Palm Talks About New OS

SeattleDave writes "CNET's News.com is carrying a story about Palm's new OS, version 4.0. To quote their article: "The new version 4.0 of the Palm OS, which chief executive Carl Yankowski detailed at the PalmSource developer conference here, supports 16-bit color, Bluetooth wireless connectivity, universal serial bus (USB) connections for easier PC synchronization, and support for wireless telephony." Read the original article as well. "

Comments

Re:Handspring and important code questions

[FroBugg]

Not exactly. The 3.1H used on the Visor Solo and Deluxe is basically PalmOS 3.0 with a few improvements, most of it to support springboard modules and the USB hotsync. There's also some differences in the basic software package.

The new Visor Prism and Visor Platinum both come with a modified version of PalmOS 3.5. So, all they're really doing is taking the basic PalmOS and adding a few things here and there. So far it hasn't been a problem with them for 3.x, but it might become a little more difficult when 4.0 finally comes out. We'll see.

Also, I'm not sure about this, but for most wireless modules to work perfectly with old Visors, they have to be sent back to Handspring and replaced with upgrades that reduce RF interference. I believe that these upgraded Visors also come with a modified PalmOS 3.3 or 3.5, but I'm really not all that sure about it.

In any event, Visors are stuck with the OS they come with, unless you can do what you want with software patches or you want to go in and physically change the chips. The ROM on the Palms is flashable, and can be upgraded to a new OS. But it's still up in the air whether 4.0 will work on the Dragonball devices.

Are they improving the way it works?

[cqnn]

I hope this new version also addresses some of the other design limits of
the current Palm OS such as:

the 4k Memo limit

the lack of a standard interface to link data points from the basic apps together
(such as linking the note fields from datebook and todo lists with the notebook app)

I really like my Palm device, and I admire its simplicity, but even without
comparing against other PDAs I think Palm Inc is overdue on making the underlying
OS a little more powerful and flexible. Particularly in light of the remaining
challenges of PocketPC and PSION, and the new designs of Linux-based PDAs.

Elegance in Simplicity

[CousinChimpy]

I actually hope they don't go too overboard with the new features (in the OS and, implicitly, in new models). The thing I love about my Palm III is that it's simple, and does its job well. (The introduction to O'Reilly's Palm Programming does a good job of illustrating how the Palm's simplicity and appropriate-technology approach has been key to its continued success.)

I looked at WinCE handhelds when I did my shopping (in '98). Their displays, while color, were hard to read (and also cluttered with Windows UI elements that didn't belong -- once you've crammed all the usual window trimmings onto a teensy screen, there's no room left to work on!). In contrast (pun intended), my Palm III's screen, although monochrome, is superbly sharp and clear. It also eats battery power at a fraction the rate of a color screen. To me, this is an appropriate compromise.

Geez, though, I thought. This WinCE machine comes with 8MB of RAM built in. How come the Palm only has 2? A quick trip to the WinCE PDA's system info panel made the reason clear: WinCE itself takes up the first few megs of this formerly vast-seeming space! In constrast, the Palm's use of memory is impressively efficient. Under PalmOS, 2MB goes a long way. I can easily go for a year without bothering to purge old datebook appointments, etc. and not run out of RAM. This despite the many games and other apps that I've downloaded to it, and a few AvantGo channels I keep around. The OS' design makes for very compact apps.

Another bonus: HotSync is a one-button operation, and almost never makes mistakes or requires further intervention on my part. This stands out in my mind as one of the best instances of smart software engineering I've had the pleasure to benefit from...

To conclude this rant: WinCE is an unwieldy hydra of feature-bloat designed to insure that we can experience the joys of Windows everywhere, even on our PDAs... PalmOS is an elegant piece of engineering, appropriate to its task. While it's probably good news that the PalmOS is continuing to be updated, let's not forget a hard-earned bit of folk wisdom: if it ain't broke, don't fix it!

From the article:

[atrowe]

"Palm is trying to enhance its OS to maintain its lead over Microsoft in the handheld market by selectively adding more features"

WinCE has had 16 bit color and USB support for over a year now.

Go Bluetooth!

[jandrese]

Yes, 3com finally understands exactly what's missing with the current PDAs, decent connectivity. Current Palms only have the slow and flaky serial port or the slow and flaky IR port to communicate with. The Serial port requires a cable attached to another device, and the IR port has a range of about 2" and can be tricky to get working in some environtments.

With Bluetooth Palms (and other PDAs) can automatically form piconets (small wireless networks only a few meters across) wherever they go. This is for more than just network games (as the article mentioned) but also for true collaboration in a mobile environment.

In case anyone is wondering, Bluetooth is IEEE 802.15, and can best be summarized as 802.11a and USB rolled into one. Transfer speeds are in the 1-2Mbit range, and the protocol supports a "Service Discovery Protocol" for determing what is available in the local network.