HP engineers release Open webOS into the wild
updated 04:12 pm EDT, Fri August 31, 2012
HP keeps promise of open-source release by September
HP has held to its promise of releasing webOS as open-source ahead of its September deadline. Open webOS is available to download as a beta, comprising of over 450,000 lines of code in 54 components, all of which has been released under the Apache 2.0 license. The release provides two build environments for its use: a desktop build and an OpenEmbedded build.
The desktop build collects together all elements released so far onto the Ubuntu desktop, with an improved System Manager having support for applications including Core apps such as Calendar and Contacts, along with their underlying Synergy services, as well as support for a number of third party Enyo apps. OpenEmbedded is claimed to provide "the ideal development environment for porting webOS to new and existing devices," with its cross-compiling support for embedded platforms and support for multiple architectures. The build provides an ARM emulator running services such as db8 and node.js, and the team is “actively converging” on an OE Core image.
The engineers responsible for the Open webOS release say there will be more updates in the future, with plans for the OS being announced sometime in September. [via Open webOS Project Blog]
