Farther down the hall, Open Kernel and CohesiveFT, a cloud-computing firm run by Patrick Kerpan, ex-CTO of software icon Borland, run larger operations.

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The software powering the device is built on the open-source Linux kernel and the open-source WebKit Web browser engine, Rathakrishnan says.

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This makes for an easy root, Alephzain writes, but leaves devices open to attack -- allowing Kernel code injections and RAM dumps from malware-laden apps from the Google Play store.

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Enter Spark, a seven-inch slate that comes running the Plasma Active UX, an open-source OS based on Linux kernel, KDE's multi-platform Plasma environment and a dash of Qt for good measure.

ENGADGET: Meet Spark, the 200 euro slate packing Linux-based Plasma Active UX

Linaro engineers, leveraging their extensive embedded knowledge, will contribute to a wide range of open source projects covering areas such as tools, kernel, graphics and boot code.

ENGADGET: ARM, Samsung, IBM, Freescale, TI and more join to form Linaro, speed rollout of Linux-based devices

Note: While Android is based on a Linux kernel, the goal behind Tizen seems to be an even more open-source, flexible OS designed to be user-friendly and carrier-friendly.

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While many open-source fans will be downloading a copy for the more recent Linux 3.2.29 kernel and other updated packages, ease of use is the guiding principle for the new build: there's now a graphical NetworkManager interface to manage wired and wireless connections, for a start.

ENGADGET: Slackware 14.0 now available, freshens and simplifies a Linux vanguard