Google announced today that Chromebooks are now available for purchase in Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Ireland and The Netherlands. Consumers can go ahead and pick up a new Chromebook from Google itself or a licensed reseller today.

The Chromebooks available for purchase today include those from Acer, HP and Samsung. It’s not immediately clear if the $1,300 Chromebook Pixel will be available in these countries as well.

As for schools and businesses, Google expects that those organizations may have some questions. For schools, Google in Education will be hosting a number of Hangouts next week to address any questions or concerns schools may have with the Chromebooks for Education program:

Most of today’s news may be focused on Europe, Oceania and our neighbor up north, but Google has a small announcement for the U.S. Chromebook market as well. Starting today, Chromebooks will be available in 1,000 more Best Buy stores around the country for those who prefer to still buy computers at retail stores.

HP has managed to find itself at both conferences, straddling the line between its classic form as a hardware manufacturer and the enterprise products it sees as its future. While the newly announced HP Slate 7 might not have the hardware to truly compete in the mini-tablet market, HP is still hoping that its enterprise security offerings might be just the thing businesses are looking for.

At the RSA conference today, HP has released its 2012 Cyber Security Risk Report. The report shows, predictably, that total security vulnerabilities are rising, keeping pace with the growing technology infrastructure. Although the report also shows that “critical vulnerabilities” are down, it warns that the existing vulnerabilities are getting harder to fight.

The report looked at 100,000 different URLs and found that well-known vulnerabilities (such as cross frame scripting) are still common throughout the web. In fact, 40% of the vulnerabilities found could be placed into just four different categories.

Mobile vulnerabilities were found to have risen significantly (68%) from 2011 to 2012, mirroring the growth of mobile applications. Of the mobile applications tested by HP, 48% of them were found to have unauthorized access vulnerabilities.

The report’s statistics are reminiscent of other recent security reports, such as the HP-sponsored 2012 Cost of Cyber Crime Study or Verizon’s 2012 Data Breach Investigation Report, which found that anonymous “hacktivism” is on the rise. Though it may seem that such reports are, literally, trying to scare up business, its clear from many sources that the security risks faced by businesses and governments of all sizes are complicated and increasing.

The security report is part of a new initiative within HP to organize its security investments under the banner of the HP Security Research (HPSR) group. HP security products such as DVLabs, which finds and analyzes vulnerabilities, and the Zero Day Initiative, which investigates cyber attacks and security breaches.

“It’s a way of combining intelligence research that was already happening at HP,” said Mark Painter, product marketing manager at HP. “Really what we’re trying to do is give organizations actionable intelligence research.”

That “actionable intelligence” phrase is one that came up repeatedly when Painter spoke with WebProNews. It’s one of the goals of HPSR, along with trying to “drive innovation” and publish security research. To that end, the group will be providing free bi-weekly threat intelligence briefings that are available to the public. The HPSR will also seek to publish white papers and intelligence research, and will be releasing podcasts in conjunction with the threat briefings.

In December of 2011, HP announced that is would publish the webOS source code and open-source it for developers who might want to use it. It was an honorable, yet disappointing ending for a mobile OS that was generally well-loved.

Today, as the Mobile World Congress is just beginning, CNET has broken the story that webOS may have been resurrected: LG has bought webOS from HP. According to the report, LG has purchased the webOS source code and all webOS-related patents, as well as webOS web sites, “related documentation,” and “engineering talent.”

LG isn’t looking to switch its smartphone lineup to webOS, though. Instead, the company told CNET that webOS software will be repurposed to power LG’s lineup of smart TVs. LG stated that a new location in Sunnyvale, California called LG Silicon Valley Lab will be headed by whatever is left of the “webOS team.”

No price has been mentioned for the deal, and HP has not yet commented on it. It is also unknown whether the Chubby Checker lawsuit will be affected as a result.

The latest mini-tablet entry from the conference is the Slate 7 from HP. Instead of putting impressive components into their tablet, HP has cobbled together a low-cost entry that compares to Amazon’s original Kindle Fire, which was released in the fall of 2011.

The Slate 7 has a 1.6GHz dual core processor, a 7-inch screen with a 1024 x 600 resolution, and only five hours of video playback before needing to be recharged. The tablet comes with 8GB of internal storage and has a microSD card slot. The back camera is 3MP and the front one is VGA. It will come running Android 4.1 Jelly Bean.

The Slate 7 will come in one of two colors, silver or red, and will cost $169. Considering the older components in the tablet, $169 isn’t a terrible price, but it does raise the question of why HP didn’t go ahead and price the Slate 7 at $159, which is the price the original Kindle Fire, with similar specs, now sells for. If Amazon announces a Kindle Fire refresh soon and manages to drop the price of the Kindle Fire HD, the Slate 7 will look like a very poor offering in comparison.

Though HP did not address the criticism directly, it did cheekily reply that it “look[s] forward to hearing Dr. Lynch and other former Autonomy employees answer questions under penalty of perjury.” Since that time HP’s comment on the matter has been that the case is in the hands of authorities such as the U.K. Serious Fraud Office and the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.

This week it was revealed that the U.K.’s Financial Reporting Council (FRC) is investigating Autonomy’s books from 2009 to 2011. The FRC investigation will take place in consultation with the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales (ICAEW).

Through the website created by Lynch, former Autonomy execs boldly proclaimed that they “welcome” the FRC investigation. The statement, in full:

We note the announcement by the UK’s Financial Reporting Council (FRC) that it has begun an investigation of the financial reporting of Autonomy for the period from 1 January 2009 to 30 June 2011. As a member of the FTSE 100 the accounts of Autonomy have previously been reviewed by the FRC, including during the period in question, and no actions or changes were recommended or required.

We welcome this investigation. Autonomy received unqualified audit reports throughout its life as a public company. This includes the period in question, during which Autonomy was audited by Deloitte. We are fully confident in the financial reporting of the company and look forward to the opportunity to demonstrate this to the FRC.

Depending on what the FRC uncovers, either Lynch or HP will have some serious explaining to do. Besides embarrassment and possible criminal implications, the investigation could end up playing a large role in the lawsuits HP’s allegations have spawned.

HP announced the Pavilion 14 Chromebook this morning as part of its “multiOS approach to offer customers more choices.” HP’s new Chromebook fits snugly between Samsung’s and Acer’s offerings with an attractive $329.99 price tag and competitive specs.

“Google’s Chrome OS is showing great appeal to a growing customer base,” said Kevin Frost, vice president and general manager, Consumer PCs, Printing and Personal Systems, HP. “With HP’s Chromebook, customers can get the best of the Google experience on a full-sized laptop—all backed up by our service and brand.”

If you choose to go with the HP Pavilion 14 Chromebook, you can look forward to the following specs:

Compared to the other Chromebooks from Acer and Samsung, HP’s Pavilion 14 is probably the second best available. The downside to that is the increased cost. It’s not as ludicrous as Samsung’s Chromebook 550, which retails for $450, but $330 may still be a bit too much for those looking for something super cheap like Acer’s $199 Chromebook.

Regardless, it’s good to see more OEMs experimenting with Google’s Chrome OS. That being said, Chromebooks still have yet to break into the mainstream, but that’s more the fault of the OS being closely tied to the Internet. As access to broadband becomes more widely available, expect the Chromebook to grow alongside it.

Google announced today that Chrome will be one of the browsers hackers can take on at the annual Pwn2Own Competition. This year’s competition is hosted by HP’s Zero Day Initiative alongside Google, the latter of which will be underwriting a portion of the winnings for all targets – including non-Chromium browsers. The event will last between March 6-8 in Vancouver, BC. You can register here.

At the CanSecWest conference on March 7, Google will be hosting its own competition – the third annual Pwnium. Instead of hacking Chrome, however, Google will task hackers with breaking Chrome OS. The company will be offering rewards in the following categories with up to $3.14 million in prize money up for grabs:

Hackers attempting these challenges will have to use a base Wi-Fi model of the Samsung Series 5 550 Chromebook. You are allowed to use any installed software, including the kernel and drivers. You can also use a virtual machine if you do not have the required hardware.

Last year’s big winner was a teenage hacker who went by the alias of Pinkie Pie. It’s unknown if he will be bringing his skills back to Pwnium 3 to take on the much more difficult task of cracking Chrome OS. Either way, it’s going to be interesting to see if anybody can crack Chrome OS.

HP acquired Electronic Data Systems (EDS) in 2008 for $13.9 billion. The IT services company has become heavily integrated into HP, but its value has not held. In August HP announced its third quarter 2012 report included an impairment charge of around $8 billion related to EDS and HP’s larger restructuring efforts.

The Autonomy write-down is similar, but mired in accusations of fraud and mismanagement. HP announced in November that it would be taking an $8.8 billion write-down due to “serious accounting improprieties, misrepresentations, and disclosure failures” at Autonomy prior to its $10.2acquisition in 2011.

Former Autonomy CEO Mike Lynch was quickly outspoken in answering HP’s accusations, blaming mismanagement at HP for Autonomy’s lost value. He even started a website to counter HP’s claims.

For its part, HP has held its ground and claims that the truth will come out when financial investigators in both the U.S. and U.K. are able to review Autonomy’s books. Meanwhile, nearly everyone involved has been sued on behalf of HP shareholders.

As for the possible sales of the EDS or Autonomy, it doesn’t appear the HP want to let them go. The WSJ report cites “people familiar with the discussions” as saying that EDS may be too tightly integrated with HP to sell. Autonomy would be easier to let go of, but HP has stated that it is committed to working with Autonomy in its current form.

In the midst of all these financial troubles, HP has just announced the opening of a new headquarters lobby and executive briefing center. The 37,700-square-foot facility, said HP CEO Meg Whitman, “…is a symbol of out turnaround and sets the tone for a continued path of progress and rejuventation.”

“Although the third quarter was focused on the clearing of Windows 7 inventory, preliminary research indicates the clearance did not significantly boost the uptake of Windows 8 systems in Q4,” said Jay Chou, senior research analyst with IDC’s Worldwide Quarterly PC Tracker. “Lost in the shuffle to promote a touch-centric PC, vendors have not forcefully stressed other features that promote a more secure, reliable and efficient user experience. As Windows 8 matures, and other corresponding variables such as Ultrabook pricing continue to drop, hopefully the PC market can see a reset in both messaging and demand in 2013.”

The U.S. market in particular took a big hit, dropping 7% compared to holiday 2011. IDC blames the drop on the failure of imagination manufacturers had towards what a good Windows 8 experience would be. However, this could simply be the beginning of the post-PC world that Apple and Microsoft are predicting.

“Consumers expected all sorts of cool PCs with tablet and touch capabilities,” said David Daoud, research director at IDC U.S. Quarterly PC Tracker. “Instead, they mostly saw traditional PCs that feature a new OS (Windows 8 ) optimized for touch and tablet with applications and hardware that are not yet able to fully utilize these capabilities. Despite a generally weak performance, some leading brands managed do to well relative to the market. HP, Lenovo, Asus, and Samsung were among the top performers, taking advantage of some consumer interest in Windows 8, and a push to build up their presence ahead of 2013.”

Despite its recent write-downs and accusations of accounting fraud at Autonomy before its acquisition, HP continues to rank highest on IDC worldwide PC shipment rankings. HP seized on this bit of good news, highlighting the fact that the IDC rankings include the workstation segment rather than just the consumer market. From HP:

IDC announced today that HP maintained the No. 1 position in PC shipments worldwide and in the United States. The IDC analysis also includes the very important workstation segment and therefore represents the most comprehensive analysis of the entire PC market.

We believe HP’s position as the market share leader demonstrates our ongoing commitment to deliver superior PC products and experiences across customer segments.

Meanwhile, Bloomberg is reporting that even HP CEO Meg Whitman knows it will take half a decade to pull the company up from its current downward trajectory.

HP’s latest 10-K filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission makes it clear that the company will be looking to sell off assets it no longer considers vital to its future objectives. According to a Bloomberg report, HP will evaluate the potential sale of underperforming divisions, though it acknowledges that finding buyers or “alternative exit strategies” could be difficult.

In 2011, it was rumored that HP was looking into spinning off its PC division. CEO Meg Whitman eventually decided against such a move, and instead combined HP’s printer and PC divisions.

At around the same time, HP acquired a knowledge management service company called Autonomy. The purchase turned out to be a huge misstep, however. In November 2011, HP blamed much of its second $8 billion write-down on “accounting improprieties, misrepresentations, and disclosure failures” by former Autonomy executives. The 10-K filing does not provide any new details on what Autonomy is alleged to have done, though it does state that the U.S. Department of Justice is currently investigating Autonomy’s accounts.