JeffKirvin.net

Okay, now that I’ve had time to read and digest all the hulabaloo, let’s
dig into this PalmOS for Linux thing.

First things first. This is not a replacement for Cobalt. Despite rumors to
the contrary, Cobalt is not in trouble. PalmOne doesn’t show much interest
in it, but other PalmOS licensees (PalmOne is far from the only one) are
preparing new devices. PalmOS for Linux (can we get a better name, like
PalmOS Tux?) is a new product in addition to the two flavors of PalmOS
already out there. PalmOS Garnet, PalmOS Cobalt, PalmOS for Linux. All
co-exist.

Second, PalmOS for Linux will fully support both PACE (the Palm Application
Compatability Environment) and the newer Protein APIs. That means that
well-behaved Garnet applications will run with no modification, and
Cobalt-specific applications will be able to run on PalmOS for Linux with
just a recompile. PalmOS for Linux doesn’t mean than PalmSource is
abandoning Cobalt or that developers should ignore Cobalt technologies.

Third, PalmOS for Linux will support native Linux drivers and applications,
as long as they don’t use the GUI. This means Linux drivers and system
daemons should run unmodified, opening up a whole new world of “hacks” to
enhance devices.

Now, with that out of the way, let’s look at the fun stuff.

I don’t know how soon PalmSource is going to make this available, but the
sooner the better. Why? To retrofit Pocket PCs, of course. There’s already
an effort underway to port Linux (the Familiar distro, I believe) to the HP
hx4705. I would love to get PalmOS for Linux on that thing. It would be
just about the perfect PDA for me. I want it now!

And why limit this to just PDAs? I’d love to see something about the size
of the Sony VAIO U75 running PalmOS for Linux. This would be the Ultimate,
as far as I’m concerned. 60GB hard drive, 800×600 screen,
touchscreen-enabled down to the BIOS. Running PalmOS for Linux would mean
it would have all the benefits of an ultralight running Linux with the
pen-friendly and intuitive PalmOS UI. More to the point, I could use
Documents To Go 7 instead of the far more expensive Microsoft Office, and I
could regularly sync/backup my data to my bigger desktop PC. My biggest
problem with ultralights and UPCs is that they’re not designed to sync like
PDAs, but too limited to function as your primary PC. With a U75 running
PalmOS for Linux, all these problems go away, leaving me with a device that
at once eliminates the need for a PDA, laptop and iPod. W00t!

Also, I’d like to spend a moment to reflect on the lost half of this
morning’s announcement. In acquiring CMS, PalmSource nearly doubled their
development staff, and the new people are mobile phone experts. PalmSource
has pledged to meet Symbian head to head by porting the PalmOS UI and core
PIM applications to lower-priced “dumbphones”, making the core PalmOS
functionality and data compatability universal to all cell phones
down to the entry level. No one’s talking about this, but this is huge.
Basically, the phone you get for free when you sign up with a carrier will
soon have the functionality and the interface of a Zire 21. With this one
move, PalmSource has positioned themselves to surpass not only Microsoft,
but also Symbian in the mobile phone space and become the “standard” for
wireless communications devices.

Think about that. This is the same logic as why Apple pushed so hard for
the education market. Get people to grow up using your platform, and
they’ll prefer it as adults. It didn’t work out so well for Apple because
their adult customers had to adapt to using the PCs they used at work, but
mobile phones are far more personal. Get a bunch of teenagers used to
keeping their schedule and phone numbers in PalmOS, and they’ll stick with
that interface. When they go to college, they’ll get a PalmOS for Linux
laptop. This is a daring strategy, and it breathes new life into the PalmOS
platform.