[Paragon]

Originally Posted by Typhoon

...will they finish it before Windows Mobile takes over the PDA market?

I don't think it matter very much. This isn't a move that will ever put them in the mainstream the way they once were. For Palm to go to a Linux based system seems more like they are trying to recreate some sort of Zen like atmosphere again.

[Paragon]

Originally Posted by Typhoon

...will they finish it before Windows Mobile takes over the PDA market?

I don't think it matter very much. This isn't a move that will ever put them in the mainstream the way they once were. For Palm to go to a Linux based system seems more like they are trying to recreate some sort of Zen like atmosphere again.

[Typhoon]

Originally Posted by Paragon

I don't think it matter very much. This isn't a move that will ever put them in the mainstream the way they once were. For Palm to go to a Linux based system seems more like they are trying to recreate some sort of Zen like atmosphere again.

I always thought it would be a good idea for MS to make an built-in option for Windows Mobile to look a lot like Palm OS. Because for some reason, Palm has always been (not only eye-candy) eye-easy. That's pretty much the only reason I like Palm.

[whydidnt]

Well, everything I've heard is that PalmSource's intention is to run Cobalt on top of Linux. They may have decided that Cobalt it ready to do this and now they need to focus on the underlying OS.

We don't need to get into the too little, too late discussion, but they also have left it no secret that they are focusing on the mobile phone market, so it remains to be seen if we will ever see a non-cellular PalmOS PDA running on anything but the cludge we now know as Garnet.

I recently purchased a LifeDrive to check out how things now work in the Palm world. The clean unit without ANY external software installed has reset itself 4 times for no apparent reason in about 3 days of use. There are obvious issues with how PalmOne tried to "enhance" the OS. Resets are especially painful as they take a couple of minutes to complete.

[surur]

I actually think sojourner753 give the ultimate answer to the Why Linux, Why now?question.

Originally Posted by sojourner753

Like many companies they're going to turn their future over to the Open source community for survival.

Like Novell and Sun, and Netscape.... and now Nokia....

Remember when Java was all the rage, and Corel even made a Java office suite to try and unseat Microsoft Office?

The Linux move is a sign of desperation, and there is very little guarantee it will pay off.

Surur

[griph]

Originally Posted by Paragon

I don't think it matter very much. This isn't a move that will ever put them in the mainstream the way they once were.

Dave
Forgive a simplistic response but it seems a little bit like the way Psion 'disintegrated' into Symbian - from my completely laymans view? Could Palm be about to 'move' away from the PDA market other than niche markets and primarily move over to Smartphone systems?

[Paragon]

Originally Posted by griph

Could Palm be about to 'move' away from the PDA market other than niche markets and primarily move over to Smartphone systems?

Yes, most definitely. With continual slumping PDA sales, and everyone with a *need* to be connected, it's their only chance. They ain't gonna live long selling Zire's for a hundred bucks, or selling over priced under functional LifeDrives.

Dave

[Typhoon]

Anyone think this will force PalmOne to use the 2-3 year old Palm OS 6?

[Janak Parekh]

Originally Posted by Typhoon

Anyone think this will force PalmOne to use the 2-3 year old Palm OS 6?

Actually, I think it reinforces the idea that they will largely skip Cobalt and wait for its successor. Or adopt other OSes.

--janak

[lapchinj]

Originally Posted by Surur

...The Linux move is a sign of desperation, and there is very little guarantee it will pay off.

It is definitely a sign of desperation but Linux is a good choice for an OS mainly because it's probably the only OS available to them. The Palm OS as we've heard on this forum for some time will never be able to become a true OS without an injection of some serious cash.

The best thing they could do is go to Linux and concentrate on staying solvent. They might be able to make Linux transparent to the user but I feel bad for all the developers that will have to rewrite their apps. Their code will not port over unless they did it in Java (is there a Java VM for the Palm?).

As far as creating a Zen following maybe they can pull that off just like Apple did with their latest OS. But it's still a Zen following as opposed to mass user appeal. Also Apple was never so deep into the dumps and they weren't able to crawl out. Palm is too deep and all that shiny armor that once sparkled has long since rusted away. I don't see them coming up with anything even with a real OS like Linux that would get me to drop the PPC and I basically live and work in a Linux world.

If Palm does go to Linux all they would become is another Linux offering. I had tried to develop for the Sharp Zaurus a couple of years ago when they first came out but droped that mainly because I got hooked on the PPC. Yeah the new Zaurus is real nice but it still doesn't compare to a PPC with regards to applications. So Palm doen't have much to look forward to by using Linux.

Maybe Palm would be better off buying Microsoft and using their OS for their hardware. This way they could run Cobalt on top of the PalmMS OS and get rid of the competition at the same time :mrgreen:

Jeff-

[ctmagnus]

Hmm...

The use of COBALT cripples the mind

:mrgreen: