12-08-2004, 06:00 PM
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Editor Emeritus
Join Date: Aug 2006
Posts: 15,171
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PalmSource Buys Linux-Based Mobile Phone Company, To Port PalmOS To Linux?
"PalmSource, Inc., provider of Palm OS�, a leading operating system powering next generation mobile devices and smartphones today announced entry into an agreement for the acquisition of China MobileSoft Limited (CMS), a leading Chinese mobile phone software company with business operations headquartered with its wholly-owned subsidiary, MobileSoft Technology (Nanjing), in China...PalmSource will continue to offer both Palm OS� Garnet and Palm OS� Cobalt to support a broad range of mobile devices including smartphones. PalmSource also plans to implement Palm OS on top of Linux, bringing the benefits of Palm OS to the Linux community, including the award winning user interface, software frameworks based on the best of Palm OS and BeOS�, a large base of professional and consumer applications, and an enthusiastic community of more than 25 million users and over 360,000 registered developers."
I'm personally a fan of Linux -- I use it daily in my work and research. But this press release smacks of tossing it around as a buzzword. It's no panacea, and it's no trivial thing to take an OS like Palm OS and run it "on top of Linux" -- it's not just running about running "make" as the PR implies. Finally, I'm not sure how they're going to reconcile this with the rich, robust kernel they already have from BeOS. If anything, this smacks me as a lack of focus, which in my opinion is the last thing PalmSource can afford right now; as it stands, there's no Cobalt devices out the door yet.
Update: PalmSource has posted a letter to the community. In short, "Palm OS For Linux" will be the next version after Cobalt, and both Garnet and Cobalt will continue to be sold alongside it. I still disagree with that principle, and I think it'll lead to confusion, but we'll see.
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12-08-2004, 06:34 PM
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Mystic
Join Date: Aug 2006
Posts: 1,734
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This is a disastrous loss of focus! Why would anyone want to support Palm OS 6 if i one to two years they plan on replacing it with Linux.
Good bye palm, we knew thee well.
Surur
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12-08-2004, 06:50 PM
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Thinker
Join Date: Nov 2004
Posts: 429
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I can't claim to be any more enthusiastic about Linux than I am about Palm. A friend sent me a Pocket Pc with Linux on it. I couldn't do anything with it. I screwed up trying to reinstall the Windows ROM and had to send it back to him. Sure, it's a neat gadget, and I do hope that people will find a use for it, but I personally will stick with Windows devices for the time being. Windows has it's issues of course, but pretty much everything is written for it. Years ago I had the time to sift through command lines and configuration files, but I just don't have it in me any more.
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12-08-2004, 06:57 PM
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Philosopher
Join Date: Jun 2002
Posts: 498
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It is too early to say it is good news or bad news for Palm OS. This version will be only top layer on the Linux core, same as PPC on Wince. Considering PS already made the mistake to buy BeOS which didn't bring any improvement to current POS, it is a good move for POS to correct the problem. POS will get the REAL multiTask and MultiThreads instantly without any increase of costs. POS bought the CMS today too, which enable porting the POS layer to linux will be fairly easy and very low cost.
PS and POS developers and POS users will all benefit for this move in the very near future.
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12-08-2004, 06:57 PM
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Philosopher
Join Date: Mar 2004
Posts: 555
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Wait wait wait...lemme get this straight...they plan on redoing the OS structure...even before they know what to do with the current one?
And this just gets to me:
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PalmSource will continue to offer both Palm OS� Garnet and Palm OS� Cobalt to support a broad range of mobile devices including smartphones.
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How can you "continue" to offer something you never offered yet?
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12-08-2004, 07:00 PM
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Intellectual
Join Date: Nov 2006
Posts: 148
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PalmSource is doing what Apple did so successfully, put its user interface on top of the Linux kernel, plus selected Linux services appropriate for handhelds and smartphones.
The Palm OS software layer will include the familiar Palm OS user interface as well as a set of middleware and PIM applications
They say that properly written Palm OS 68k applications will run unchanged on Palm OS for Linux, and that Palm OS Cobalt native applications will port with a simple recompile. We'll have to wait and see how easy this turns out to be.
In addition, Palm OS for Linux will be able to run many third-party Linux applications and services. However, applications will need to use the Palm OS APIs.
As for the argument that making this announcement will reduce companies' interest in Palm OS Cobalt (OS 6), I have two responses:
1) There's always something new coming down the pike.
2) What interest in Palm OS Cobalt? :wink:
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12-08-2004, 07:11 PM
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Editor Emeritus
Join Date: Aug 2006
Posts: 15,171
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Quote:
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Originally Posted by Ed@Brighthand
PalmSource is doing what Apple did so successfully, put its user interface on top of the Linux kernel, plus selected Linux services appropriate for handhelds and smartphones.
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It took Apple years and years to do that with OS X, though. It was very late in coming. I'm not so sure PalmSource can ride the situation that long. Look how long it took them to develop Cobalt on BeOS...
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2) What interest in Palm OS Cobalt? :wink:
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Well-put, admittedly. :P
--janak
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12-08-2004, 07:13 PM
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Editor Emeritus
Join Date: Aug 2006
Posts: 15,171
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Quote:
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Originally Posted by huangzhinong
It is too early to say it is good news or bad news for Palm OS.
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I'll buy that, except how long do they have left before we can conclude it's good news, bad news, or irrelevant news because everyone's left the platform for WM/Symbian/whatever?
--janak
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12-08-2004, 07:21 PM
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Thinker
Join Date: Nov 2004
Posts: 429
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I consider it irrelevant. It would be like Mac saying they were going to develope software for the Palm platform. I don't use either, so all I would say is "best of luck" and move on.
It's always good to keep up though. You never know; this might actually lead to something that would cause a mass migration back to the platform.
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12-08-2004, 07:37 PM
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Contributing Editor Emeritus
Join Date: Aug 2006
Posts: 8,228
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Quote:
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Originally Posted by Ed@Brighthand
PalmSource is doing what Apple did so successfully, put its user interface on top of the Linux kernel
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Really? I wasn't aware that Apple took OS9 and converted it to a AACE (Apple Application Compatibilty Environment) then wrote a new kernel and said you could make API calls to it but we aren't going to allow you to make full blown apps for it - and the new system would break most utilities and some apps - , then released a new OS that would allow you to make full blown API apps for it but no one would actually build a device with said new OS, and then take the whole shebang and put it on top of Linux.
Somehow, I think Apple skipped a big chunk of that mess. :lol: But I don't use Apple, so I could be mistaken. Maybe PalmSource is doing what Apple did. Then again, I doubt it. :wink:
Man, where are my PDA buzz posts that so often predicted that Palm didn't have what it took to write their own 32bit OS and transition OS4 users to it? :devilboy:
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