[bluenote]

Google apparently stopped Acer from making phones with an Alibaba OS.

As a member of the Open Handset Alliance, Acer isn't allowed to use Alibaba's forked version of Android which makes it incompatible with other android devices, Google is apparently saying.

So any android who wants more freedom will apparently not be able to join the OHA and get perks like the early version of android updates or the google play store. The alternative is to really go your own way like Amazon and only use the non-proprietary pieces of Android and also develop your own app store.

So if OEMS want complete freedom, they can't be running the proprietary version of Android on any device. They have to decide do they want to live with android restrictions or use only the open source version of android and support their own app store. This would only help webOS I think if webOS could be an alternative ecosystem and for that I would think it would have to be able to run android apps or wait until the enough of the web uses web apps, I'm guessing the latter is why HP says a 3-5 year timeframe for webOS to re-emerge as there has to be enough web apps available.

Google: Alibaba's OS is an incompatible version of Android | Mobile - CNET News

[cgk]

If you think webos is going to reemerge in 2016... Well jesus is suppose to return with a sword in each hand, I think even he would struggle to bring webos back to life at that point...

[samab]

Google apparently stopped Acer from making phones with an Alibaba OS.

As a member of the Open Handset Alliance, Acer isn't allowed to use Alibaba's forked version of Android which makes it incompatible with other android devices, Google is apparently saying.

So any android who wants more freedom will apparently not be able to join the OHA and get perks like the early version of android updates or the google play store. The alternative is to really go your own way like Amazon and only use the non-proprietary pieces of Android and also develop your own app store.

So if OEMS want complete freedom, they can't be running the proprietary version of Android on any device. They have to decide do they want to live with android restrictions or use only the open source version of android and support their own app store. This would only help webOS I think if webOS could be an alternative ecosystem and for that I would think it would have to be able to run android apps or wait until the enough of the web uses web apps, I'm guessing the latter is why HP says a 3-5 year timeframe for webOS to re-emerge as there has to be enough web apps available.

Google: Alibaba's OS is an incompatible version of Android | Mobile - CNET News

It doesn't help webos at all --- because open webos has zero governance model, it is ENTIRELY governed by HP. You can grab the source code of open webos and put it on a smartphone. The problem is that there is zero governance model and all the project leaders are HP employees. There is no announced board of directors to the project. And nobody knows who owns the open webos trade mark.

Theoretically, you can grab the source code for the open webos and put it on a smartphone --- and HP will not allow you to use the open webos trade mark.

At the very least, Acer has a seat on the OHA board.

No company in their right mind would ever spend a single man hour on open webos UNTIL the governance model is all laid out.

[bluenote]

And..here we go...

forums.webosnation.com/webos-open-source-general-discussion/318748-zte-launch-webos-phone-q4.html

[cgk]

And..here we go...

forums.webosnation.com/webos-open-source-general-discussion/318748-zte-launch-webos-phone-q4.html

Here...we don't..go...


(as it wasn't WebOS they were talking about).

[bluenote]

Digitimes confirms open WebOS
ZTE to launch Open webOS smartphone in 4Q12, say sources

edit: Kessler says only Boot2Gecko too bad (front page webosnation)
http://www.webosnation.com/zte-launc...hone-not-webos

***
As an aside nice info here from our very own unwired ben on how boot2gecko and webos are similar (see below).
I wonder how powerful the phones have to be before the app issue is erased, in other words before the phones can simply display the browser pages easily. I read somewhere that quadcore phones are being debuted shortly. Would that make a difference?


"Ben Combee
7 votes by Steve Lemke, Jim Fraley, Jonathan Gala, (more)
Architecturally, webOS had a lot more things going on than Firefox OS. While each card was a webview, the actual card manager was a large QT-based application called LunaSysMgr which also included the app launcher. It was effectively a web browser, but it also handled compositing of the OpenGL ES output of native applications into cards to handle the PDK applications which were written in C++. There also was a separate, fairly complicated, service system called the Luna Service Bus which had background code running in JavaScript (node.jsjsjs) $or$ $compiled$ $code$ $and$ $communicating$ $with$ $the$ $web$ $apps$ $over$ $a$ $local$ $HTTP$-$like$ $protocol$ $that$ $supported$ $security$ $and$ $subscriptions$.

webOS did have a number of proprietary APIs, although the surface was smaller than thought by many. Most of those were through service calls which were easily wrapped in a compatibility layer like PhoneGap.

The biggest speed issue on webOS was in the browser app, and that's due to the browser actually running as a separate process that has it's own copy of WebKit, separate from the version in LunaSysMgr. This kept web content running in a separate security context from local content, but also required a complicated NPAPI-based proxying system where you had that webview displayed as a plugin to the webOS browser app.

Comment • Share • Embed • 15:17 on Thu Sep 13 2012


Art Dahm
3 votes by Andrew Rich, Steve Lemke, and Ilya Berelson
Actually, if you package it up correctly and add a couple of lines of JavaScript you can "just take a standard web page and install it on webOS." Although webOS has its own JavaScript framework (Enyo), nothing is stopping you from writing a webOS app using jQuery, Backbone or any other framework."



Firefox OS: How does Mozilla's "Boot 2 Gecko" compare with webOS? - Quora

[cgk]

All digitimes have done is followed the same translation as everyone else - In all of the official interviews conducted in english they never mention WebOS but they do mention Web-based operating systems.

Except for that machine translation and people spinning articles off that translation, ZTE have not mentioned WebOS anywhere in any of their interviews conducted in english or translate by expert rather than machine.

If anyone can find such an article point it out.

[daexpression]

I think right now.. with WebOS still not out of the door for the open source version, there is nothing much some of the webos fans can do but wait it out. I can foresee the various scenarios that can happen when openos is out.

Optimistically.
1. The Webos team in HP without any concrete plans to sell a mobile hardware with OpenOS is still planning to make available a version that can install on compatible hardware. The question is that is there anywhere for HP to monetize this? - Well that's for the crazy BUs to think about.

2. The webos Internal team are also doing some thing similar in parallel but more for a couple of specific older model of phones. As usual, the difficulty is the processor, drivers and the mobile chip driver/ display drivers which are the major hurdles, given that there might not be reference drivers to reverse engineer for openos. Limitations in WOIT resources is known..they're not a corporation like HP and have their own families / work commitments.

3. Some third party companies might relook openos ; Usual suspects are those with $$ and are looking for an alternative 'incase' scenario.

As of right now - for a normal consumer like me, nothing much can be done but drool at the new hardware goodness that is floating around.

[Vistaus]

If you think webos is going to reemerge in 2016... Well jesus is suppose to return with a sword in each hand, I think even he would struggle to bring webos back to life at that point...

I'm not trying to be a smartass but do you perhaps have some kind of magic ball? Because AFAIKAFAIKAFAIK $there$ $is$ $noone$ $who$ $can$ $predict$ $the$ $future$. $So$ $who$ $knows$ $where$ $webOS$ $will$ $be$ $in$ $2016$.

[Buddy1969]

.... So who knows where webOS will be in 2016.

Well, considering the effort HP puts into marketing and the huuuuge mass of companies interested in openWebOS (not), there is an educated guess, that at least for WebOS the Maya calender might be true ...

Yes I am a bit sarcastic, but that's my way of dealing with sad things. Helps me dust myself off and go on to do something else.

[Vistaus]

Of course it looks like that now but noone can predict the future so what'll actually happen, noone knows.

[DougB541#CB]

No one can predict, but we can make educated guesses.

[k4ever]

No one can predict, but we can make educated guesses.

Even though they are educated ones, they are still guesses and they fall squarely into the realm of opinions and assumptions.


---Sent from my HP TouchPad using Communities (a great webOS app!)

[DougB541#CB]

lol k

[SnotBoogie]

Because AFAIKAFAIKAFAIK $there$ $is$ $noone$ $who$ $can$ $predict$ $the$ $future$.

I can predict the future. Tomorrow HP will NOT buy Apple for $7.69 and rename the company Huckleberry.

[Buddy1969]

It's not so much about predictions but about probabilities. And when a probability for something nears zero, a thing becomes improbable, like the probability that I sprout wings and fly tomorrow is zero. So I am not predicting anything if I say I won't sprout wings and fly tomorrow. It is simply a fact, even of today.

So yes, it IS possible to know things from the future, without predicting them.

But I won't assume that I know everything about microsofts strategies. I just say that based on what microsoft did the last 30 years, the probability that they force Nokia to sell WebOS phones is close to zero, due to being complete nonsense.
But I tell you what is more probable in my opinion: that M$ will look into openWebOS intensively to include or use parts of the functionality in their products, if possible. openWebOS at the momentary state is good for improving other systems but not so much able to live on its own, seeing that there is no (hardware)infrastructure or visible strategy at the moment.

[SnotBoogie]

I can predict the future. Tomorrow HP will NOT buy Apple for $7.69 and rename the company Huckleberry.

Totally NAILED that one!

[ajguns]

It's not so much about predictions but about probabilities. And when a probability for something nears zero, a thing becomes improbable, like the probability that I sprout wings and fly tomorrow is zero. So I am not predicting anything if I say I won't sprout wings and fly tomorrow. It is simply a fact, even of today.

So yes, it IS possible to know things from the future, without predicting them.

But I won't assume that I know everything about microsofts strategies. I just say that based on what microsoft did the last 30 years, the probability that they force Nokia to sell WebOS phones is close to zero, due to being complete nonsense.
But I tell you what is more probable in my opinion: that M$ will look into openWebOS intensively to include or use parts of the functionality in their products, if possible. openWebOS at the momentary state is good for improving other systems but not so much able to live on its own, seeing that there is no (hardware)infrastructure or visible strategy at the moment.

I thought webOS was dead 18 months ago?! What the heck... It was doomed since the beginning, wasn't it?!
Sorry, but in theory there might be some truth in your opinion; in theory I repeat. But situations are very complex, life is complex! Comparing the possibilities of a somewhat-mature OS, constantly praised (even Jobs, yes Jobs did), and always expected to finally awake from its long sleep, with growing wings in ones and flying away is just as absurd as saying open webOS has grant success.
Truth is no one can predict the future (guess all you want though), and the only thing we can do is believe in our selves, in our community. Do the very BEST we can as developers and supporters and expect to get notice by either HP or an OEM. And if not, know that you were true to your self.
So (expressing what Rod said differently), if you're not bringing -or don't want to any more- any of these to the webOS equation, please go elsewhere!!! (this has been edited from its original farewell).

[Buddy1969]

...
if you're not bringing -or don't want to any more- any of these to the webOS equation, please go elsewhere!!! .

Well thank god this is a forum and not your personal dictatorship playground. And believe me, if being ignorant would be the condition unter which I would be allowed here, I wouldn't be here at all.
So no thanks to you, I still practice the freedom of expressing my thoughts. If the truth hurts, please continue to plug ears and eyes and continue saying "nanananana" very loudly...

As far as my contributions go, don't be afraid, they are there, in money, in testing in all the things a non programmer can do.
So let's play nicely again, shall we?