Five years ago, he installed tracks on the ceiling and rollers to build a sliding wall system to transform the open-plan studio apartment into many different rooms.

BBC: Hong Kong copes with tight living spaces

Volkema might succeed, with 35-year-old Ayse Birsel and her Resolve office system, which redefines open-plan office space at 120-degree angles with a combination of poles, arms and screens.

FORBES: HERMAN MILLER Furnishing The Future

Still, that has not deterred other vendors from experimenting, or at least considering the open-source operating system, as multiple reports of Firefox, Sailfish, and Tizen plan to release new Linux-based experiences in the future.

ENGADGET: IDC: Android claims 75 percent of smartphone shipments in Q3, 136 million handsets sold