According to some sleuthing and inside information provided to the folks at Hiptop3.com, the upcoming rumored Sidekick LX 2009/Blade may run the open source NetBSD OS and not some funky Windows CE version with the Danger UI tacked on top. Rumors of the Sidekick getting some Windows CE love began circulating after Microsoft acquired Danger in early 2008. It is hard to perpetuate those rumors in the face of a late October 2008 job posting at Microsoft “seeking a talented NetBSD software developer interested in helping Danger (a subsidiary of Microsoft) ship the next generation of Danger’s Sidekick platform.” Mailing list posts from Danger employees dating as far back as September 2007 suggest that NetBSD may have been the chosen OS long before the Microsoft acquisition. Rather than scrap the pre-acquisition progress made by the Danger team, Microsoft apparently has decided to push forward with this open source OS. Does the leaked spec sheet from a few days ago and this new NetBSD information make you a little bit more excited for this much anticipated refresh of the Sidekick line?
Thanks, Ed!