A Peek At The Next Operating System From ACCESS/PalmSource

[Ed Hansberry]

<a href="http://www.palminfocenter.com/news/8921/access-linux-platform-at-linuxworld-sf/">http://www.palminfocenter.com/news/8921/access-linux-platform-at-linuxworld-sf/</a><br /><br />A reader at PalmInfocenter attended the LinuxWorld conference in San Francisco last week and brought back some interesting tidbits about the next operating system from PalmSource. Among the things mentioned were:<br /><br />• The operating system will finally have <i>true</i> multitasking, but unlike Windows Mobile, the application will have to be specifically written to stay open in the background, otherwise, it will shut down into a saved state just like it does now.<br />• Four APIs are supported on the platform - Palm OS Garnet, Java, GTK+ and MAX. Palm OS Garnet, also known as Palm OS 5, will still run in an emulation environment on the device, but the platform may expose some of its features to the Garnet based apps, allowing new or modified Garnet apps some forms of multitasking for specific features.<br />• The primary target resolution is 240X320 QVGA, though other resolutions will be supported.<br />• Native Linux apps will run on a mini-X Windows system.<br /><br />The platform has been described as pre-Alpha, so things are certainly subject to change. I think it will be unlikely devices will be seen in the next 12 months unless they button down the feature set pretty quickly then have a very fast and trouble free beta followed by a quick round of carrier trials. Of course, they could make a standalone PDA faster since the radios required for a phone take a bit more time to test and integrate. It is also likely the first area to get any device with the new platform will be Asia, not the Americas or Europe.

[RogueSpear]

IMHO the worst thing that ever happened to the PPC/WM scene was the evaporation of Palm as a real competitor. I'm hopeful that this new OS will actually see the light of day let alone be a good release. Perhaps we could see OOo running on a handheld device.

[Phoenix]

Competition is always good for the consumer, but I don't believe that these efforts from PalmSource are going to amount to much.

I could think that at some point, some sort of product will ship with the OS, but at this point in the game, I can't see how they could possibly generate enough consumer interest for it to ever serve as even the slightest competition to WM again.

By the time anything would ship with this OS (a year from now or more?), WM will have been so solidified, few will give anything shipping from PalmSource a second look.

They can make a noble effort, but this will be too little, too late.

[Joff]

Surely, Windows is not the end of the road.
One thing to be learnt is that it can all change very quickly.

I really hope they will come up with a brilliant and challenging OS.
I'm always on the look for something new to get that geeky blood pressure go up again :mrgreen:

[RogueSpear]

I remember the day when Apple was all but counted out. I never could stand Macs and now here I am considering getting the new Mac Pro. Anyway, I'd really love to see Linux app development for handheld devices. It seems for the last couple of years any and all development of the WM platform by Microsoft has been geared toward the enterprise and hooking into their own various servers / platforms. This didn't bother me all that much a few years ago, but it's getting rather tired now.

[eagle63]

I remember the day when Apple was all but counted out. I never could stand Macs and now here I am considering getting the new Mac Pro.


That's funny, I'm in the same boat. I used to loathe Macs and anything Apple, and now I'm on the verge of replacing my aging Gateway laptop with a MacBook. My buddy just got a MacBook Pro and its' amazing how much better OSX is than Windows. (Vista included) My home will soon my mac and Linux only. :)

I really like Windows Mobile and I definitely agree that a strong comeback from Palm can only help. Microsoft is very capable of making a solid product, but they usually need a little pushing.

[lapchinj]

• The operating system will finally have true multitasking, but unlike Windows Mobile, the application will have to be specifically written to stay open in the background, otherwise, it will shut down into a saved state just like it does now.

Why? What's the reason for this. I see the pros and cons for each scenario but why not let the user choose whether or not to 'hibernate' the app. Does this also mean that if the app is written that it should close it will never be able to stay open in the background and visa versa?

Jeff-

[Phoenix]

Surely, Windows is not the end of the road.
One thing to be learnt is that it can all change very quickly.

I really hope they will come up with a brilliant and challenging OS.
I'm always on the look for something new to get that geeky blood pressure go up again :mrgreen:

True, it certainly could. Like all things, time will tell for certain. I haven't seen anything inspiring come from PalmSource for a very long time, so for me personally, I'm not waiting with bated breath or expecting much.

[desertrat_blog]

Perhaps we could see OOo running on a handheld device.
You can:
http://www.users.on.net/~hluc/myZaurus/custom.html