HP acknowledged discussions with Autonomy regarding a possible offer for the UK software maker. In addition, HP said its board of directors has authorized the exploration of “strategic alternatives” for its Personal Systems Group (PSG). “HP will consider a broad range of options that may include, among others, a full or partial separation of PSG from HP through a spin-off or other transaction,” the company said in a statement.

Unexpectedly, HP said it’s shutting down its webOS device business, 49 days after launching it with the , and a year after paying $1.2 billion to acquire it from Palm. (See also: )

The innovative webOS let developers use HTML, Javascript and CSS to build applications for webOS devices. Developers , and users were enthusiastic about the UI. But neither Palm nor HP were able to make products that lots of users were willing to buy.

“HP will continue to explore options to optimize the value of webOS software going forward,” the company stated.