01-15-2004, 05:00 PM
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Contributing Editor Emeritus
Join Date: Aug 2006
Posts: 8,228
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It Is About Time - Palm OS 6
http://www.theregister.co.uk/content/4/34856.html
Four years ago it was "who needs 16/32/64MB of RAM," "why would you want to listen to music on your PDA, that is what MP3 players are for" and even "color?!? That is gimmicky." Of course, Palm has slowly been adding these and many more features. As those features have been added, they have been heralded as the best thing since sliced bread as if Palm put a magical section of code in it that makes it right when they release it but anything else earlier wasn't ready for prime time. Oddly enough, as PalmOS devices have gotten color and faster processors, I've not heard a peep out of anyone about battery life that has gone from the legendary "4 to 6 weeks" to 4 to 5 hours on some devices, even though the 6 to 8 of the original iPAQ was considered laughable by them. :roll:
The last big hold out, besides a file system that makes RAM and storage cards transparent, is multitasking. Even two to three years ago, I talked to Palm owners that couldn't fathom why you would want to multitask. "This isn't a PC. I just want to do one thing at a time with it." More and more though I've seen Palm fans clamor for the ability to check emails while chatting online, or check on an appointment without having to shut down their browser. Well, PalmOS 6 is out and should bring the versatility multitasking brings that you and I have been enjoying since our first Pocket PC or even Palm-sized PC as early as 1997. What is ironic is PalmSource is being very quiet about it. They have tons of PalmOS 5 devices and even a few PalmOS 4 devices in the market channels and don't want the sales of those to stagnate as users await a new OS.
Now we'll have to see how well PalmSource has handled the multitasking experience. Does it have a built in task switcher? Can you really close a task without adding third party software? Will it get sluggish at all once 5-6 apps are loaded? I'm sure if it does, we'll never hear about it. :wink:
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01-15-2004, 05:18 PM
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Theorist
Join Date: Aug 2006
Posts: 298
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As someone who uses a Palm daily I can say I never understood the sort of Palm user you describe above. It's some sort of blind devotion akin to Mac fanatics. :roll:
I think one of the main reasons multitasking was never a big deal to Palm users before was because with the use of hacks, you could basically get to most of your critical data from inside of any program. And when you closed a Palm app, the next open brought you right where you were, so going from an appointment to memo pad and back was no different than if they were both open at the same time.
This changed when people starting using the net on their Palms though. Check email while I use other Palm apps? Can't do it. Shift that meeting time while x page loads in my web browser? Nope.
That's when it dawned that, hey, multitasking would be a good thing!
Some people are just slow on the uptake. It's taken Palm way too long to bring the OS where it should have been years ago. Oh well.
I'm just glad they finally did it. How well they do it is still to be seen.
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01-15-2004, 05:58 PM
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Pupil
Join Date: Feb 2002
Posts: 28
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I have to say I am skeptical about the need for multitasking.
I mean, aside from listening to MP3s while I read my avantgo channels, I can't think of anything I do that requires a program to run in the background while I'm using another program in the foreground.
Can anyone give an example of a situation (other than the above, which I concede) where multitasking is helpful?
-Matt
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01-15-2004, 06:01 PM
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Intellectual
Join Date: Nov 2006
Posts: 148
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For years, Palm and Microsoft used very different philosophies when designing their handheld operating systems. Microsoft's was to add in all the features its users wanted, even though the hardware available at the time wasn't up to the challenge. Palm's philosophy was to only provide the features that it felt the hardware could support at the time. This meant no color screens, no multi-tasking, and no multimedia support. Therefore, Pocket PCs were far more functional that Palm OS ones were, but were also larger and had shorter battery lives.
As hardware has gotten better, all Microsoft has had to do was sit back and reap the benefits. Palm (and now PalmSource) is faced with the daunting task of re-writing its OS to add the features it eschewed earlier.
At least the theory was that Palm would only add features when the hardware was ready. As Ed pointed out, the battery lives of both platforms have reached the same level, which I consider unpleasantly short. I wrote an editorial about this a few months ago. (Yes, that's not a great picture of me.)
What's disappointing for us hard-care users is that a recent study showed that the majority for handheld users are only interested in the basic functions of a handheld, not the really cool stuff we like so much. So we're faced with the situation of two feature-rich operating systems capable of powering handhelds that rival the features of a laptop, but the best selling handheld of last year was the Palm Zire, which does only slightly more than the original Palm Pilot.
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01-15-2004, 06:08 PM
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Pupil
Join Date: Jan 2003
Posts: 18
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Quote:
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Originally Posted by sub_tex
I think one of the main reasons multitasking was never a big deal to Palm users before was because with the use of hacks, you could basically get to most of your critical data from inside of any program.
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Yeap but this contradicts the alleged "simplicity" of the Palm OS. Not your usual mainstream Palm user would find and use those hacks. Not to mention the system instability.
Quote:
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Originally Posted by sub_tex
This changed when people starting using the net on their Palms though. Check email while I use other Palm apps? Can't do it. Shift that meeting time while x page loads in my web browser? Nope.
That's when it dawned that, hey, multitasking would be a good thing!
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I was a Palm V user and checked my mail from day one and I guess numerous others did. I always missed multitasking but I was not a blind Palm devotee who would not voice that.
You have valid points but I think Ed's point is very true. "If we can't offer it then you don't need it" is IMHO Palm's moto.
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01-15-2004, 06:17 PM
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Neophyte
Join Date: Dec 2003
Posts: 1
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low-end user here!
Quote:
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Originally Posted by Ed@Brighthand
What's disappointing for us hard-care users is that a recent study showed that the majority for handheld users are only interested in the basic functions of a handheld, not the really cool stuff we like so much. So we're faced with the situation of two feature-rich operating systems capable of powering handhelds that rival the features of a laptop, but the best selling handheld of last year was the Palm Zire, which does only slightly more than the original Palm Pilot. |
I used to think I was a high-end user, but experiences with multiple iPaqs, Axims and Palm devices has taught me that I really only want to do simple things with my "PDA." The only "high end" thing I'd like to do is play MP3s...which is exactly why I'm anxiously waiting the Motorola MPx220 that's coming to T-Mobile. Windows Mobile OS, sync's with my PC via USB (oh how I despise you, Bluetooth, bane of my existance) and has an SDIO slot so I can bring some MP3s on the road with me. Everything I could possibly want...all in ONE device.
What is the general opinion of smartphones here? Advantages, disadvantages? Just curious...
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01-15-2004, 06:25 PM
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Intellectual
Join Date: Aug 2006
Posts: 251
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Re: It Is About Time - Palm OS 6
Quote:
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Originally Posted by Ed Hansberry
http://www.theregister.co.uk/content/4/34856.html
Four years ago it was "who needs 16/32/64MB of RAM," "why would you want to listen to music on your PDA, that is what MP3 players are for" and even "color?!? That is gimmicky." Of course, Palm has slowly been adding these and many more features.
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On the other hand, without Palm Vx (and others) would there be a PPC that is the size of the hp1900 series? Would there be affordable (ie. less than $500) PPCs? I doubt it.
Face it, both platforms are slowly converging. Each is trying to incorporate the strengths of the other platform. Without the competition we would still have 8MB mono AA battery powered Palms and brick-sized $600 PPCs.
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01-15-2004, 06:33 PM
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Ponderer
Join Date: Dec 2004
Posts: 68
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I guess I'd have to say multi-tasking is one thing that kept me coming back to PPC. I can take inventory & switch back & forth between Calc98 & the Handbase Db. I can workout while playing mp3's, keep track of the routine with the fitness software, & time rest periods with the timer; being able to switch back & forth as necessary. I'm sure if I thought more before I posted, these are just trivial, but they mean a lot to me.
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01-15-2004, 06:58 PM
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Neophyte
Join Date: Jan 2004
Posts: 3
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>I mean, aside from listening to MP3s while I read my avantgo channels, >I can't think of anything I do that requires a program to run in the >background while I'm using another program in the foreground.
I use both a ppc and tungsten and here's something I use often without much thought on ppc but cannot with the palm. When using yahoo's webmail and in the middle of composing a message, if I forgot somebody's email address or want to copy a quote, I can always easily switch back/forth to the other apps and copy&paste. On the tungsten, switching out of the web browser would clear out the page.
I really like the form factor of the tungsten but this always bothered me.
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01-15-2004, 07:17 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 mattchapin
I mean, aside from listening to MP3s while I read my avantgo channels, I can't think of anything I do that requires a program to run in the background while I'm using another program in the foreground.
Can anyone give an example of a situation (other than the above, which I concede) where multitasking is helpful?
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Real world example. You get an email from someone and it has their contact info at the bottom - 4-5 lines of it including their address and phone/fax number.
On a PPC, you can switch back and forth from the open email and open contact copying and pasting data in. On the Palm, you'd close the contact out each time you "switched" to the inbox app. I'm not sure if the email would also close and take you back to the message listing.
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