Wellington’s open source software conference buzzed from initiative ideas and international keynote speakers last week.

The Linux conference is one of the largest in the world and the second time it has been held in New Zealand. More than 650 delegates descended on Wellington last week, more than organisers expected due to the recovering global economy.

Hundreds of technology enthusiasts from around the world will attend a week-long open source software conference that began in Wellington today.

More than 700 delegates are expected to attend the Linux conference, which will discuss the future and viability of open source software and its implications for governments and businesses.

The conference is one of the largest in the world held on the subject and has been running for 11 years. Usually the conference is held in Australia, this is the second time New Zealand has hosted the event.

Market leading chip-maker Intel Corp. and top-selling mobile maker Nokia have just announced they are going steady in an official “long-term relationship” in which they plan to sire a new class of Intel Architecture-based mobile computing devices.

The relationship seeks to combine the performance of Intel’s chip technology with high-bandwidth mobile broadband communications and “ubiquitous” internet connectivity.

The world’s largest PC maker is reportedly testing a budget laptop that runs not on Windows, or Linux, but Google operating system software.

Satjiv Chahil, a vice president of HP's PC division, confirmed today that his company is trialling a new computer running on Google’s Android OS.

However, Mr Chahil told The Wall Street Journal that his company has not yet decided whether to go to market with the product.

So far, the netbook market has been a battleground between Windows XP, and desktop iterations of Linux. Now there are strong hints of a third contender on the way: Google’s Android.

In a historic move, HP is releasing a mainstream business desktop that runs on Linux rather than Microsoft Windows.

While Linux-only PCs are nothing new, they’ve previously been confined to high or low-end niches, with the OS judged too tricky for everyday users. But recent Linux updates have made the open-source software much more Windows-like and accessible.