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"FORTUNE &amp;#8212; WebOS isn\u2019t completely dead, at least not yet. Hewlett-Packard today announced that it is taking its struggling mobile operating system open source &amp;#8212; a.k.a. making its code freely available to developers and other hardware manufacturers.\n\u201CWebOS is the only platform designed from the ground up to be mobile, cloud-connected and scalable,\u201D Meg Whitman, HP\u2019s \n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\tHPQ\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t new chief executive officer, said in a release. \u201CBy contributing this innovation, HP unleashes the creativity of the open source community to advance a new generation of applications and devices.\u201D\nHP has flip-flopped on its WebOS strategy several times. After taking the helm last year, former CEO Leo Apotheker had said WebOS would power not only tablets but also HP\u2019s PCs and other devices. But in August he announced the company would kill off its TouchPad tablet and the WebOS smartphone line (and possibly spin off its personal computer business). He was fired shortly after.\nSince taking over in September, current CEO Whitman has tried to clean up Apotheker\u2019s mess. First, she decided to keep the PC business. And now she has finally brought the WebOS question to some resolution.\nBut going open source doesn\u2019t necessarily mean WebOS has a future. Although the operating system, originally developed by Palm, was well reviewed and praised for its user interface and web-centric approach, WebOS devices never took off. (Check out 7 innovative features that couldn&amp;#8217;t save WebOS.) And to woo developers, companies not only need an attractive platform, they also need attractive devices out in the market. While HP says it will be an active participant and investor in its new open source project, it isn\u2019t recommitting itself to developing more WebOS devices.\nWhat\u2019s more, Google\u2019s (GOOG) Android and Apple\u2019s \n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\tAAPL\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t iOS operating systems have already proven success with developers. Microsoft \n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\tMSFT\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t is also hoping its new Windows 8 app store will attract developers. So does WebOS stand a chance at making a comeback? Don\u2019t count on it.\nAs for HP\u2019s comeback, it\u2019s still too early to tell whether or not Whitman can turn things around. But her first two big decisions as CEO\u2014to keep the PC business and to open source WebOS, were probably the best possible outcomes in a very messy situation. While the new, open source version of WebOS might not make it big, at least it provides HP with some closure."^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://fortune.com/2011/12/09/hps-punt-on-webos/>