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View Full Version : So begins the long road for Palm's OS5 conversion


Ed Hansberry
05-18-2002, 12:18 AM
<a href="http://www.cnn.com/2002/TECH/ptech/05/16/palm.checkup.idg/index.html">http://www.cnn.com/2002/TECH/ptech/05/16/palm.checkup.idg/index.html</a><br /><br />I debated as to whether this is Off Topic or a Thought for about 3 seconds before not caring anymore and posting it as a thought. I know that there are many former and current Palm users reading this site and I want to hear what you think. "Palm users worried whether their favorite applications will run on devices with the next version of the handheld's operating system may get some reassurance from an expanded compatibility program announced Monday." Microsoft took from 1995 (late 1992 if you count the start of Win95 development) to 2001 to move from a 16 bit platform, Windows 3.x, to a fully 32 bit platform for everyone, Windows XP. I know about Windows NT and personally used it almost exclusively starting in 1996, but there was a lot of hardware and software that wasn't usable by the mainstream user due to a reliance on 16 bit drivers. Palm won't have quite that big of a problem because they won't let OS5 run on older Dragonball devices and there aren't near as many Palm applications and accessories as there were for Windows 3.1.<br /><br /><img src="http://www.pocketpcthoughts.com/images/palmos5.jpg" /><br /><br />Still, this is no small undertaking. Palm has already said most hacks, which represents about 20% of the software available for Palm OS devices, won't work. Given many of them were to simulate multitasking like PopUp Names that allow you to open your Contacts without switching from your current application. Palm has created an OS5 logo that will ensure your applications run if the vendor passes the certification, but all OS4.1 compliant apps must undergo this testing or you are on your own as to whether your application will work. "Because Palm 5 will run older apps by emulating the 4.1 OS, about 80 percent of apps that are certified for 4.1 should not have a problem, he says. However, the Palm 4.1 certification program does not distinguish applications that are properly written for the Palm 4.1 application programming interface from those that weren't properly written. The programs that use hacks may run perfectly well on Palm 4.1, but run into trouble when they attempt to run in emulation mode in Palm 5."<br /><br />"If even a fraction of all Palm apps are submitted for compatibility testing, Quality Partners will have its work cut out. PalmGear, the leading online store for Palm applications, stocks some 13,000 programs, Mace says." And then there is all the hype around OS5. It won't allow the user to multitask yet and requires all new hardware, so it is doubtful too many of the 13,000 apps Palm has now will be rewritten to really take advantage of OS5 since that would 1) leave 100% of existing OS3 and OS4 users out in the cold and 2) be very expensive and time consuming. I would expect it to be 12 months <i>minimum</i> before you start to see a significant number of OS5 exclusive apps that are designed to take full advantage of the operating system. Sort of like buying a new Mac OS X computer the month it came out. You could run Internet Explorer and other included apps, but not much else without launching Classic.<br /><br />What do you think? Think OS5 will be a smooth transition? Think the average person will care? Is OS5 more marketing than substance, i.e., what you <i>could</i> do versus what you will really be able to do, at least for a year or so. I tried to include a poll but there are just too many ways people could feel about this so decided against it. Click the "Add your Thoughts" below and let us know your thoughts on the subject.

Kre
05-18-2002, 02:31 AM
My initial thought is that it IS more marketing than substance. I know that sometimes innovating requires some discomfort in order to accomplish what is believed to be needed in order to expand technological and market horizons. Win xp falls into this category, but then again, most programs out there were written as 32bit, so this didnt present such a shock to Windows users. And part of this must have been due to Microsofts vision which allowed programmers and users time to ease into a 32bit only environment flexible enough for the average consumer. But based on what youre stating about how palms OS5 will impact software, there is clearly going to be a much larger shock to palm users who choose to upgrade to the new system.

The company is going to have to hedge its bet with something. No multitasking to me, is a big mistake. They better have something substantial to this new system in terms of its guts and UI, otherwise whats the point and how would it benefit the user? If they put something out there like this that could have the realistic potential of making users wait up to a year to see enough apps to make using the new OS practical, then boy, they better really have something up their sleeve that nobody knows about yet, but will WOW everybody when everything is revealed. Otherwise, this whole thing could really blow up in their face and drive one of the last few nails into their coffin. Not that I think palm will die off, but it could drive them into a real niche market. Just seems like a awfully big risk to take.

All that time for consumers to wait for apps. Thats an awfully big window of time for Microsoft to slide on in and sweep up a lot more market share. While palm users are twiddling their thumbs waiting for apps, Microsoft is going to be going forward full steam, and dont think for a second palm users arent going to be looking over to the pocket pc side of things with all of the action taking place and start to wonder whether the grass is greener on the other side.

Guess we`ll see...

Steven Cedrone
05-18-2002, 02:33 AM
I think the first version will be a kludge.......

If they do anything, they better make sure they can keep the PIM part of it as easy/easier to use then it is currently. If it takes more then two taps with the stylus, people may be forced to go with Pocket PC :wink:

Steve

Ed Hansberry
05-18-2002, 03:45 AM
The company is going to have to hedge its bet with something. No multitasking to me, is a big mistake.
I think that was a matter of running out of time vs a deliberate decision. From what I understand, all of the things necessary for multitasking are in OS5, it was just a matter of putting it all together so it worked well and was intuitive to the users. I think OS6 will have this implemented.

They better have something substantial to this new system in terms of its guts and UI, otherwise whats the point and how would it benefit the user? If they put something out there like this that could have the realistic potential of making users wait up to a year to see enough apps to make using the new OS practical, then boy, they better really have something up their sleeve that nobody knows about yet, but will WOW everybody when everything is revealed. Otherwise, this whole thing could really blow up in their face and drive one of the last few nails into their coffin. Not that I think palm will die off, but it could drive them into a real niche market. Just seems like a awfully big risk to take.
They are between a rock and a hard place here. Load it with cool new things and "wow" the user and they risk offending those clinging to zen. I see many posting that they don't want the UI and overall experience to change. If it changes too much and the user has to learn all new stuff, do they learn Palm or just move to Pocket PC?

The flip side is they do baby steps. Small incremental changes. Now, the advanced users craving a radical OS change are left out in the cold. Do they perservere with Palm or switch to Pocket PC?

My gut is the former group is the larger userbase. The latter are the techies and geeks that post to these and other boards and want to move fast, but probably a smaller group. Palm has to go where the money is and keep the larger base happy. That being said, who is the user they don't have yet? One satisfied with the simple Palm UI or the one that wants more of a PC experience (Start menu, skinning, multitasking, etc) in their device, one that has a very very low learning curve if you use Windows today. I'd say that is a pretty big market, and one they are not really targeting with OS5.

Whatever is released, it will make a great addition to the "Piloting Palm" book in a few years, and likely a good study in business schools.

jdhill
05-18-2002, 04:12 AM
Make no mistake, the migration from Palm OS 4 to Palm OS 5 will be a difficult one. Palm OS 5 runs only on ARM-based processors. Palm OS 4 and earlier runs only on Motorola Dragonball-based processors. Palm users will need a new device to run OS 5, there will not be a ROM upgrade for OS 3 or OS 4 devices with flash ROM.

Palm has stated that there will be few if any changes to the Palm OS UI in OS 5, that the main change is the support for the new CPU. It might be difficult to convince Palm OS users to purchase new devices that have the same UI and run only some of the programs that ran on OS 3 or 4. The ARM-based processors will likely be faster, but then the base Palm OS applications (PIM) have never had a speed issue even on the slowest Dragonball processors.

It would appear that finding a compelling reason to upgrade to a new Palm OS 5-based device may be challenging. Hopefully, the Palm hardware licensees will release new hardware with new features to take advantage of the new processor and processor speed. Hopefully, Palm software developers will create some compelling new software applications for the new hardware and OS.

The Pocket PC team in Redmond needs the competition to keep them on their toes !!! Good luck to the Palm hardware and software vendors, it will be an interesting 12 to 18 months for them.

Janak Parekh
05-18-2002, 04:29 AM
Hey, does anyone know if you can create a PRC that's dual PalmOS4/PalmOS5?

I think Apple's transition from the 68K to the PowerPC was reasonably well-done: the "fat binary" approach. And even then, there were a lot of growing pains, but at least you could buy one software package and have it run on all Macs, without emulation.

If not, then the OS5 transition will be even worse (and it won't be a piece of cake to start with...)

--bdj

Foo Fighter
05-18-2002, 04:34 AM
...or the one that wants more of a PC experience (Start menu, skinning, multitasking, etc) in their device, one that has a very very low learning curve if you use Windows today. I'd say that is a pretty big market

I'm not convinced that is the case. People aren't as dependent on Windows GUI as you suggest. Cell phones don't run Windows, yet everyone carries one and they know how to operate it. I don't hear anyone lamenting that their MP3 player doesn't run Windows. AOL is the most popular online service, and their client software has a completely unique UI.

Poeple tend to adapt to an interface that naturally suits the device it powers.

And aside from a few familiar conventions, PocketPC looks nothing like a Windows desktop. In fact, it is oriented backwards. The task bar is located at the top of the display, and the menu bar is at the bottom. That will certainly cause confusion for some people. And unlike the desktop, there are no common windowing controls, such as "minimize" and "maximize".

Granted, the PPC has more in common with Windows than the PalmOS, but there is definitely a learning curve involved.

eric linsley
05-18-2002, 07:07 AM
I think palms only hope is to make sure palm 5 worksd with old apps.
Simply put If it doesnt it will be essential a New OS With Nothing
Then Windows Ce will be the only option

Now i love haveing the best and i hope Palm can create a better device than windows

havent seen it yet

Sony has a chance and id love to see it run 5

oh well

Heres hoping one way or another

angelseye2000
05-18-2002, 12:23 PM
Later this year we'll see more developments from Palm OS licensees as devices running Palm OS 5 hit the market. In addition to supporting ARM-compliant processors from Intel, Motorola and Texas Instruments, Palm OS 5 offers enhanced multimedia capabilities, additional security options and expandsed support for wireless connections, while maintaining compatibility with existing software.

So it appears that Palm has weathered the storm, surviving the most volatile year to date in the history of handheld computers, despite what you may have heard.

from 'Palm OS is hot again'
http://www.brighthand.com/newsite/features/marketshare.html

But will the Palm OS 5.0 also be HOT?

Palm OS 4.0 vs. 5.0
http://asia.cnet.com/reviews/handhelds/0,39001709,39040080-2,00.htm

Arne Hess
05-18-2002, 12:46 PM
Dont miss some PALM 5 screenshots here (German but anyway):

http://www.xonio.com/slideshow/slideshow_23688.html?tid1=2468&tid2=239

http://www.xonio.com/slideshow/i/395490_42bfb3dd06.gif

So this should be the new PALM OS? Boring... :-(

Ed Hansberry
05-18-2002, 03:55 PM
I'm not convinced that is the case. People aren't as dependent on Windows GUI as you suggest. Cell phones don't run Windows, yet everyone carries one and they know how to operate it.
I'll be darned if I can figure out how to consistantly get numbers in my Motorola TimePort. Its UI has got to be one of the most confusing I've ever used. And my wife's Samsung? Forget it! 8O

Hans the Hedgehog
05-18-2002, 08:32 PM
Dont miss some PALM 5 screenshots here (German but anyway): ... So this should be the new PALM OS? Boring... :-(

Jeez, Arne, piccies of the PPC interface are just as boring, if you ask me. I love how everyone got their knickers in a twist on this site about PPC2002, which, in my opinion and many others, has really been a bust for the average-- notice I say average, not the user that need telneting or VNC or anything like that-- user.

Personally, I think the road to PalmOS 5 will be rough. However, we also need to look at Apple or Nintendo or Sony more than the PC to examine the transition. Apple had better hardware control and, consequently, less things to have to worry about. Nintenod and Sony have both emulated past hardware on their current (GBC-GBA, PS-PS2) hardware without too much of a task. Sure, hacks won't work too well, but that does not mean that the authors cannot rewrite their hacks to work on OS5.

And before a genius like RobotBeat jumps in and kills the discussion... I hope Palm OS 5 is a success. I hope it puts painful pressure on MS. I hope we get a better PPC OS out of the continued competition. I see nothing but potential good coming out of a successful transition from Palm OS 4 to OS 5.

Happy tapping,
Hans

fundmgr90210
05-19-2002, 03:14 AM
It might have been a "long road" to get to OS 5. I'd hardly call it the "beginning" though. With a scheduled June release (I don't know if that will actually happen, but it should at least be close to that time), I'd say they're practically at the end.

mar2k
05-19-2002, 06:52 AM
I admire Palm's desire to make sure all apps are compatible with OS5 machines running ARM processors. With Pocket PC 2000, Microsoft pretty much said "screw you" to everyone that had bought a Palm-size PDA up til that point.

I wish Palm luck. Better Palms mean better Pocket PCs and cheaper ones. Let's face it, there are many fantastic programs on the PalmOS platform that have no equal in Pocket PC-land. The real key is their first generation ARM devices. If they can maintain good battery life, small-size, backwards compatibility with the existing PalmOS software catalog, while adding multimedia to the mix, they will likely be very successful. Pricing of the next-gen Palms will be interesting as well since they've always used that as a key marketing point against Pocket PC.

All I can say is that Microsoft better improve on PPC 2002 and hope the OEMs can continue to improve the hardware, as there are some real dogs among the PPC 2002 offerings. Seems like every device has some incredibly annoying flaw.

TFGBD
05-19-2002, 08:52 AM
I'm just wondering in you can reflash these with Windows CE:)

Arne Hess
05-19-2002, 01:12 PM
I'll be darned if I can figure out how to consistantly get numbers in my Motorola TimePort. Its UI has got to be one of the most confusing I've ever used. And my wife's Samsung? Forget it! 8O
I completely agree with you! I've never seen something like the Motorola UI anywhere else and if this would be a PDA no one would buy it!
I threw away my Timeport when I got a Siemens GPRS phone, the only reason why I've used it was GPRS and triple-band but now I don't use it anymore because the UI!

Ed Hansberry
05-19-2002, 02:45 PM
It might have been a "long road" to get to OS 5. I'd hardly call it the "beginning" though. With a scheduled June release (I don't know if that will actually happen, but it should at least be close to that time), I'd say they're practically at the end.
I don't think so. Apple OS X was released in early 2001. Was that the end? Hardly. Many apps still require classic and Apple seems to release a 10.1.x update every few weeks to enhance compatibilty with older apps. Windows 95 was not the end of MS's 32bit consumer OS road. It was just the beginning.

You are right, the hard core developement cycle is nearing an end, but that is phase 1. Phase 2 is getting it into the users hands, hearing first hand how those 13,000 (less the 20% they know won't work) apps really perform in OS5. Then they have to put those other features in that they have promised. Multitasking, custom fonts, integrated multimedia API's, elimination of VFS, etc. Many have been suggested to appear in the next OS which I have called OS6. Maybe it is OS5.1.

Either way, I think Palm is really just getting started. :-)

fundmgr90210
05-20-2002, 12:12 AM
It might have been a "long road" to get to OS 5. I'd hardly call it the "beginning" though. With a scheduled June release (I don't know if that will actually happen, but it should at least be close to that time), I'd say they're practically at the end.
I don't think so. Apple OS X was released in early 2001. Was that the end? Hardly. Many apps still require classic and Apple seems to release a 10.1.x update every few weeks to enhance compatibilty with older apps. Windows 95 was not the end of MS's 32bit consumer OS road. It was just the beginning.

You are right, the hard core developement cycle is nearing an end, but that is phase 1. Phase 2 is getting it into the users hands, hearing first hand how those 13,000 (less the 20% they know won't work) apps really perform in OS5. Then they have to put those other features in that they have promised. Multitasking, custom fonts, integrated multimedia API's, elimination of VFS, etc. Many have been suggested to appear in the next OS which I have called OS6. Maybe it is OS5.1.

Either way, I think Palm is really just getting started. :-)

You're comparing desktop OS development and compatibility testing to that of a handheld. It's just not that complicated.

90% + of users won't even know or care what OS it is (I do think they'll like the pretty high res look and maybe the improved sound quality though). They don't know what VFS even is and I (and again, almost all other current and potential consumers) still don't see the overwhelming need for multitasking on a handheld.

The world isn't waiting with baited breath for Palm OS 5.0. They just want a place to keep their contacts and maybe their schedule on an unobstrusive device with a decent battery.

BTW, if they really were "just getting started", why would that make you happy? Just curious.

Ed Hansberry
05-20-2002, 12:22 AM
You're comparing desktop OS development and compatibility testing to that of a handheld. It's just not that complicated.
Maybe you could help Palm out then. They have been working on OS5 since at least early 2000 and finally had to go out and buy the BeOS engineering team to help them finish it up.
90% + of users won't even know or care what OS it is (I do think they'll like the pretty high res look and maybe the improved sound quality though). They don't know what VFS even is and I (and again, almost all other current and potential consumers) still don't see the overwhelming need for multitasking on a handheld.
Believe me, they know as soon as they stick in an SD card and try to copy a file to it.
BTW, if they really were "just getting started", why would that make you happy? Just curious.
Huh? Where did I say I was happy (or not happy) about it?

fundmgr90210
05-20-2002, 02:35 AM
Maybe you could help Palm out then. They have been working on OS5 since at least early 2000 and finally had to go out and buy the BeOS engineering team to help them finish it up.

Believe me, they know as soon as they stick in an SD card and try to copy a file to it.

Huh? Where did I say I was happy (or not happy) about it?


I don't know, if I was getting that kind of talent, that cheaply, I'd probably purchase them too;

Again, the 90% rule. I don't think most but the most hardcore Palm users are looking to copy files over to a card. These are the same people that don't know or don't care about additional 3rd party software;

I guess I misinterpreted the meaning of your smiley face at the end of the post;

Brad Adrian
05-20-2002, 04:17 PM
...and I...still don't see the overwhelming need for multitasking on a handheld.

Then try to look up your calendar availability when responding to an e-mail requesting a meeting. Or copy someone's contact info from an e-mail into a Contact entry. Or pause SubHunt to answer an incoming phone call (on a Treo, for instance). But, I'd be willing to bet that most Pocket PCs have more add-in apps installed than the average Palm device, increasing the odds that multitasking would be needed.

Jason Dunn
05-20-2002, 04:32 PM
Cell phones don't run Windows, yet everyone carries one and they know how to operate it.


HA! :lol: 100% of people know how to dial a number, perhaps 80% know how to save a number, and for all other functionality the % would spiral downwards. Cell phone UI is HORRIBLE! I'm constantly finding new bugs and glitches in the UI, not to mention how cryptic they make it. I'd be surprised if the average user knows how to operate even 20% of their phone's functionality.

Not a good example. ;-)

fundmgr90210
05-20-2002, 04:54 PM
...and I...still don't see the overwhelming need for multitasking on a handheld.

Then try to look up your calendar availability when responding to an e-mail requesting a meeting. Or copy someone's contact info from an e-mail into a Contact entry. Or pause SubHunt to answer an incoming phone call (on a Treo, for instance). But, I'd be willing to bet that most Pocket PCs have more add-in apps installed than the average Palm device, increasing the odds that multitasking would be needed.

That begs the question to which the answer is:

No one cares......

Kre
05-20-2002, 05:04 PM
...and I...still don't see the overwhelming need for multitasking on a handheld.

Then try to look up your calendar availability when responding to an e-mail requesting a meeting. Or copy someone's contact info from an e-mail into a Contact entry. Or pause SubHunt to answer an incoming phone call (on a Treo, for instance). But, I'd be willing to bet that most Pocket PCs have more add-in apps installed than the average Palm device, increasing the odds that multitasking would be needed.

That begs the question to which the answer is:

No one cares......

I care. :)

Ed Hansberry
05-20-2002, 05:20 PM
That begs the question to which the answer is:
No one cares......
Yeah, Brad's scenarios were totally unrealistic. I've never received an email with info that I wanted to copy into a contact or an apponintment. I've never been in a chat and needed to check my calendar. I've never been online and needed to pull up a password. :roll:

fundmgr90210
05-20-2002, 05:56 PM
That begs the question to which the answer is:
No one cares......
Yeah, Brad's scenarios were totally unrealistic. I've never received an email with info that I wanted to copy into a contact or an apponintment. I've never been in a chat and needed to check my calendar. I've never been online and needed to pull up a password. :roll:

Yea, I know, there's this HUGE group of people that use MS Messenger on their PPC :roll:

There's certainly nothing wrong with using a PDA in this manner (although with all that necessary equipment or honking big "phone" people will be looking at you funny), you just can't assume that because you do it that anybody else wants to.

Jason Dunn
05-20-2002, 06:37 PM
Yea, I know, there's this HUGE group of people that use MS Messenger on their PPC


Ok, dismiss all wireless scenarios right now.

You've never been listening to MP3s and wanted to look up a contact? Or been playing a game and wanted to look up a contact? I have 3-4 applications open constantly - and I don't consider my scenarios to be very strange at all. Lots of basic PIM stuff.

Honestly, I don't know how you can dismiss the importance of multitasking. Still using DOS? :wink:

fundmgr90210
05-20-2002, 06:48 PM
Yea, I know, there's this HUGE group of people that use MS Messenger on their PPC


Ok, dismiss all wireless scenarios right now.

You've never been listening to MP3s and wanted to look up a contact? Or been playing a game and wanted to look up a contact? I have 3-4 applications open constantly - and I don't consider my scenarios to be very strange at all. Lots of basic PIM stuff.

Honestly, I don't know how you can dismiss the importance of multitasking. Still using DOS? :wink:

You can listen to mp3's and look up a contact on a Clie. The game scenario doesn't apply either as you can simply exit and it will be saved wherever you were at on the Palm.

Stop using the desktop scenario and applying it to handhelds (DOS). They're two totally different things. If anything, multitasking is a detriment to market acceptance of PPC in its current form. The number of open programs often leads to a bogged down or frozen device requiring a reset.

Ed Hansberry
05-20-2002, 07:42 PM
You can listen to mp3's and look up a contact on a Clie. The game scenario doesn't apply either as you can simply exit and it will be saved wherever you were at on the Palm.

• Yes, you can look up stuff while playing music on a Palm device. You know why? They felt multitasking in this scenario was important. They also do it by using a second processor to run the music - two reasons - most Palm processors are too anemic to decode MP3's, and without the DSP, you couldn't multitask.
• Ever been composing an email and needed to look up an appointment?
• Why should you have to actually "open" an app to do someting in it? Because of the miracle of multitasking, I can be in Word and tap New|Task. Or in Pocket Informant and tap New|Document to draft a memo.
• I can even be listenting to the Wall Street Journal while in the car (via Audible) and record a voice memo. Works incredibly well. The voice recorder masks out 99% of what is coming out of the car speakers - I use a cassette adapter. The WSJ never misses a beat.

When are you going to quit defending the 1996 program Palm wrote. They have. They have essentially thrown it out and put in hooks for OS6 (?) to have user enabled multitasking.

fundmgr90210
05-20-2002, 08:12 PM
You can listen to mp3's and look up a contact on a Clie. The game scenario doesn't apply either as you can simply exit and it will be saved wherever you were at on the Palm.

• Yes, you can look up stuff while playing music on a Palm device. You know why? They felt multitasking in this scenario was important. They also do it by using a second processor to run the music - two reasons - most Palm processors are too anemic to decode MP3's, and without the DSP, you couldn't multitask.
• Ever been composing an email and needed to look up an appointment?
• Why should you have to actually "open" an app to do someting in it? Because of the miracle of multitasking, I can be in Word and tap New|Task. Or in Pocket Informant and tap New|Document to draft a memo.
• I can even be listenting to the Wall Street Journal while in the car (via Audible) and record a voice memo. Works incredibly well. The voice recorder masks out 99% of what is coming out of the car speakers - I use a cassette adapter. The WSJ never misses a beat.

When are you going to quit defending the 1996 program Palm wrote. They have. They have essentially thrown it out and put in hooks for OS6 (?) to have user enabled multitasking.

I'm all to aware of the DSP processor on the Clie. What difference does it make how it's accomplished?

Again, if I wanted to look up an appointment to include in an email (apart from doing the easy thing and attaching a vCard as you can with many Palm OS email programs), I could simply go to the address book, copy the info, and come back. I could also with a slash and a graffiti letter, save the message as a draft and come back to it. And even though I don't think it's the best argument in the world, this all becomes even easier with one of the many task switchers (McPhling etc.) on the market.

Although it seems to upset you, I don't need to defend what you believe is an outdated OS. The market has and continues to do it for me. Look, different strokes for different folks (I own a PPC too by the way), but there are a lot more of me than there are of you (don't take that personally, it's just a fact).

Jonathan1
05-20-2002, 11:37 PM
Whether there are more of you then him is beside the point. In the end Palm will make a multitasking OS. So where is the discussion? Palm obviously sees some use in it since they are including the function in future versions of the OS. Resistance it futile. You will be assimilated. :-P Its going to happen. It might not be fully implemented in OS5 but it WILL occur. Get over it. Multitasking is more then just allowing users to use multiple apps at one time. Talk to any programmer and they will tell you a Multitasking environment is substantially preferred due to its flexibility. The ability to allow mulithreading across multiple apps. example. Audio and video in a video conference session on a wireless device. (Fantasy now but wait.) Or the ability to use Palm OS in an embedded tool. Example. Handheld devices such as the ones that UPS and FedEx are rolling out. You think they don't use multitasking in those devices?

Again you are thinking just like Palm has always though. Simple device that deals with the basic PDA functions. Obviously the enterprise environment and business environment in general want a development platform that closely emulates the desktop. Why? So that software adaptation and conversion won't be such a pain.

One of you guys commented that MS devices bog down because of this multitasking environment and because of the ability of being able to open multiple apps. Duh. Very simple solution. You close the excess apps once you are done with them. (The diff between Palm and PPC is that Palm does this automatically. PPC does it as well but they do a VERY sloppy job.) Obviously I'm not going to have Word, Acrobat, Media Player, Pocket Informant, Pocket Quake, etc all open at the same time. But I may very well have Acrobat and e-mail open to reference something that I wanted to take note in an e-mail. (Something of which I have done before.) Just because you guy haven't done it doesn't mean you shouldn't be able to do it. I don't have a multiCPU system in my home computer however Windows 2000 supports it. Does that mean that MS shouldn't have put it in there? Oops sorry. That isn't ZEN :roll:


PS- Anyone else feel seriously let down on the X-Files final episode last night?!?!

Ed Hansberry
05-21-2002, 12:59 PM
Obviously I'm not going to have Word, Acrobat, Media Player, Pocket Informant, Pocket Quake, etc all open at the same time.
You might when 128MB devices are common place. :-)
PS- Anyone else feel seriously let down on the X-Files final episode last night?!?!
Sort of. I quit watching about a 18 months ago. Wasn't the same show without Fox. I did tune in to the finale though. It was OK. Not great, and not horrible.