Redmond's partner is planning to develop its very own OS version based on Linux

Jun 12, 2014 06:37 GMT  ·  By

HP, which was actually one of Microsoft's key partners in the last decade, is trying to move away from Windows in a move that would clearly turn the company into a direct competitor for the Redmond-based software giant.

HP CEO Meg Whitman revealed at her annual customer conference this week that the company is working on a brand new device called “The Machine” which would comprise several new technologies, such as a new type of memory, but would also run a brand new operating system.

And no, we're not talking about Windows 9, but about a completely new OS that will be developed by HP itself, which is clearly just another move to help the company detach from the Microsoft partnership.

During a press conference which Microsoft's CEO Satya Nadella attended via video conferencing, CTO Martin Fink, head of HP Labs, said that while his company will be the one company pushing development for the new operating system, universities that would like to join the research work are welcome.

“We want to reignite in all of our universities around the world operating system research which we think has been dormant or stagnant for decades. We are, as part of The Machine, announcing our intent to build a new operating system all open source from the ground up, optimized for non-volatile memory systems,” he said.

The really bad news for Microsoft is that HP's new operating system will be entirely based on Linux, which means that it could become a direct competitor for Windows in case it gains traction. Of course, expect the new OS version to be installed on the majority of HP devices that will come out in the future.

“We also have a team that's starting from a Linux environment and stripping out all the bits we don't need. So that way you maintain... compatibility for apps. What if we build a version of Android? We have a team that's doing that, too,” Fink added.

So what does Whitman have to say about HP's collaboration with Microsoft? Not much, but she explained that the “competitive landscape” is changing, so it shouldn't be too much of a surprise that HP itself is looking into ways to compete with its partners.

“Our partnership, the three companies, it was the defining partnership of the last industry of the last 30 years, but sometimes 30-year marriages, they need a little rejuvenation. HP’s traditional highly profitable markets face significant disruption,” she said about the collaboration between HP, Intel, and Microsoft.

“Wintel devices are being challenged by ARM-based devices. We are seeing profound changes in the competitive landscape. Current partners like Intel and Microsoft are turning from partners to outright competitors.”

Of course, it remains to be seen whether HP's operating system would indeed have what it takes to challenge Windows' domination on the desktop, but anyway, nice way of doing business Ms. Whitman.