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HP Linux

HP Becomes a Platinum Member of the Linux Foundation 64

Posted by samzenpus from the money-buys-everything dept.
who_stole_my_kidneys writes in about how HP has gained a seat on the Linux Foundation's board of directors. "Snagging a first-class upgrade might empty out the contents of your wallet, but be glad you're not trying to buy your way to the Linux Foundation's top table. With a strategic investment of $500,000, Hewlett Packard has just become a platinum member of the body, alongside companies like Intel, Qualcomm and Samsung. In exchange for all that cash, HP gets a seat on the Foundation's board of directors and will have a say in how to advance the foundation's aims — and hopefully give Open webOS a gentle push, too."
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HP Becomes a Platinum Member of the Linux Foundation More

HP Becomes a Platinum Member of the Linux Foundation

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  • $500,000 (Score:4, Insightful)

    by neminem ( 561346 ) <<neminem> <at> <gmail.com>> on Monday November 05, 2012 @05:16PM (#41886363) Homepage

    According to wikipedia, in 2011 HP was worth about 130 billion dollars. They probably spend 500k on [i]toilet paper[/i] in a year.

    • Re: (Score:1)

      by neminem ( 561346 )

      Durp, wasted what turns out to have been a first post, on failing to remember that slashdot doesn't use bbcode in time. Awesome.

    • iToiletPaper? They have an app for everything now-a-days!

    • They probably spend 500k on toilet paper in a year.

      <SARCASM>Or three or four really good developers who they treat like toilet paper. But, again, that's nothing. They probably flush thousands [latimes.com] of developers every year!</SARCASM>

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by Hatta ( 162192 )

      I don't see how $500K can even be that much to the Linux foundation. That's not enough to pay 5 good developers for a year.

    • Regardless of what they make, that doesn't make their contribution any less of a good thing. I'm not implying that's what you're saying but I see that kind of logic a lot here. "X makes Y billions -- it doesn't count if they don't donate Z billions!"

      • Re: (Score:2)

        by neminem ( 561346 )

        No, I'm just saying it's not really big news. Still good of them, and I'm sure from the perspective of the Linux Foundation it's great money, I'm just saying from the perspective of HP, it'd be like me donating some change that fell out of my pocket.

  • Half Million? (Score:4, Funny)

    by Jeremiah Cornelius ( 137 ) on Monday November 05, 2012 @05:17PM (#41886379) Homepage Journal

    I don't think that meets the HP bar for a rounding-error.

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by Qwavel ( 733416 )

      Just because it isn't very much isn't really a good reason to barf on them.

      This announcement is actually a good thing and HP should get some credit for it.

      Perhaps the Linux Foundation should double the cost of becoming a Platinum member, but that's a separate discussion.

      • Re: (Score:2)

        by fatphil ( 181876 )
        > Just because it isn't very much isn't really a good reason to barf on them.

        Indeed. The fact they killed the Alpha architecture is the reason to barf on them. That, and about a dozen other reasons (which from my perspective, as an alpha owner, are less important).

  • Only 1/2m?? (Score:3)

    by slartibartfastatp ( 613727 ) on Monday November 05, 2012 @05:17PM (#41886385) Journal
    It's practically nothing for HP! Just guess how much to have a voice on other OSs.

    • HP looks like it would have only 2 reasons to muck around w/ Linux - WebOS and Itanium. Since WebOS has been cut loose & opened, HP has no stakes in its future, particularly if it's going w/ Windows 8 on a Medfield or Hondo.

      HP's only other reason would be the Itanic, which it refuses to abandon, even though Intel, for all intents & purposes, effectively has. Right now, only Debian actively supports the platform on the Linux side, while FBSD and NBSD do so on the BSD side. So if being a member o

  • Lets get donating. Can we get 50% of Slashdot folk on the foundation one at a time.

    • So that they can be entertaining LF folks with their "Suck my ass" comments.

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by jovius ( 974690 )

      The Individual Member Representative Bdale Garbee (Board Members [linuxfoundation.org]) holds a "level 3" high power rocketry certification, the highest in the rocketry hobby. HP will get a bigger rocket and wins if we don't act quickly :(

  • AFAICT, Linux developers don't follow any agenda but their own -- each individual does whatever he or she wants (or is told to do by his or her employer), Linus' lieutenants accept any patches that seem both safe and useful, and Linus integrates whatever he gets from his lieutenants that seems safe and useful.

    And none of them appear to pay any attention to anything the "Linux Foundation" says. So what does joining this body give HP, other than an opportunity to make some press releases?

    • Re:What does the Linux Foundation do? (Score:5, Informative)

      by Microlith ( 54737 ) on Monday November 05, 2012 @06:32PM (#41887257)

      Many of the core kernel developers, including Linus himself, are employees of the Linux Foundation. Additionally, Kernel.org is supported by the Linux Foundation. The foundation spends quite a bit of time managing various and sundry summits which serve to bring the disparate kernel developers together.

      They function both as a bit of infrastructure support as well as a promotional arm, though almost exclusively with respect to the kernel. They get real hype on Android because it gets the kernel out there, but rarely utter a word about standard Linux distros.

      • Many of the core kernel developers, including Linus himself, are employees of the Linux Foundation.

        Yes but do they actually tell him what to do? And does he listen?

    • Re:What does the Linux Foundation do? (Score:5, Informative)

      by mounthood ( 993037 ) on Monday November 05, 2012 @06:42PM (#41887363)

      http://www.linuxfoundation.org/about/join/corporate [linuxfoundation.org]

      Besides ensuring that your company’s investment in Linux is protected from a legal, technical and promotional perspective, there are many other benefits in joining the Linux Foundation as a Corporate Member.

      The Benefits of Linux Foundation Membership

              The ability to participate in Linux Foundation member-only activities like the Linux Foundation Collaboration Summit and Legal Summit to learn, influence and participate with the Linux Foundation workgroups
              The right to vote and run for Linux Foundation board seats and influence the direction of the organization
              Unsurpassed networking opportunities and a unique introductions service. Meet other Linux Foundation members and Linux users in small settings or get introduced to companies in a one-on-one fashion by Linux Foundation staff>
              Access to the Linux Foundation media network, including Linux.com. The Linux Foundation reaches 2 million users and developers a month through its online channels and newsletters and promotes members directly to these audiences
              Discounts on Linux training
              The right to participate in Linux Foundation member councils such as the Vendor and End User Councils and collaborate directly with the technical leaders of Linux
              Discounts for sponsoring LinuxCon, Linux Japan Symposium, The Linux Foundation Collaboration Summit and other Linux Foundation events. Members get priority at these events
              Logo listing on the Linux Foundation site and the ability to add a member logo to your site or marketing materials
              Exclusive member content, such as the Briefing Book, and one-on-one analyst briefings (depending on membership level) that keeps you up to date on the Linux market to make the most of your investment in Linux
              The ability to create workgroups and collaborate in a neutral setting to solve pressing Linux or open source issues
              Guidance on open source issues and using Linux in your products

      • And... after reading all of that, I find myself with my question fundamentally unanswered :-)

        It seems that the benefit of being a member of the Foundation is the opportunity to be known as a member of the Foundation, and to hobnob with other members.

  • First they embraced Linux, now they've extended $500,000 towards it, gaining a seat on a Linux council. What was that third E again?

    • Re: (Score:1)

      by Anonymous Coward
      Ejaculate.

  • Will WebOS become a true alternative? (Score:3, Interesting)

    by ArcadeMan ( 2766669 ) on Monday November 05, 2012 @06:05PM (#41886901)

    Between a closed iOS controlled by Apple and a seemingly non-heterogeneous and sometimes controlled by the carriers Android OS, is WebOS the only valid alternative?

    Can HP succeed where RIM failed? I'd like to see iOS, Android and WebOS each get around 30-35% userbase, in order to keep each other from taking over. The last thing we need is another OS with 90%+ userbase, no matter which one it is.

    • I actually really like webos.. I think a few minor issues with the browser being updated could have taken it a long way... I gave up on it when I heard the open webos wouldn't include support for the touchpads... shame, it was decent hardware... all running android now.

  • Time for a Firing (Score:3)

    by TechyImmigrant ( 175943 ) on Monday November 05, 2012 @06:35PM (#41887293) Homepage Journal

    If HP are in charge, it must be time to fire 20% of the Linux Foundation workforce.

  • Might this be about Windows 8? (Score:4, Interesting)

    by DougReed ( 102865 ) on Monday November 05, 2012 @11:14PM (#41889881)

    It occurs to me that HP has seen Windows 8... Has seen consumer reaction to it. Has seen M$ trying to build their own hardware, and has seen the success of Android and iPad.

    Basically M$ had the world by the balls because of the Windows infrastructure. Now they are:
    o Building an OS that is fundamentally incompatible with that infrastructure.
    o Screwing their business partners by building their own hardware.

    HP (and everyone with a clue) knows M$ ALWAYS screws up everything they touch. (We have already seen this ... Apps already disappearing on the new surface. The OS taking most of the system resources.) .. and maybe .. just maybe has figured they better look for a better future. Maybe we just might see HP and maybe someone like Ubuntu partner to produce a reasonable alternative to Windows 8. I mean given the availability of Chrome, Skype, and Libre' Office. Ubuntu might be as compatible with Windows as Windows 8 is... If the users and businesses REALLY HATE the horribly ugly and dysfunctional Windows 8 systems... Maybe HP can say ... here buy this instead and it MIGHT just catch this time.

    Of course... I don't much like the "new" (can something two years old still be called new?) Ubuntu desktop either, but I think it beats Windows 8.

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