Open WebOS Releases Core Apps; Reveals Touchpad Won't Be Supported

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Open WebOS Releases Core Apps; Reveals Touchpad Won't Be Supported

Posted by Unknown on Thursday August 2, 2012 @05:33AM from the proprietary-drivers-strike-again dept.

Caught via the H is news that more components of webOS have been released: "The core applications provide a comprehensive set of platform user applications, including Email, Calendar, Contacts, Memos, Accounts, Clock and Calculator." Additionally, HP has opened up the development branch of system manager: "We are excited to open up the active development branch of our upleveled System Manager. This major upgrade incorporates the latest QtWebKit and Qt technologies in an improved architecture. Modern QtWebKit now underlies all applications, providing state-of-the-art support for HTML rendering and I/O. The latest stable release of Qt has been integrated across the system, eliminating alternate rendering paths and providing a clean base for the future. These changes bring enhanced stability and performance to Open webOS." As always, source can be had from the Open webOS github. A bit of bad news for existing device owners, however: "...we are aiming for support on future hardware platforms where SoC’s support Linux 3.3+ kernel and where open source replacements for proprietary components are integrated. Existing devices cannot be supported because of those many proprietary components, including graphics, networking and lack of drivers for a modern kernel." Existing device owners will have to live with the "webOS community edition."

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Cyanogen Mod [Android] by Anonymous Coward · 2012-08-02 05:39 · Score: 1, Interesting

I've been running it since it became available on the touchpad and loving it. Fie on WebOS.
1. Re:Cyanogen Mod [Android] by Anonymous Coward · 2012-08-03 02:08 · Score: 0
  
  Now if only Android could multitask.
ARM'd with new code by camperslo · 2012-08-02 05:40 · Score: 1

Will it run on Surface?
1. Re:ARM'd with new code by gl4ss · 2012-08-02 05:42 · Score: 1
  
  surface rt? no.
  
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  world was created 5 seconds before this post as it is.
Re:LOL by Anonymous Coward · 2012-08-02 05:43 · Score: 0, Flamebait

Open sores = fail. This is why you should always use the superior proprietary products over shit puked out by the basement army of coders.
Niggers. That is all. Just plain niggers!
Cool by ThatsNotPudding · 2012-08-02 05:46 · Score: 4, Insightful

an OS that won't run on any hardware it was developed for! The programmatic equivalent of locking your keys in your car.
1. Re:Cool by fuzzyfuzzyfungus · 2012-08-02 05:53 · Score: 2
  
  an OS that won't run on any hardware it was developed for! The programmatic equivalent of locking your keys in your car.
  Not that I'm exactly sanguine about WebOS's chances; but 'the hardware it was developed for' is sufficiently banal that(crypto lockdowns excepted) finding other targets shouldn't be that difficult. The OS doesn't require any particularly notable button layout(the phones did have hard keys, to make typing more pleasant; but a servicable soft keyboard was added for the tablet, and the only other requirement is a single 'back-to-home-screen' button).
  It does kind of suck for owners of the current hardware(me included); but there isn't anything that would make WebOS look/feel problematic on most devices that presently ship with Android, assuming the right SoC.
2. Re:Cool by Comboman · 2012-08-02 07:09 · Score: 1
  
  The Touchpad hardware is a deadend, but why let that limit the future of the OS? Is it a bad thing that OSX won't run on a Mac Classic or Windows 8 won't run on an IBM PC/XT? By the way, WebOS was originally developed for Palm phones so it already won't run on the hardware it was developed for.
  
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3. Re:Cool by Anonymous Coward · 2012-08-03 02:13 · Score: 0
  
  Because, for the most part, people that own existing WebOS devices are the only ones who actually give a shit about OpenWebOS. Everyone else seemingly is fine with iOS or Android. What good is an OS that doesn't run on anything..?
Of Mice and Men by Impy+the+Impiuos+Imp · 2012-08-02 05:48 · Score: 3, Funny

> touchpad won't be supported
"What?!? We only started supporting the mouse in January."

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1. Re:Of Mice and Men by hobarrera · 2012-08-02 05:52 · Score: 0
  
  I'm quite sure they meant the HP Touchpad
2. Re:Of Mice and Men by Anonymous Coward · 2012-08-02 06:09 · Score: 3, Funny
  
  I'm quite sure they meant the HP Touchpad
  Ever heard the joke about the airplane? Never mind, way over your head.
will open webOS support PDK applications? by ardiri · 2012-08-02 05:48 · Score: 2

this is a big question for me (as a developer).
or will open webOS will only support enjo (HTML5, CSS et al) with no native application support (existing webOS applications).
1. Re:will open webOS support PDK applications? by aitikin · 2012-08-02 08:58 · Score: 2
  
  That's a great question, and one I would ask Derek to ask when he's at Enyo HQ.
  
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  "Don't meddle in the affairs of a patent dragon, for thou art tasty and good with ketchup." ~ohcrapitssteve
2. Re:will open webOS support PDK applications? by ardiri · 2012-08-02 23:28 · Score: 1
  
  i did already :)
  http://www.webosnation.com/dereks-sunnyvale-pilgrimage-what-do-you-want-know#comment-290805
what hardware WILL be supported? by ThorGod · 2012-08-02 05:53 · Score: 4, Interesting

"we are aiming for support on future hardware platforms where SoC’s support Linux 3.3+ kernel and where open source replacements for proprietary components are integrated. Existing devices cannot be supported because of those many proprietary components, including graphics, networking and lack of drivers for a modern kernel"
Are there any tablets that meet those requirements? Are there even any planned?! I think this just became another hypothetical OS ... good for contributing to if you just want to pad your resume.

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1. Re:what hardware WILL be supported? by FranTaylor · 2012-08-02 05:56 · Score: 1, Insightful
  
  When android development was started, there weren't ANY devices available that would run it.
  Do you really assert that this is a vaild reason?
2. Re:what hardware WILL be supported? by gl4ss · 2012-08-02 06:16 · Score: 2
  
  When android development was started, there weren't ANY devices available that would run it.
  Do you really assert that this is a vaild reason?
  ..and android doesn't have open gpu drivers now so?
  the real question is are they doing anything which would warrant hope that tomorrows pad's will ship with gpu's with non-proprietary drivers?
  it would actually sound more viable if they were doing work on targeting proprietary driver socs and systems - for example by doing active work to target android kernels/systems as the target. now it really does sound like a pi in the sky dream.
  
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  world was created 5 seconds before this post as it is.
3. Re:what hardware WILL be supported? by MonsterTrimble · 2012-08-02 06:19 · Score: 1
  
  Considering the market today and it's target demographic, Yes!
  
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  I call it 'The Aristocrats'
4. Re:what hardware WILL be supported? by ThorGod · 2012-08-02 06:19 · Score: 1
  
  Valid reason for what? Huh?
  My understanding is that Android has become fractured between all the different companies' versions of the OS (as they correspond to their different hardware releases). So maybe their aim is to make WebOS be "another Android". Different companies will take their, vanilla, "WebOS" and fragment it out onto their devices.
  
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  PS: I don't reply to ACs.
5. Re:what hardware WILL be supported? by h4rr4r · 2012-08-02 06:25 · Score: 1
  
  I think the intel ones for Android on x86 are open. There are some open drivers coming along to replace the proprietary ones as well.
6. Re:what hardware WILL be supported? by TheRaven64 · 2012-08-02 06:55 · Score: 1
  
  When android development was started, there weren't ANY devices available that would run it.
  Yes there were, although they were clunky developer boards with touchscreens attached. Once there was a shipping version, future versions were developed on the hardware that the current generation used, until new hardware was built, and then development continued there. In contrast, WebOS was shipped on several devices, none of which can run the new version, and there are no new devices available to replace them.
  
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  I am TheRaven on Soylent News
7. Re:what hardware WILL be supported? by FranTaylor · 2012-08-02 09:15 · Score: 1
  
  the real question is are they doing anything which would warrant hope that tomorrows pad's will ship with gpu's with non-proprietary drivers?.
  You are putting the cart before the horse. It's pointless to start targeting hardware before any vendors make commitments to hardware.
  There's no point in developing drivers for a framework if you don't have a stable and solid framework in the first place.
  Having a solid framework is how you sell the vendors on the software, THEN you can start talking about hardware and drivers.
8. Re:what hardware WILL be supported? by FranTaylor · 2012-08-02 09:19 · Score: 1
  
  so you are saying I am right, there were no devices on the market
  today we use virtual machines for developing operating systems, you don't need hardware for application development.
  so you see, lack of hardware doesn't have to slow down development of a new platform
9. Re:what hardware WILL be supported? by __aaltlg1547 · 2012-08-02 11:55 · Score: 2
  
  Google had the money to ensure that Android capable devices would be made.
10. Re:what hardware WILL be supported? by Anonymous Coward · 2012-08-02 15:55 · Score: 0
  
  Your understanding is wrong. Generally, manufacturers will have a set of tweaks that they apply to each separate version of Android. From hardware to hardware, all that changes is which version of Android they put, but the set of tweaks is always the same.
  The binary blobs for the hardware do change though. This isn't a problem for open devices like the Nexus One, but it is basically every other device out there.
If you really think about it by kiriath · 2012-08-02 05:54 · Score: 1

This needed to happen for webOS to grow as an OS and as a community.
1. Re:If you really think about it by Desler · 2012-08-02 05:56 · Score: 2
  
  It's going to grow by not being able to run on anything?
2. Re:If you really think about it by camperslo · 2012-08-02 06:01 · Score: 1
  
  Test it in a modified VM?
3. Re:If you really think about it by Anonymous Coward · 2012-08-02 06:33 · Score: 0
  
  And then do what with it, precisely?
4. Re:If you really think about it by Desler · 2012-08-02 06:59 · Score: 1
  
  And which phone or tablet is that VM going to run on?
5. Re:If you really think about it by Anonymous Coward · 2012-08-02 07:19 · Score: 0
  
  Well, there are a bunch of people sitting around waiting to port it to the Google Nexus devices, so there's that, at least.
6. Re:If you really think about it by FranTaylor · 2012-08-02 09:32 · Score: 1
  
  sell it to hardware vendors just like any other os would do
7. Re:If you really think about it by NemosomeN · 2012-08-02 11:00 · Score: 1
  
  The intelligent thing to do here was make it run without graphic acceleration, etc. Not make it not run at all.
  
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  I hate grammar Nazi's.
HP saying "bye WebOS" by PineHall · 2012-08-02 06:09 · Score: 3, Insightful

This is HP saying you are on your own. It looks like HP has decided to have nothing more to do with WebOS. This is HP cutting its losses, and I think it hurts HP's standing with the WebOS community and with open source in general.
Call to Arms for the webOS Community! by tony.damato · 2012-08-02 06:13 · Score: 5, Informative

Yeah, it is a slap in the face, but understandable since the old hardware needed proprietary drivers to work.

However, there is good news, as mentioned in this post at webOS Nation :
"There are two things to keep in mind moving forward. One: there's a large and growing number of Android devices out there that offer support for the Linux Standard Kernel 3.3, and given the number of devices supported by the open source CyanogenMod Android project there are plenty of drivers available for those components. Two: The webOS homebrew community cannot and will not be held back. They've already started working on the webOS Community Edition release of LunaSysMgr to see how well they can get it to work on the Pre3, and it'll only be a matter of time before they figure out how to get the goodness of Open webOS to work on our current webOS devices, HP be damned."
1. Re:Call to Arms for the webOS Community! by DuckDodgers · 2012-08-03 01:32 · Score: 1
  
  Competition in the technology industry is wonderful, and free software is wonderful, and thus I would love to see WebOS and for example Mozilla's Firefox OS spread like wildfire and become very common.
  
  But what would drive adoption? I can see a small body of WebOS (and FirefoxOS) fans, myself among them, trying this out for fun. But what will make the market share of either move from 0.0001% to 0.001%, let alone 1% or 5%?
I submit a conspiracy theory by gl4ss · 2012-08-02 06:29 · Score: 2

and it goes like this: "HP was encouraged by MS to buy up palm to take webos and palm out of the market once and for all. HP agreed by getting huge discounts in Windows licensing, enabling them to turn net income of 1.5 billion in a quarter when they're doing bad. HP Touchpad fits as a prototype WinRT device and once it became apparent WinRT was going to take longer than expected and the released in unison with Win8-desktop HP dumped all their arm tablets off."
of course it doesn't fit too well with some personnel changes at HP, but HP ships the most windows pc's of any manufacturer and now have experiment with putting up a product line for an arm device.

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New Speak garbage by fibonacci8 · 2012-08-02 06:33 · Score: 2

For the sake of the English speakers here, what does "Caught via the H" mean?

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1. Re:New Speak garbage by 93+Escort+Wagon · 2012-08-02 07:06 · Score: 1
  
  You obviously never G'd the N. Pity.
  
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2. Re:New Speak garbage by gregthebunny · 2012-08-02 07:07 · Score: 1
  
  This news came to Slashdot via "The H Open".
3. Re:New Speak garbage by Anonymous Coward · 2012-08-02 08:03 · Score: 0
  
  That makes much more sense. This isn't Sesame Street, so I guessed it wasn't brought to Slashdot by the letter H. The URL may be well known to the author, but it certainly wasn't to me. The hipster-esque name dropping of a single letter isn't going to get me to click on a link. Some of us still remember goatse and the like.
4. Re:New Speak garbage by Anne+Thwacks · 2012-08-02 09:39 · Score: 1
  
  Mod parent up. Some of us are not illiterate pre-teens or whatever sub-culture this meme belongs to.
  
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5. Re:New Speak garbage by Anonymous Coward · 2012-08-02 15:59 · Score: 0
  
  It's not a meme you snob, it's a website. The way to present it was what's wrong, and you don't have to associate it with people of young age because there are plenty of old morons who do the same. Not that this wasn't obvious to anyone who bothered clicking the first link, but hey, can't require common sense or a minimum set of literacy skills from anyone these days.
I have an HP Touchpad by Tokolosh · 2012-08-02 08:29 · Score: 2

I have not booted into WebOS for two months. The Cyanogenmod android is grreat. Only hangup left is the camera, which apparently is stymied by a closed-source Qualcomm driver. Why Qualcomm will not release driver info is beyond me - what do they have to lose?
Anyway, WebOS is history.

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1. Re:I have an HP Touchpad by FranTaylor · 2012-08-02 09:33 · Score: 1
  
  what do they have to lose?
  Maybe a lawsuit to the company that wrote it?
2. Re:I have an HP Touchpad by cdrguru · 2012-08-02 11:01 · Score: 1
  
  What makes a Qualcomm camera different from some generic Chinese camera? The hardware? Probably not. The only differentiating factor may be the driver which does special stuff.
  Therefore, releasing the driver is effectively ending the product and turning any future profits in that area over to a Chinese company.
Touchpad by indytx · 2012-08-02 23:29 · Score: 1

...we are aiming for support on future hardware platforms.... Existing devices cannot be supported because of those many proprietary components....
Good thing that it was so easy to install ICS on my Touchpad. I feel sorry for all those not-too-technically-savvy folks who bought one but will never be able to upgrade their devices. HP still sucks.

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