Samsung Flexing Its Open Source Muscles

...Sang-bum Suh, Samsung's vice president of the software platform team at the company's software research and development center, gave a synopsis of how successful the company has been both using open source software and contributing back to the community. He cited, for example, how in 2005, the Linux kernel was applied to mass production of flat-panel TVs: "It was a great opportunity for Samsung to jump to [being a] No. 1 company in the TV industry."

Of course, these days, the partially open source Google Android software has helped Samsung give Apple a run for its money in the smartphone and tablet spaces. (Android is not community-developed, but it is released to the community once Google finalizes it.) Open source software also has shipped in Samsung products such as washing machines, refrigerators, camcorders, and cameras.

Samsung participates in open source projects, including the Linux kernel, WebKit browser, and even a Xen hypervisor port for the ARM CPU. The Samsung-driven open source Tizen OS could end up competing with Android in smartphones and tablets -- even in workstations, Suh said.