

Don't forget, that HP had their own Unix some years ago.
Anyone remember HP-UX??
:P

Sure do, and it was a big player in the unix market (and still are to those still running superdome-esque machines)

plus they got Compaq's Alpha platform when they bought them a number of years ago.

[PalmPixi_User23]

Originally Posted by steven_farkas

I think that HP doesn't even the luxury of deciding on which direction to go, it's enough of their own incompetence and start making the right decisions instead of the wrong ones.

what does this even mean? do HP have the luxury to make their own decisions or not? And are you saying that their incompetence is going to lead them to start making the right decisions or wrong ones? If you're going to go on a tirade, at least make it somewhat comprehensible..

Okay, let me make myself a bit more clear since it didn't go so well on the first try. I was trying to say that HP can't be chasing their own tails like a puppy with a lost sense of direction, rumors has been claiming that HP could go with Android/Windows mobile when coming out with their next lines of smartphones. It's time for next to stop dragging their feet with incompetence and make a move into committing themselves into a platform for their next smartphone, but not next year or possible by 2016 it got to be NOW. And that is with WebOS.....

In my opinion if that silly CEO of HP, doesn't understand(by this time)that maybe Open WebOS might be a way to head back into the market with smartphone..then Mrs. is really lacking in brain cells to me. The obvious answer to be coming out with smartphone, will be a Open WebOS and not come out with a 'The Same phone' that everyone else is making at the moment. If they really want to compete with a market that has stronger competitors, then if they make the right calls with the 'WebOS Project' might have a shot for survival.

[steven_farkas]

Originally Posted by PalmPixi_User23

Okay, let me make myself a bit more clear since it didn't go so well on the first try. I was trying to say that HP can't be chasing their own tails like a puppy with a lost sense of direction, rumors has been claiming that HP could go with Android/Windows mobile when coming out with their next lines of smartphones. It's time for next to stop dragging their feet with incompetence and make a move into committing themselves into a platform for their next smartphone, but not next year or possible by 2016 it got to be NOW. And that is with WebOS.....

In my opinion if that silly CEO of HP, doesn't understand(by this time)that maybe Open WebOS might be a way to head back into the market with smartphone..then Mrs. is really lacking in brain cells to me. The obvious answer to be coming out with smartphone, will be a Open WebOS and not come out with a 'The Same phone' that everyone else is making at the moment. If they really want to compete with a market that has stronger competitors, then if they make the right calls with the 'WebOS Project' might have a shot for survival.

Ok thanks, I now understand your point, but couldn't disagree more. It seems you feel that HP's survival as a company is down to the smartphone market, and this is simply not true. I really think you have little idea what the company actually does. Client devices, Print and enterprise HW and SW is their core business and generates $7b of profit each year, try and remember that - losses are not mounting up and Meg Whitman has refocused HP to go back to its innovation roots and is investing in things like HP labs - Innovation isn't just making shiny smartphones and tablets, its also about the enterprise (which at the risk of sounding like a broken record) which is where HP's core strengths can be found.

Yes, mobility is important, and whilst they remain committed to the openwebos and enyo projects, I am actually cautiously optimistic that the envy and spectre ranges of tablets and ultrabooks will do well and hopefully spawn further product lines (I expect this is where any new smartphone would fit in).

[sledge007]

Originally Posted by PalmPixi_User23

Okay, let me make myself a bit more clear since it didn't go so well on the first try. I was trying to say that HP can't be chasing their own tails like a puppy with a lost sense of direction, rumors has been claiming that HP could go with Android/Windows mobile when coming out with their next lines of smartphones. It's time for next to stop dragging their feet with incompetence and make a move into committing themselves into a platform for their next smartphone, but not next year or possible by 2016 it got to be NOW. And that is with WebOS.....

In my opinion if that silly CEO of HP, doesn't understand(by this time)that maybe Open WebOS might be a way to head back into the market with smartphone..then Mrs. is really lacking in brain cells to me. The obvious answer to be coming out with smartphone, will be a Open WebOS and not come out with a 'The Same phone' that everyone else is making at the moment. If they really want to compete with a market that has stronger competitors, then if they make the right calls with the 'WebOS Project' might have a shot for survival.

Simply typing "HP analysts" in Google search....things don't look all that great for HP. Period. Depends on who you want to believe, but I couldn't find much in the way of optimistic news or projections....almost hesitated using that word after last night

[steven_farkas]

Hp has a ton of work to do in order to maintain market share and become more relevant in key markets and stop making poor acquisitions.

A $6bn write down on eds and paying well over the odds for autonomy hasn't helped the share price in the past 2 years. Still, losses aren't mounting (yet) and they are still a very profitable company who are number 1 or 2 in most markets they operate in.

Analysts have no confidence due to poor acquisitions, high turnover of CEO's (the last period of stability was under Mark Hurd from 2005-2010 where the share price doubled (up to an almost unbelievable $42) and net margin and market share all increased. Leo was an unmitigated disaster and Meg Whitman is slowly trying to turn things around. Give her some time and I think she'll get it right, but make no mistake, its a huge job.

For those of you who like sports analogies, there's not point sacking manager after manager to chase success.

[chalx]

Originally Posted by sledge007

Simply typing "HP analysts" in Google search....things don't look all that great for HP. Period. Depends on who you want to believe, but I couldn't find much in the way of optimistic news or projections....almost hesitated using that word after last night

Things don't look great for any big player except Apple or Samsung. In consumer space lowered margins killed profit and in business space recession almost stopped IT gear renewal. With new price policy imposed by Nexus4/Nexus7/Nexus10,consumer mobile would not become rescue for anyone next year when all manufacturers must match $300 price for top specs unlocked phone or $400 for top specs consumer tablet. HP's plan to aim pro segment with full Windows8 tablets is maybe only reasonable alternative left if you want to produce tablet and you want to make some money on it, because full blown Windows on tablet, and its productivity factor can't be matched by iOS, Android or webOS.
Regarding the current shape of HP, their investment in Linux is a good thing even if its not related to webOS.

[Laura Knotek]

It is probably only a matter of time before Microsoft actually becomes a member of the Linux Foundation too, since it has already become a LinuxCon Gold sponsor. Linux Foundation Sponsors Now Includes Microsoft? - InternetNews..

[Buddy1969]

Originally Posted by steven_farkas

...and Meg Whitman is slowly trying to turn things around. Give her some time and I think she'll get it right, but make no mistake, its a huge job.

....

All right and ok, what you are writing.

Problem is, that the IT sector is an extremely fast one, development wise. Time is about the only thing that you don't have in this business. A year for IT technic is like 10 to 20 years for a human lifespan. The normal softwarelifecycle is 5 to 7 years.
It is nearly 2 years since the Leo desaster. Thats like birth to adulthood in human terms. And HP has still not much to offer on the mobile market, except for notebooks.

Time and what you make of it is one of the most critical things in IT business.
HP wasted too much of it on bad decisions and flawed marketings and strategic deliberation when they needed to come out with products and market them. Now they are way behind the mobile train.

[steven_farkas]

HP has never been a big player in the mobile space. Yes, I agree that 2 years on they are even further behind, but if the play to mobile is going to happen (and I have no reason to think it won't) then meg et al will know there is huge skepticism of HP in this space and it really is the last roll of the dice for them to make a success of it. So that said, I think they will take time and enter the market when it suits them strategically and when products are truly ready.

And I do hate sounding like a broken record and an Hp apologist, but the enterprise backend (which supports all the mobile infrastructure we know and love) is where HP's core strengths are, and they do innovate in this market. Innovation doesn't always mean using toys you hold in your hand.

[beca]

How about Enyo? If HP wants to hold of on the hardware and focus on the software Enyo and webOS. If they can convince enough devs to adopt to Enyo they will have tons of apps ready to run on webOS if and when webOS comes back to end customers.
I have no knowledge of enterprise or how to run a multimillion dollar company. But would you not agree that it would be a good decision ? Hp bought Palm and cloud services, what more do hp need to get going in the smartphone businesses ? APPs and lots of them. Oh and I forgot a global appstore. I'd love a new phone running webOS but that will not happen until HP can make a profit from it. How can they now? I do not know where all people come from that wants HP to put a phone or a tablet on the market now this instant, I can't see it happening until enough devs develop on Enyo or other X platform software that will allow the app to run in webOS.
Will keep my Pre2 as long as I can. In the wait for brighter webOS future.

[Buddy1969]

Enyo might be nice, but Phonegap is established.

Everytime I use Enyo in a discussion with a programmer, they say: I know and use Phonegap and jQuery and it works for me, so why would I change to something else?

So far my experiences...