Intel has tried to keep a brave front in the wake of Nokia's about-face on MeeGo last week in favor of the Windows Phone platform. Intel looked beyond Nokia, showing the OS on tablets, and saying it would move on with Meego.

Intel has a lot of cash and has already put in a lot of resources into Meego, so don't expect the OS to die overnight.

Earlier this week, HP's proprietary Linux-based operating WebOS was hailed as the coming out party for Linux by Jim Zemlin, executive director of The Linux Foundation. Zemlin said WebOS was the death knell for Windows, and that HP would make Linux a desktop contender.

That was a good day for Zemlin, who is one of the open-source visionaries. 

Open source software. But open source hardware? Sure, why not. Some very committed individuals have put together the principles of Open Source Hardware. Hardware elements such as processors have been open sourced in the past, like OpenSparc, but under OSHW's definition, entire machines could be open sourced.

OSHW entails opening up machines, devices, or "other physical things" to the public. The trademark or patents from such devices will be cut, opening it up for modification and distribution.

Hewlett-Packard's TouchPad has generated a lot of excitement, as so has WebOS 3.0, the Linux-based OS that runs the device. Linux fans are claiming that the arrival of WebOS 3.0 is a sure sign of Linux's arrival, and the death knell for Windows.

But I beg to differ -- the closed nature of WebOS goes against the very free nature of Linux and could in fact hurt the growth of the OS.

The once-powerful Debian went into hibernation, but now is back. Debian 6.0 stable version is here with 29,000 packages, and is available for download in Debian's website. There was a time -- just two years ago -- when Debian slipped, and users wondered whether the distro was serious business.

Globalscale has released a tiny Linux PC that plugs straight into a power outlet, for a reasonable price of $150. It's the size of a phone charger, and could be good as a computer or server to write and test applications. It could also be used as a print server or as a tool to test new operating systems.

Google on Wednesday announced Android 3.0, also called Honeycomb, for tablets. The OS will power a number of tablets that have already been announced but are yet to ship, like Motorola's Xoom, LG's G-Slate and numerous tablets from companies like Asus and Dell.

The London Stock Exchange's open-source trading platform may have been attacked, per Advanced Trading. LSE uses a trading platform called Turqoise, which is based on Linux.

Computer Lab International has announced a new Ubuntu-based Linux distribution optimized for thin clients. It seems like a distro optomized for CLI's virtual desktops, with minimal bearing to other PCs.

But a thin client distro based on Ubuntu is indeed interesting -- perhaps a sign that Ubuntu can be slimmed down for devices like tablets and smartphones?