open source

Yet Another Departure From HP’s webOS Business

Arik Hesseldahl in News on January 31 at 9:51 am PT

Brian Hernacki, chief architect of HP’s webOS business, is just the latest from that group to head for the exits.

HP Starts Process of Making webOS Open Source; Full Release Due in September

Ina Fried in Mobile on January 25 at 2:00 pm PT

The key question remains just how interested anyone outside HP is in using the mobile operating system.

Yahoo’s Product Runway: Are You In or Out?

Kara Swisher in Media on November 2, 2011 at 10:41 am PT

I am here at Yahoo HQ in Sunnyvale, Calif., to check out “Product Runway,” which is the Silicon Valley Internet giant’s attempt to show that it can still innovate.

Former Sun CEO Schwartz Joins Board of Moxie Software

Arik Hesseldahl in News on October 26, 2011 at 4:50 am PT

Jonathan Schwartz, the CEO who saw Sun Microsystems through to its acquisition by Oracle, isn’t sitting still. He has taken three board seats and runs a health-focused start-up.

Diaspora Prepares to Launch Open Source Social Network

Liz Gannes in Social on October 13, 2011 at 3:21 pm PT

The Diaspora team is young, smart and, most of all, tiny, considering the scope of what they’re trying to do: They’re busy preparing for a mid-November launch.

News Byte

Blabby Former Facebook Engineer Says He Joined Google Over Facebook iPad App Frustration

Liz Gannes in Social on September 26, 2011 at 11:21 am PT

Swimming against the Silicon Valley current, Facebook engineer Jeff Verkoeyen wrote today that he has taken a job on Google’s mobile team out of frustration over Facebook’s failure to release its iPad app — for which he led development. In a passage since removed from his personal blog (but still available in its feed, and reprinted elsewhere), Verkoeyen wrote that the app (which Facebook has never official acknowledged) has been complete for five months. Verkoeyen — who interestingly appears to have been based in Toronto while working at Facebook until he left in August — said he would continue his personal work on open source iOS projects.

What Google’s Andy Rubin Means When He Says Android Is Open

Ina Fried in Mobile on May 10, 2011 at 11:44 am PT

With criticism that Google is exerting too much control over Android, Andy Rubin is pressed on what he means when he says that the platform is open. There is a difference, Rubin said, between releasing the code as open source and having a community-driven project. Android is definitely doing the former, but the latter, not so much.

A "Probe in Your Pocket"? Apple's Steve Jobs and Google's Andy Rubin Talk Smartphone Privacy at D8 and Dive.

Kara Swisher in News on April 26, 2011 at 8:19 am PT

We’ve done a lot of onstage interviews at our D: All Things Digital conferences with the leaders of tech. That includes Apple CEO Steve Jobs and Google smartphone kingpin Andy Rubin, both of whom are now dealing with the fallout over a series of reports that iOS and Android smartphones regularly transmit their locations back to both companies. Here are both talking about the now-explosive issue of privacy.

Google’s Andy Rubin Defends Android’s Openness, Claims Rivals Just Spreading FUD

Ina Fried in Mobile on April 6, 2011 at 6:30 pm PT

In a blog post on Wednesday, the head of Android said the company remains committed to keeping the operating system open source, despite a delay in releasing the source code for Honeycomb, the latest version. Rubin also rejected rumors the company was placing new restrictions on partners or limiting the types of chips on which Android can run, suggesting that rivals were spreading “fear, uncertainty and doubt.”

Mozilla CEO Gary Kovacs Talks Firefox 4, Competition With Google's Chrome and More! (Video)

Kara Swisher in News on February 24, 2011 at 11:12 am PT

Yesterday, BoomTown paid a long overdue visit on the Mountain View, Calif., HQ of Mozilla, the unusual public-private company that makes the Firefox browser, to chat with its (relatively) new CEO Gary Kovacs (pictured here). There is a lot to talk about with the new exec, especially the near-to-official launch of Firefox 4, the increasing competition with Google and its Chrome efforts and where Mozilla goes next (mobile).