Linux computer builder ZaReason is now selling its first tablet. But while all of the company’s laptop and desktop computers are sold with Ubuntu Linux, the ZaTab is an Android tablet. The good news for folks who like to tinker is that ZaReason sells the tablet with the bootloader unlocked which means that the tablet can support custom ROMs. The…
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GIMP is an open source, powerful image editing application that’s often compared with Adobe Photoshop — although long-time Photoshop users may find GIMP to be less user friendly and less capable in some ways. But for basic image editing tasks (which about all I’m capable of performing), GIMP pretty much blows away the competition. And if you know what you’re…
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ARM-based chips are all the rage these days in tablets, smartphones, set-top-boxes, and other low power computing devices. But while many of the latest chips can support HD video, 3D graphics, and other high-performance graphics, you generally need to use supported software to get all the benefits — because chip makers don’t offer open source graphics drivers. But there are…
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The Spark tablet will be the first 7 inch tablet to ship with Mer Linux and KDE Plasma Active software when it launches in May. It’s already available for pre-order in Europe for €200, and developer Aaron Seigo who started the project says when it goes on sale in the US the Spark tablet will likely be even cheaper due to lower…
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The Spark tablet is a 7 inch tablet designed around an open hardware and software platform. It will ship with open source Linux-based software, but the bootloader will also be unlocked, allowing anyone to customize the tablet with any software they like. KDE developer Aaron Seigo introduced the tablet last month, and now he’s announced that it’s available for pre-order….
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HP is following through on its commitment to release the source code for webOS one piece at a time. Today the company released the source for the Isis browser, a new version of the web browser for webOS phones and tablets. Isis is described as a work in progress, built with QtWebKit, JavaScriptCore, and support for other web technologies including…
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The Spark tablet is a 7 inch tablet that will ship with Linux and the KDE Plasma Active user interface. It’s expected to ship in May for about $265, and it should go up for pre-order soon. KDE developer Aaron Seigo has posted a first video of Plasma Active running on the tablet. It seems to respond well to touch,…
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A new tablet called the Spark is on the way. At first glance it looks like most of the cheap Chinese tablets we’ve seen in the past few years, but the Spark won’t run Google Android. Instead it will run an open source Linux-based operating system with the KDE Plasma Active interface running on top. KDE Plasma Active team member…
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The OpenPandora project is an open source project to create a handheld gaming console using open source designs and open source software. The Pandora has an ARM-based processor, Linux-based operating system, and support for a wide range of game console emulators along with a QWERTY thumb keyboard and dual analog game controllers. It’s been about four years since the project…
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Google started out in search, but the company has expanded into a wide range of businesses over the years, starting with advertising and continuing with email, document creation, mobile operating systems, and even image editing. But every now and again Google decides to shutter some of the projects its developers have been working on to refocus on other areas. This…
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Update: It looks like the merger of Tizen and Bada might not be a done deal yet. A Samsung official has told AllThingsD that while the company is considering the possibility, the decision hasn’t been made. Samsung plans to merge its Bada mobile phone operating system with the open source Tizen project backed by Intel. Forbes reports that this means existing…
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HP has announced that it will turn webOS into an open source project. The company paid $1.2 billion to acquire Palm and its webOS mobile operating system last year, and sunk billions of additional dollars into developing webOS smartphones and tablets before killing the hardware division this summer. Now HP is hoping to keep webOS alive by making it open…
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