HP to Ditch Windows?

[cprofitt]

I just got an email about an article (http://www.informationweek.com/news/software/operatingsystems/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=224700980&cid=nl_IW_daily_2010-05-07_h) from Information Week that is speculating that HP might be dropping Windows.


In the latest sign it may be readying an all-purpose operating system that could ultimately compete with Windows, HP on Wednesday tapped former Microsoft OS boss Bill Veghte as executive VP for Software and Solutions.Very interesting.


There's been lots said about Windows lately—but "innovative" hasn't come up much in the conversation—a fact surely not lost on HP. To boot, HP's decision to hitch its wagon to Windows Mobile for smartphones has gotten the company mostly nowhere. More people report seeing Bigfoot in the wild than HP's Windows-based Glitter.

Seeing Apple Computers starting to be 'hot' might finally be driving manufacturers to engage in supporting an OS they can innovate with.

If this were to happen -- that would not be a 'crack' in the armor of Microsoft but a gaping hole left from an iceberg right before the ship sinks.

[LowSky]

Maybe its why they purchased Palm? For a one of the wrolds top PC manufacures it couldn't see it just dropping Windows.

[Labus]

They have been known for selling computers with Linux on them for a wile, so it's not too far fetched that they might be dropping Windows altogether,

[user1397]

If this were to prove true, then a snowball effect might come into play, and Microsoft might file for Ch. 11...:)

[jetsam]

They wouldn't stop selling it or supporting it, but they might want to compete with it in different markets than they have been. Obviously they'll try to rescue Palm OS from doom.

They have a Unix variant from a long time ago, don't they? HP-UX, is that what it's called?

[98cwitr]

HP will never ditch the Windows OS, not unless Microsoft goes out of business. In the mobile market, HP might not adopt Windows, but as a company and as a whole, Microsoft will still be a huge part of their business. Your either really exaggerating the facts, or your thread title is just misleading.

Microsoft is #4 on top ten highest profitable companies list...dont get your hopes up, Windows-Haters

[jfloydb]

I have a bridge in Brooklyn for sale...

[Mr. Picklesworth]

I wouldn't be surprised if HP started expanding their presence in alternative operating systems.

HP has a thing for building their own shells on top of Windows (HP Mediasmart, HP Touchsmart), and acquiring Palm (who have one wonderfully awesome Linux-based platform) is another part of that puzzle. Unfortunately, Touchsmart and Mediasmart are horrible, horrible things and I would not want to subject anyone to them. Hopefully their management realizes the same.

[forrestcupp]

I suspect that if there is any truth to this, it is talking about mobile devices and not computers.

[KiwiNZ]

HP have had their own server OS for years . Now with WebOS they have their own mobile OS. It does not take make for an organisation with the resources of HP to make the next step.

It will be a case of do they need to. MY guess is right now no. Windows serves them well and Microsoft partners well with them.

[RiceMonster]

I suspect that if there is any truth to this, it is talking about mobile devices and not computers.

Exactly. Dropping windows from PCs would pretty much be committing suicide for them.


If this were to prove true, then a snowball effect might come into play, and Microsoft might file for Ch. 11...:)

Keep dreaming.

[cprofitt]

HP will never ditch the Windows OS, not unless Microsoft goes out of business. In the mobile market, HP might not adopt Windows, but as a company and as a whole, Microsoft will still be a huge part of their business. Your either really exaggerating the facts, or your thread title is just misleading.

Microsoft is #4 on top ten highest profitable companies list...dont get your hopes up, Windows-Haters

Perhaps you should read the article I linked to. Then offer your comments to the author so they are properly aimed.

[Merk42]

Perhaps you should read the article I linked to. Then offer your comments to the author so they are properly aimed.

Well I just read it and there is nothing that says they may drop Windows entirely.

At BEST they'll drop it for their tablet and make one using some sort of Palm OS.

Look at it this way, Dell already sells computers with Ubuntu and is making a tablet running Ubuntu. Does that mean that Dell is dropping Windows? Of course not because it wouldn't make business sense for them to do so.

[Wiebelhaus]

I like this thread.

[RiceMonster]

I like this thread.

Good to know.

[cprofitt]

Well I just read it and there is nothing that says they may drop Windows entirely.

At BEST they'll drop it for their tablet and make one using some sort of Palm OS.

Look at it this way, Dell already sells computers with Ubuntu and is making a tablet running Ubuntu. Does that mean that Dell is dropping Windows? Of course not because it wouldn't make business sense for them to do so.

It sure if fun to speculate -- my point, that you missed, was that I linked to an article and did not make a claim myself.

Some of the more interesting quotes that go beyond the mobile platform are on the second page.


"You have demonstrated a complete lack of commitment to HP as a strategic partner and cost us a lot of money in the process," wrote Walker. In an e-mail to Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer about the situation, Allchin said Microsoft had "destroyed" its credibility with HP


But the tech giants will surely clash when HP ultimately rolls out WebOS phones against Windows Phone 7 devices later this year. That will put them in the unfamiliar position of being direct competitors—in tech's hottest and arguably most strategic sector.


How far will the rivalry extend? There are lots of indications it won't stop at smartphones



Both of those quotes seem to indicate the author thinks it might go deeper than Mobile.

[solitaire]

Think I read something like this last week.
HP was thinking of dropping Win7 *Mobile* edition for it's Netbooks and HP Slate and going with a WebOS system instead.

They are not (i'm sorry to say) dropping Windows entirety from it's range of PC's

[cprofitt]

Think I read something like this last week.
HP was thinking of dropping Win7 *Mobile* edition for it's Netbooks and HP Slate and going with a WebOS system instead.

They are not (i'm sorry to say) dropping Windows entirety from it's range of PC's

That certainly makes more sense... the article's title just said Windows 7... and some of the quotes made it sounds like things were a little deeper. I find it hard to believe that the two would break off the alliance, but if Apple keeps growing HP might feel like it has too.

[doas777]

having stripped meaningless useless HP OEM software off countless laptops, i can't say I trust them as software vendors.

[cprofitt]

having stripped meaningless useless HP OEM software off countless laptops, i can't say I trust them as software vendors.


Very true... the only real benefit I would see from a company like HP pushing a Linux or BSD based OS is that it would encourage a larger number of hardware vendors to support the OS potentially.

[RiceMonster]

having stripped meaningless useless HP OEM software off countless laptops, i can't say I trust them as software vendors.

I tend to agree, but it's not just HP that does it. Pretty much every OEM that sells pcs with windows does it.

[Hman242]

HP has had a license to make a version of openSUSE to sell on their computer for some time now, or something of the sort. I remember when HP tried to use another OS before, it didn't go well. MS threatened to cut all ties with them so they never went through with it(HP that is).

[98cwitr]

Perhaps you should read the article I linked to. Then offer your comments to the author so they are properly aimed.

it's still not going to replace Windows 7...not if they want to stay in the consumer PC market...netbooks sure, laptops and desktops? Doubt it.

Now, if Dell followed suite, then we would be talking about putting Microsoft out of the consumer desktop market.

Fact is Microsoft is not going away any time soon. Too many companies, business, and OUR GOVERNMENT are completely reliant on them staying in business.

[doas777]

I tend to agree, but it's not just HP that does it. Pretty much every OEM that sells pcs with windows does it.

tru dat. my shop uses HP hardware, and I prefer their laptops to most of the competition so i just work with more HP equip than any other vendor.

@CProfitt, I agree. it would be great to see them using more of their old school *nix skills to deliver a competitive OS. I'm just concerned, because I'm afraid they would put all that bundle ware so deep that you couldn't easily remove it.

the singular incident that got me started with ubuntu and linux, was an HP support tech telling me that I could not remove a piece of their software, despite the presence of a 0-day attack against it's activeX interface. he jsut kept repeating "all HP software is safe and secure" even after I linked him the exploit code on milw0rm. Thats why I left windows in my personal life. between MS and HP, I wasn't the one in control of my laptop; they were.

[CliffLee]

Our last PC was an HP and I won't get another. Maybe just bad luck but our other Dells are much more dependable.

[JDShu]

I would not be surprised if HP is developing an alternative desktop OS to Windows in secret, as a way to respond to any threats from MS. Having said that, I do not think they are going to make the first move against Microsoft.

[Hwæt]

HP have had their own server OS for years . Now with WebOS they have their own mobile OS. It does not take make for an organisation with the resources of HP to make the next step.

It will be a case of do they need to. MY guess is right now no. Windows serves them well and Microsoft partners well with them.

Don't forget that by acquiring Palm, Inc. they will also become in possession of BeOS.

[toupeiro]

This thread is funny.

HP is a for-profit company. What incentive could they possibly have to drop the most prominent desktop OS in the world? Even if they do develop their own OS and start pushing it, its not like turning on and off a light-switch. HP will not be dropping windows desktop or server anytime in the near future, and its a benign point anyway. If they continue to produce x86 hardware, windows will support it, and customers will buy windows. HP's not dumb enough to throw away revenue, even if they recommend their OS over Microsofts down the road.

[suryaccnamcse]

HP will not ditch Microsoft, as this will prove very bad to their business. Though HP has its own variants of Unix and promotes Unix and other compititiors of Microsoft, it will prove detirmintal to its business if it ditches microsoft.

[witeshark17]

HP will not ditch Microsoft, as this will prove very bad to their business. Though HP has its own variants of Unix and promotes Unix and other compititiors of Microsoft, it will prove detirmintal to its business if it ditches microsoft. Hmm... I'd sooner buy an HP with a WebOS variant than a win7, 8 OR 9! :lolflag: But then again, I look more for what they have running Linux :popcorn:

[pookiebear]

having stripped meaningless useless HP OEM software off countless laptops, i can't say I trust them as software vendors.


That and all the 1 and 2 year old hp laser printers I have to support without windows 7 drivers. Really gets me mad. And I am an HP reseller and warranty certified engineer. Their stuff is terrible. I have not shortage of work. They need to just make computers,printers with drivers that are not bloated, and servers that are quieter. They will sell more stuff if they did just those things and actually made them work.

[JDorfler]

HP made some really great test equipment back in the day. For those of us who have worked with their Spec Annies and Scalar Network Analyzers know what I mean. Too bad they spun that part of their business off.

I've never had a problem with their printers, and like them a lot more than their competition. However, I'm not a big fan of their PC products. It's a small step above Dell, but that's about it.