Back in December HP finally made up its mind on the fate of webOS, stating that it would make the mobile operating system open source in the hope that it will live on by being used by companies looking for an alternative to Android or Windows Phone 7.

That ambition has now become a step closer to reality as the computer giant has detailed the roadmap for the platform that will eventually become known as Open webOS 1.0.

It all kicks off now with the release of a new generation of Enyo framework - an open source JavaScript lightweight app framework that supports WebKit, which allows developers to distribute their Enyo-based webOS apps across other platforms.

This will be expanded to Enyo 2.0 and 2.1 by April meaning the "write once, run anywhere" ethos will extend further; from mobile devices to desktop web browsers including Chrome, IE9, Firefox, and Safari. Open webOS 1.0 will hit officialdom by September.

"HP is bringing the innovation of the webOS platform to the open source community," said Bill Veghte, executive vice president and chief strategy officer of HP. "This is a decisive step toward meeting our goal of accelerating the platform's development and ensuring that its benefits will be delivered to the entire ecosystem of web applications."

It's certainly a far cry from completely ditching the one-time Palm platform, which looked on the cards not too long ago.

Whether the damage has already been done by HP in permanently damaging the reputation webOS remains to be seen though....