In an interview with French newspaper Le Figaro, Meg Whitman teased a decision about the fate of webOS once again: this time she says there should be a verdict in two weeks. Early this month she said a decision would be made "in the next three to four weeks," so this gives her a bit more breathing room. Still, the mobile operating system has been in its death throes since August, and there's little comfort to be found in Whitman taking her time. Meg admits that this is rough on the 600 or so webOS-related employees that remain at HP, although almost all of the top Palm talent has already fled the directionless company, and HP has soaked up billions in losses in its whole Palm debacle. She did also say that "we need to have another operating system," but Windows 8 tablets for 2012 have already been promised by the company, and HP could easily partner with Google or Microsoft for a more mature phone operating system if it wants to stay in the smartphone business. Basically, we're back where we started when Leo Apotheker got HP into this mess, and the dream of millions of webOS fans is fading fast.
Meg Whitman promises webOS decision in two weeks
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Please Meg Open source here
Posted on Nov 30, 2011 | 10:14 AM EST reply Recommend (1) Flag actions
just open source the damn thing
Posted on Nov 30, 2011 | 10:18 AM EST reply Recommend (2) Flag actions
Why are they dragging this out? This is unnecessarily torturous. Just make it open-source since you abandoned the hardware, and let somebody else have a crack at it.
Posted on Nov 30, 2011 | 10:26 AM EST reply Recommend Flag actions
They are waiting so they can hand out the pink slips right before the Christmas holidays. Take as much advantage of the devs now, and get rid of them before the most unproductive week in the year.
Posted on Nov 30, 2011 | 10:58 AM EST reply Recommend Flag actions
Open Sourcing webOS will not improve the status quo. HP/Palm employees are still working on improvements to webOS and have been releasing them. Open Sourcing webOS would only allow people like webOS-Internals to make more direct hacks but I really don’t know what that will really do for 95% of webOS users. Even if open sourced the webOS community will not be getting any larger, it will only shrink.
Why would webOS be any more successful than MeeGo? An open source mobile OS is useless without a company like Google (or even Nokia before they set poured gasoline on their burning platform).
I see more value in webOS being sold to somebody who wants to incorporate webOS technologies into iOS, Android or WP7,. It will never be a successful 4th or 5th platform at this point. HP has killed any momentum the platform gained with the fire sale.
Posted on Nov 30, 2011 | 10:27 AM EST reply Recommend (10) Flag actions
I agree whole-heartedly.
In reality, webOS could probably only make a fight if they basically made it a fork of android. With ICS the lack of hardware buttons and new restrictions on software buttons etc. could make all android apps compatible with webOS if for example the Alien Dalvik engine were ported to it. Back swipes, up swipes, etc. It all fits into how Android operates now.
Posted on Nov 30, 2011 | 10:31 AM EST reply Recommend Flag actions
Exactly
Posted on Nov 30, 2011 | 12:10 PM EST via mobile reply Recommend Flag actions
As a current Verizon Palm Pre Plus user (trying to figure out which mobile OS to make the jump to) and huge fan of webOS I must agree with most of your post. I don’t see how open sourcing the OS will help it in any way. It does indeed seem like any momentum the platform had going for it was killed when HP announced it would no longer make webOS hardware.
Posted on Nov 30, 2011 | 2:21 PM EST reply Recommend (1) Flag actions
As a long-time Palm fanboy, two and a half year Pre user and someone who has only had a Palm smartphone as a cell (first phone was a Treo 600), I’m now happily on an E4GT. Your decision basically comes down to this:
If you want freedom, choose Android.
If you want ease of use, choose iOS.
Windows7 has the same spirit as webOS, but that’s the problem— its not quite finished and has a severe lack of apps, just like your Pre. Maybe in a generation or two it’ll be ready, but if you go in now you’ll be damnned to the same lack of ecosystem and has common support that had with webOS.
Good luck!
Posted on Nov 30, 2011 | 4:02 PM EST via mobile reply Recommend Flag actions
Open sourcing it would mean nothing if hardware companies don’t want anything to do with it. The issue isn’t the people making the software, they were great. It’s always been the hardware.
Making it open source will only do so much good and probably ultimately prolong it’s death, we need hardware compatible with the OS and that realistically can only happen if it gets bought out or if it gets licensed and OEMS are willing to work with it.
Posted on Nov 30, 2011 | 10:28 AM EST reply Recommend (1) Flag actions
I must not be smart enough to be a CEO. Since I have no clue what they are doing and why they are wasting so much time on the WebOS decision. I my view, its a no brainier keep WebOS and make some quality phones. That is what killed Palm, the lack of a decent handset.
I had the Palm Pre- and I loved the OS and hated the phone. It was small, slow and felt very cheap. All HP needs to do is make a non-cheap feeling handset with good specs. I know that it is easier said then done, but HP is a big player in the PC world; it shouldn’t be be that difficult for them.
Making WebOS open source wouldn’t help the situation at all.
Posted on Nov 30, 2011 | 10:29 AM EST reply Recommend (1) Flag actions
Exactly.
I rather hope that it get’s sold off to a manufacturer of generally high-quality devices, like HTC. (The fact that they can have their own OS now instead of skinning the heck out of Android would be a + in my book…)
They would need a LONG time to develop it, at least a few years, and they should only release three products a year off of it, a large flagship phone, a smaller keyboardless phone, and a tablet. Then the developer API’s should be developed to allow any app to run at any DPI or resolution, and have the ability to scale good at those resolutions and DPI’s. The something that can run on your phone is no different then something that runs on your tablet, or even better, when it’s run on a TV using a bluetooth keyboard and mouse… Heck, it should have keyboard and mouse support throughout the whole OS as well… Not some half-baked “well the keyboard works when there’s a text box” crap.
Anyway, there’s a lot to do to improve it and make it the best it can be, and I don’t think HP has it in them anymore.
Posted on Nov 30, 2011 | 10:35 AM EST reply Recommend (1) Flag actions
The Pre 3 and TouchPad had very good specs. It’s the OS that’s slow and always has been.
Posted on Nov 30, 2011 | 3:54 PM EST reply Recommend Flag actions
This whole issue has made me depressed.
I really love webOS, I just don’t think HP will take it in the right direction anymore. (Even though the Pre 3 was by far the best webOS device to date, but then again it never actually launched here in the US per HP’s doing… So…)
They will never make it open source though. It would just be a huge mess really… Nobody would want to use it.
Posted on Nov 30, 2011 | 10:29 AM EST reply Recommend Flag actions
Will HP take ANY (consumer, not enterprise) product in the right direction, anymore?
Seriously, what’s the last product that has legitimately inspired, innovated, impressed, and sold well? Maybe the Envy (which STILL suffers from trackpad issues!), but that’s still an enormous stretch.
Posted on Nov 30, 2011 | 1:22 PM EST reply Recommend Flag actions
As the owner of two Envy’s, from the current and previous generation, I have to say that they are easily the best pc laptops I’ve used, tracked aside.
Posted on Nov 30, 2011 | 4:09 PM EST via mobile reply Recommend Flag actions
Sounds like a lot of webOS employees are going to be enjoying a severance soon.
Posted on Nov 30, 2011 | 10:31 AM EST reply Recommend (1) Flag actions
And the previous CEO promised devices weeks after the Think Beyond event.
Posted on Nov 30, 2011 | 10:31 AM EST via mobile reply Recommend Flag actions
The previous CEO promised A LOT of things, and in the end only managed to burn up 20% of HP’s stock value literally overnight.
Posted on Nov 30, 2011 | 1:19 PM EST reply Recommend Flag actions
Pathetic. The whole management at HP seem to be on training wheels or something. If they are really corporate, they know that uncertainty is their worst enemy. They want to be innovative, but they have no clue on how to achieve that.
Posted on Nov 30, 2011 | 10:34 AM EST reply Recommend (2) Flag actions
Oh come on HP. Shit or get off the pot!
Posted on Nov 30, 2011 | 10:34 AM EST reply Recommend (2) Flag actions
I’d hope to argue that the reason for the stalling is because they’re ironing out a very steadfast position on the continuation of webOS and they’re taking so long to make public their plans because they want to grab the attention of the media.
But that stuff only happens in our dreams….. right?
Posted on Nov 30, 2011 | 10:36 AM EST reply Recommend (2) Flag actions
For real this time. They’ re seriously serious.
Posted on Nov 30, 2011 | 10:39 AM EST reply Recommend (2) Flag actions
I have to say that this is the most ham-fisted, utterly moronic approach to being a chief executive i’ve seen in recent memory.
I though Meg Whitman hit the rock bottom with her bafflingly idiotic acquisition of Skype, but this wishy-washy nonsense, taking interviews and holding meetings like this is horrifically bad. And it’s as much the fault of the board.. they are the pack of drooling idiots that instated her.
If they really don’t know what to do with WebOS, shut up about it until you do. It’s really that simple.
HP and Yahoo need to get their board of directors together and have a contest to see which gaggle of ninnies have lost more of their investor’s money.
feh.
Posted on Nov 30, 2011 | 10:41 AM EST reply Recommend (4) Flag actions
Yes, it seems like HP has all kinds of problems with management and bureaucracy. The board is useless and clueless of a direction, the CEOs follow the clueless direction to nowhere and there are so many layers of SVPs and divisions that the company is stuck in a continuous state of indecision.
Posted on Nov 30, 2011 | 10:54 AM EST reply Recommend (2) Flag actions
This is not entirely true, it seems to me. The board HAD a decision. They wanted to become the next IBM, which is why they hired Apotheker.
Unfortunately for them, when Apotheker started making the steps that would take them there, the market reacted extremely negatively (Apotheker’s ham-fisted announcements certainly played a role in this), and the board got cold feet. They decided to scrap their original plans and turned Apotheker into the scapegoat.
They put Meg Whitman in charge because they thought the Street would like her (they didn’t) but even if the street didn’t, it gave them enough time to find a replacement.
Posted on Nov 30, 2011 | 12:30 PM EST reply Recommend (3) Flag actions
the only thing they’re accomplishing with this is making sure WebOS is well and truly dead. as in completely flattened by indecision dead. as in stomped on while having your teeth on a curb dead.
the longer they drag this out, the less people will be interested in doing anything with it, the less of a viable alternative OS it becomes, the less likely anyone of any talent will remain attached to the project.
Posted on Nov 30, 2011 | 10:45 AM EST reply Recommend (1) Flag actions
I’m torn on this.
I bought a Touchpad during the firesale, and initially I was very impressed by WebOS. CyanogenMod released an Android mod for it, and, being an Android user, I tried it out. Initially, I was fooling around with Android, but still booting back into WebOS by default. Fast forward to two more releases of the Alpha of CM7 later, and I honestly haven’t booted WebOS in more than a month. The hardware is fairly impressive at running Android, and many of the initial bugs that were pushing me back into WebOS were fixed. I guess my point is that I consider WebOS to be on par with Android, and given the choice, the deciding factor is about the surrounding eco-system. I don’t go back to WebOS because there’s so much more available for Android.
If the platform were open-sourced, I don’t see them suddenly accruing developer support that the backing of a huge, influential company such as HP couldn’t accomplish. It’s a shame that the OS hasn’t found a suitable home, but I don’t see any inherent advantage to it that would make it better than Android, or any other mobile OS. It comes down to app selection, and the platform’s install base; and WebOS is woefully behind.
Posted on Nov 30, 2011 | 11:07 AM EST reply Recommend (1) Flag actions
I have a Pre+ right now and I honestly like the OS but I agree with Keverson42 its too late. The developer support won’t show up. The only thing I can imagine is a Curated App selection. Where they try their hardest to get some top developers to port over some things. Another big problem I found is the app pricing. Some of these app are like half the price on other platforms that have even more of a selection to begin with. Instead of making up the money by charging more because there will be less people downloading, only makes those few who would be hesitant to buy especially if they see that its like 4 bucks cheaper on Android. And those who were thinking about switching to WebOS will see that they have less apps and they are more expensive! So if Meg has some balls (pause) she will say we will stick with WebOS. But Sad to say its more likely that she will sell it for patents or something like that and join WP7.
Posted on Nov 30, 2011 | 11:36 AM EST reply Recommend Flag actions
The longer this goes on, the more of a sense I get that Meg wants to figure out how to make webOS work at HP. I hope what is going on is that she has decided she wants to revive it, and is now trying to make sure that it is truly feasible, that she has the full support of the personnel required to revive it, and that there is a solid long term plan in place before she announces the decision. In medicine, we have a phrase called “laying the crepe”. It means that when we can tell that a patient is not going to do well, need a certain procedure, or receive a bad diagnosis, we slowly start to introduce that notion to the family a little bit at a time, so that when it occurs they aren’t blindsided. It seems to me that Meg is doing the same, lowering the earnings forecasts, talking about the need for innovation, dedicating resources to R&D, saying that it will be at least 3 years before HP sees real return on investment for the innovation, and now saying they need to have an alternative OS to Windows.
All of that could be the just what I want to believe given that I desperately want to see webOS continue to live on and improve, but maybe it’s like when the jury is out deliberating for a long time. It’s easy to return the guilty verdict quickly. At the very least, I think it is fair to say that whatever decision is made, the Meg isn’t making it lightly and understands the impact on people’s lives it will have. At least she is doing a great job of making it appear that way.
Posted on Nov 30, 2011 | 12:03 PM EST reply Recommend Flag actions
Seems to me they want to keep webOS, but get rid of most of the 600 employees.
Windows 8 tablet will be DOA, just like their phones. It might take three more years for Windows to really compete with Android / iOS. Keeping webOS in house with few hardware partner deals will be beneficial to HP if they wants another go at mobile market as plan B.
Posted on Nov 30, 2011 | 12:16 PM EST reply Recommend (1) Flag actions
Business doesn’t work that way. You can give bad news to a family member slowly, because they aren’t gonna be like “Ugh, my brother has cancer…I am gonna renounce my relations with him”. OTOH, the best and brightest employees are the first ones that are going to ditch HP because of all the uncertainty Meg is causing. Next up will be clients, who will opt for an alternative if they don’t see clear strategic vision from HP soon (I assure you, HP’s sales people are having nightmares right now). And then finally their partners will drop them to support other more focused companies.
Posted on Nov 30, 2011 | 12:33 PM EST reply Recommend Flag actions
Best and bright are already left ( starting from The firefox duo, Michael Abbott, Matias Duarte, Peter Skillman, Kerris, …. the list goes on). The remaining bunch are for maintaining the software.Meg wants to get rid of most of the 600 employees. She wants just enough folks to keep webOS alive. She is trying to be cautious and sympathetic to the ones who are getting the boot. We will know by Dec 15h.
Posted on Nov 30, 2011 | 12:58 PM EST reply Recommend Flag actions
Ha, Kerris being among the best and bright, that’s rich. The man was completely useless as a developer relations chief.
Posted on Nov 30, 2011 | 1:16 PM EST reply Recommend Flag actions
HP seems to be taking the stance of “tomorrow is always a day away” with regards to webOS.
Posted on Nov 30, 2011 | 1:15 PM EST reply Recommend (2) Flag actions
The thing is, if it’s not active and aggressively being developed right now, then it’s dead in the water.
Whatever advantages you think WebOS has are slowly being taken up by the other guys.
Apple, Goog and MS are ruthlessly at each others throats, trying to one up each other, and any OS that isn’t in that game wholeheartedly will fall behind and find itself becoming old, obsolete tech.
Posted on Nov 30, 2011 | 5:19 PM EST reply Recommend (1) Flag actions
Tomorrow! Tomorrow!
I’ll luvs ya
Tomorrow!
It’s only two week away.
Posted on Nov 30, 2011 | 5:20 PM EST reply Recommend Flag actions
WebOS is like a beautiful steed who has broken it’s leg. They had one hell of a run, but by the time the world knew of their mistakes, it was more efficient to let them go than to let them heal.
No one likes killing their baby.
Posted on Dec 01, 2011 | 12:37 AM EST reply Recommend Flag actions
Unless your Casey Anthony.
Posted on Dec 01, 2011 | 12:39 AM EST reply Recommend Flag actions
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