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New Palm Pictures?

New Palm writes "It looks like pictures of a new Palm os5 device codenamed 'Oslo' have hit the web. www.pocketpcthought.com had them up, but after a phonecall from Palm's Director of Global Information Security, pulled the pictures. A number of people are mirroring them. Looks semi-legit - but who knows, and who knows how long the images will stay up?

230 comments

  1. First link is broken. by aetherspoon · · Score: 2, Informative

    First "mirror" link is broken in the article...

    --
    --- Ãther SPOON!
    1. Re:First link is broken. by tg_schlacht · · Score: 1

      Well to save you from looking at the HTML source here's where that broken link goes: http://home.earthlink.net/~ahecht/newpalm-large.jp g

      The non-broken link "them" is a larger image. Both images are the same other than the size difference.

    2. Re:First link is broken. by Oculus+Habent · · Score: 2

      Not quite. The second has been cleaned up some. The contrast and levels appear to have been played with to give a better image. You'll also notice some blurring next to "Oslo" on the first image, and it is Photoshopped out in the second, but there are still the telltale signs - the color difference in the casing around the bottom right of "Oslo".

      I wonder what it used to say.

      --
      That what was all this school was for... to teach us how to solve our own problems. -- janeowit
    3. Re:First link is broken. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      The serial number was blanked out. Makes it harder for Palm to trace back to the source.

    4. Re:First link is broken. by biglig2 · · Score: 2

      Serial number to identify who leaked it if (untouched) photos come up on the web. Since untouched versions have, whoever got Oslo number D1BPC368 is in trouble...

      --
      ~~~~~ BigLig2? You mean there's another one of me?
  2. i don't buy it by X_Caffeine · · Score: 1

    Compelling design, but a) looks fake as hell (look at the bottom left corner of the top half of the device, just above the graffiti area), and b) I'd hope that the BeOS guys are capable of a better application browser than the same old one all the older Palm OS's use.

    --
    // I will show you fear in a handful of jellybeans.
    1. Re:i don't buy it by MrAl · · Score: 1

      Yeah but look: they're using tabbed windows! :)

      Seriously I imagine right now the ex-Be engineers are working on system level stuff instead of GUI stuff. It will be interesting to see what they come up with.

    2. Re:i don't buy it by Ami+Ganguli · · Score: 2

      I'm looking at the bottom left corner of the top half, and I don't see what you mean. Can you elaborate?

      --
      It is tempting, if the only tool you have is a hammer, to treat everything as if it were a nail. - Abraham Maslow
    3. Re:i don't buy it by prof187 · · Score: 0

      If you look at the other pictures,they are on different backgrounds. My guess is that someone just didn't want a picture of it sitting on their desk or something.

      --

      My other sig is an import.
    4. Re:i don't buy it by CamelTrader · · Score: 2

      if you look at the top left corner of the palm unit, it looks super-imposed, and the blurring around the bottom half looks fake-ish too. It could be natural, but I side with the poster that it looks like photoshop lent a hand to this picture.

      --
      Your .sig is important to us. Please hold.
    5. Re:i don't buy it by SomeoneGotMyNick · · Score: 2

      If you are referring to the obvious break in the case design between the screen and graffiti area, It looks to me that they're designing the thumbpad as a slide down cover (ala Zaurus) to hide the graffiti area when not in use.

    6. Re:i don't buy it by biglig2 · · Score: 2

      That, or posibly a clip-on thumboard module. My own speculation is that this may be their "communicator" device; it has a favorites icon like an i705 instead of the calculator icon you see on a non-wireless palm; the indicator light top right looks very like the i705 conneciton status light, and it's made of plastic, not metal, indicating it is unlikely to be the top-end device.

      --
      ~~~~~ BigLig2? You mean there's another one of me?
  3. sucked dry by Alien54 · · Score: 4, Funny
    Looks semi-legit - but who knows, and who knows how long the images will stay up?

    Probably until the Slash dot effect kicks in, and their monthly bandwith allowance is sucked dry like a raisin in the sun in Death Valley.

    Abandon all hope, ye who enter here.

    --
    "It is a greater offense to steal men's labor, than their clothes"
    1. Re:sucked dry by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Haven't raisins already been sucked dry? If it weren't, you'd be eating a grape.

    2. Re:sucked dry by Alien54 · · Score: 2
      Haven't raisins already been sucked dry? If it weren't, you'd be eating a grape.

      Most raisins still have some moisture.

      The image I wanted was something dried to the point of negative water content.

      --
      "It is a greater offense to steal men's labor, than their clothes"
  4. For those who cant wait by LinkDJ · · Score: 0

    First link:
    http://home.earthlink.net/~ahecht/newpalm-large.jp g

    It's the same pic as at the first link, only, different =)

  5. Better Mirror by kawaichan · · Score: 4, Informative

    Here is a better Mirror

    About the device

    -Interesting way to make the device smaller
    -Still hard graffit?
    -320x320 screen

    --

    kawai
    1. Re:Better Mirror by ABetterMan · · Score: 1, Informative

      Another mirror here. :)

      --

      Someone you trust is one of us.
    2. Re:Better Mirror by ABetterMan · · Score: 0, Offtopic

      Why are my posts automatically at 0, even though nobody's moderated them today? I'm not a troll! People might have disagreed with my past posts, but I've never played a troll. Is this what you get when Slashdot disagrees with you? So much for free speech :| Bah.

      --

      Someone you trust is one of us.
    3. Re:Better Mirror by KFury · · Score: 2

      "-320x320 screen"

      Really? It looked like 160x160 to me... If Palm went 320^2 I'd be happier about that than the collapsing desing, though both are cool.

      Okay, closer look, you're right. it's 320x, but the photo previews are at half-dpi so it looks skanky. Still, that's just software.

      Finally a machine to replace me workhorse Palm V.

    4. Re:Better Mirror by SoupIsGoodFood_42 · · Score: 1
      Really? It looked like 160x160 to me... If Palm went 320^2 I'd be happier about that than the collapsing desing, though both are cool.

      By the looks of it. It, it prolly doesn't colapes. I imagin that it would just be to complex to do something like that to make it worth it.

      I'm also pretty sure it's 320x320. The text looks too smooth for 160x160. However. I will still never buy it because it doesn't have a virtual graffiti area.

      I really like the screen on the new Sony, but it's too big with all it's other stuff (keyboard, mp3 stuff, space for camera etc).

      The other thing is that you can't colapes the virtual gaffiti area unless the application supports it (which was very few when I played with it....not even the standard Palm apps!).

      This is due to Palm OS. And now that Palm OS 5 has specs for 320x320 res screens. I'm not sure if they've made it better for other resolutions to work at. Of course. A properly designed OS shouldn't be resolution specific. But I can't get my hopes up for Palm doing anything properly anymore.

    5. Re:Better Mirror by SoupIsGoodFood_42 · · Score: 1
      Acctualy. On second thoughts, and after looking around a bit more. It does seem as colapsable.

      But I still think it's silly. The only point of this would be to save space. But I find that most PDA's aren't too tall or wide....But too thick.

      I imagine that this colapable design would add to the thickness of the PDA, even if it is only slightly thicker.

  6. first (broken) link by Jucius+Maximus · · Score: 3, Informative

    The first mirror link, which as of now is broken, should be: http://home.earthlink.net/~ahecht/newpalm-large.jp g

    1. Re:first (broken) link by lamp77 · · Score: 1

      Whats up with all the broken links, I think 3 have been posted to the fron t page in the last 2 days!

      b.

  7. picture mirror by dboyles · · Score: 2, Informative

    here

    Can you still be a karma whore even when you're at the cap?

    --
    -- "Complacency is a far more dangerous attitude than outrage." -Naomi Littlebear
    1. Re:picture mirror by inkfox · · Score: 1, Interesting
      Can you still be a karma whore even when you're at the cap?
      Ah, but they hide the numbers now. The range may well have changed too.

      How do you know if you're at the cap?

      --
      Says the RIAA: When you EQ, you're stealing bass!
  8. Hrmmmm by maynard-lag · · Score: 2, Funny

    Isn't it interesting that the mirror link indicated in the slashdot article is to a site called davesipaq.com?

    It looks like they took that dial interface from the ipod and shrunk it and stuck it in the middle of the typical palm buttons.

    --
    Have you hugged your Karma Whore today?
    1. Re:Hrmmmm by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      The interesting thing is that davesipaq.com is well known for stealing photos off of other sites and airbrushing out their logo, then claiming he has the "exclusive". The guy who runs it, Dave Ciccione, is a complete fucker - he's a complete loser in the Pocket PC community, everyone mocks him, yet he doesn't realize he's such a complete dick. This only goes to further prove it...someone should do the world a favour and DOS his site off the grid.

    2. Re:Hrmmmm by jx100 · · Score: 2

      you mean like through a /.ing or something?

  9. Screen Images by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Wow, what a blast from the past! Those images
    displayed on the screen are from a Kodak PhotoCD
    demo disk I did in like 1992! Where did they
    come from?!?!

    Nice looking machine though. A bit of IPAQ envy.

  10. Nah by HomeGroove · · Score: 3, Insightful

    Take a look at the mirror. It looks like p.shop hacking up to me. The corners on the right are too sharp. I know he put rendered some clouds behind the image (God knows why) but this thing just reeks of photoshop shenanigans.

    --

    ----
    Spam subject of the moment: Offshore account secrets -nashville disrupt

    1. Re:Nah by prof187 · · Score: 0

      I think it looks pretty legit. The background has obviously been changed (because you can see different backgrounds in different pictures) but there doesn't seem to be any editing of the case of the device, other than the logoing of the websites.

      --

      My other sig is an import.
    2. Re:Nah by gcshaw2nd · · Score: 3, Insightful
      You people are ridiculous. Everything is touched up in photoshop. It's not a conspiracy anymore; it's just the way it is. Did I miss the competition to be the first person to claim every photo is a photoshop fake?

      And such as it is, I spend a lot of time photoshopping and those corners don't look "too sharp" to me. If anything, I'd say the glare along the right edge of the graffiti portion seems abnormally sharp, but it's in keeping with the quality of the photo.

    3. Re:Nah by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      >Everything is touched up in photoshop.

      Say it isnt so!! It feels like the day I found out that Santa wasn't real :-(

    4. Re:Nah by kalidasa · · Score: 1

      I'd say that the grafitti portion has been pasted in from a photo of another device, and the navigation buttons from a third. Just doesn't look real to me. That doesn't mean anything, but we were all treated to somewhat similar photos last year purporting to be the Apple PDA (you know, just before the iPod came out), it's at least 50/50 that it's a fake.

  11. Keyboard by totallygeek · · Score: 2
    Okay, so the new Palm slides apart giving more options to the bottom. Why no thumbboard? I love those!

    1. Re:Keyboard by rleyton · · Score: 4, Insightful
      Moving parts are a Bad Thing(tm). They're always the first thing to go wrong, and the most expensive to replace.

      *Sigh*

      KISS is a sensible design methodology that I fear organiser manufacturers are forgetting.

      --
      ooooooh! What does this button do? - DeeDee, Dexters Lab.
    2. Re:Keyboard by edbarrett · · Score: 1
      KISS is a sensible design methodology that I fear organiser manufacturers are forgetting.

      If it never fell apart, they could never sell you a new one.

    3. Re:Keyboard by NodeZero · · Score: 1

      I agree. Sometimes you have to wonder if when a device is being designed that they have to put a little imperfection into it. There is the argument that it would be a loss of money when people were using their warranties and 30-60 day guarentee things. But it still makes you wonder about bad design actually being added in sometimes. Especially when most of the world can see why it is a bad design.

      --
      - "My name is Legion, for we are many" -Mark 5:9
  12. Mirror by jwilhelm · · Score: 2, Informative
  13. Looks like a minipalm. by inkfox · · Score: 4, Interesting
    Aesthetically, that's a good way to make a small screen look even smaller. Cinching the sides like that draws a perceptual barrier between the screen and the writing area, making the thing look unusably small, even if the profile hasn't changed.

    This might swell well in Japan where smaller is seen as better, but it seems more likely to stay on the shelves in the US for average consumers.

    --
    Says the RIAA: When you EQ, you're stealing bass!
    1. Re:Looks like a minipalm. by lamp77 · · Score: 1

      if the bottom part had a rim style keyboard I'd be all into that.

      B.

  14. New Marketing Tactic by NiftyNews · · Score: 5, Funny

    I can picture the marketing meeting now...

    Drone 1: Alright, listen up. So I leak these pictures...
    Drone 2: Then we go out and tell everyone not to post them!
    Drone 1: Brilliant! Let's all go home early and drink expensive wine.

    1. Re:New Marketing Tactic by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Funny

      Drone1: Lets stick `em on the net
      Drone2: No-one will notice - lets do a proper press release.
      Drone1: Cant be bothered. Look if we stick it on the net, then withdraw it, people will mirror it all over the net just to get back at `the man`.
      Drone2: No way..what, people with computer skills still trying to get back at their parents for not giving them every last thing they wanted while they were growing up, taking it out on the nearest authority figure? I dont believe it.
      Drone3: hey hey, come here guys, you wont believe what they`re talking about on SlashDot...

    2. Re:New Marketing Tactic by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Drone 1: Let's leak the pictures to slashdot...
      Drone 2: ...and???
      Drone 3: Profit!

  15. Simple question, simple answer: by LaserBeams · · Score: 1

    Q: "...who knows how long the images will stay up?"

    A: Not long, if there linked here.

    --
    Karma: \Kar"ma\, n. [Skr.] (Buddhism) One's acts considered as fixing one's lot in the future existence.
    1. Re:Simple question, simple answer: by LaserBeams · · Score: 1

      Oh, no, I did it again =(

      Please disregard any spelling mistakes made by this author, as he is currently forced into using a junky keyboard on a really fast connection which doesn't give him time to hit "stop" before he notices the spelling mistake... =/

      --
      Karma: \Kar"ma\, n. [Skr.] (Buddhism) One's acts considered as fixing one's lot in the future existence.
  16. Absolutely ugly by (Score+5,+Wow) · · Score: 1

    Yuk, what an ugly mofo. Does it slide in though? That would make the device a bit of cool, at least.

    1. Re:Absolutely ugly by kawaichan · · Score: 1

      Of course it slides, that's the whole damn point, if it has the thickness of a Palm m505, then this thing would be one of the smallest PDA ever made.

      For those of you that are asking what are those BeOS engineers doing? You should able to see their work with the next release of PalmOS (PalmOS 6), it rumors to have new interface and better mutlimedia thingys

      --

      kawai
    2. Re:Absolutely ugly by NDPTAL85 · · Score: 1

      So we have to wait for OS 6? I thought OS 5 was supposed to have the Be stuff in it. We've been waiting for 5 too long to have to wait even longer until 6.

      --
      Mac OS X and Windows XP working side by side to fight back the night.
    3. Re:Absolutely ugly by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Did anyone ever consider that maybe:
      a) this is a fake
      b) the real one will be really cool?
      I can't imagine that Palm would take so many steps backwards, after originating the PDA.

    4. Re:Absolutely ugly by kawaichan · · Score: 1

      OS 5 is basically OS 4 with Arm support, no new interface (well, unless you consider new icons new interface)

      Other than that, it's a no show till OS6, which should include BeOS stuff.

      --

      kawai
    5. Re:Absolutely ugly by glebd · · Score: 1

      FYI, PDA, and the term "PDA" itself, were originated by Apple when they released Newton MessagePad (in 1994, I believe).

    6. Re:Absolutely ugly by Alan+Partridge · · Score: 1

      originating the PDA? what the fuck was the Newton then? credit where it's due, man - shame it was only Palm that realised people would prefer a SMALL PDA to a good one - this new device seems to follow that logic too.

      --
      That was classic intercourse!
    7. Re:Absolutely ugly by NDPTAL85 · · Score: 1

      Thats great info then actually. I'll have no qualms now of upgrading to the new Kyocera Smartphone 7135 when it comes out. It will only run OS 4. My current 6035 has 3.5.1 and works very well.

      --
      Mac OS X and Windows XP working side by side to fight back the night.
  17. How long do we have to wait ? by Oxide · · Score: 0, Offtopic

    Having been fed up with my Palm Vx slow processor and 8 MB limit, I completley had my mind made up about buyinng the new Sony Clie T665C. Now that the Palm OS 5 powered, ARM processor packed, devices are on the horizon, looks like I will suck up on my Vx a little longer. Hopefully not too long.

    Anyone knows how long will it be till we get those?

  18. Fake by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    That crap looks faker than the ignorant iWalk that people were jumping up and down about. Terrible Photoshop job indeed.

  19. IMHO by perlyking · · Score: 0, Troll

    It looks like crap, actually it looks like some obscure pda that someone has stuck a palm logo on.

    --
    no sig.
  20. New Variation On A Bad Idea by LinkDJ · · Score: 1, Informative

    This is a nice "Zaurus with graffiti"-esque look, but the screen is still the little tiny one found on all palms.

    Except one. The Sony Clie NR70/V has a bigger screen, because instead of hiding the graffiti pad under some buttons, it's part of the screen. so, if you dont want graffiti pad, you get rid of it, and you've got more screen space. And with that integrated keyboard, you'll never need graffiti in the first place.

    1. Re:New Variation On A Bad Idea by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      It doesnt work with any applications though. I can't run doom for my ipaq or simcity for my m100 on it. WTF.

    2. Re:New Variation On A Bad Idea by yog · · Score: 2

      Don't forget the Handera, a Palm compatible that has the virtual graffiti area since at least a year ago, as well as a few other tasty features. I can't understand why Palm doesn't copy this feature; it's so convenient, and it works as well as the silk screen approach.

      Still, the NR70/V looks pretty cool. ;-)

      --
      it's = "it is"; its = possessive. E.g., it's flapping its wings.
  21. Great for games! by John+Harrison · · Score: 4, Insightful
    Finally a Palm with a button layout that can be useful for games! This has taken too long! If they had put a little bit of thought into this in the first place we never would have had to deal with non-intuitive control layouts for so many games.

    That alone might make be purchase one since my Handspring recently died.

    1. Re:Great for games! by Peyna · · Score: 2

      buttons don't look that much different than they do on a Handspring, what are you seeing that I'm not? I think it would still put far too much strain on your thumbs and wrist to play games with it, since the buttons are positions too close to the lower edge.

      --
      What?
    2. Re:Great for games! by aonaran · · Score: 1

      The only thing that has changed is instead of just up and down, it looks like you now have a rocker that can do up, down, left and right.

  22. Pshop Hacking...so what? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Even if the image is doctored, or even generated, in photoshop, so what? I cannot count the times that Marketing wanted something to show customers, but development hadn't come up with a working prototype yet.

  23. Oh dear gosh by Random+Bystander · · Score: 0, Redundant

    Even if they are legit, who would want one looking like the one bottom-right out of those thumbnails. Looks like somebody got steamrolled, then pixellated with a 400x zoom.

    And can anyone make out picture #5? (bottom row, middle pic).

    1. Re:Oh dear gosh by LinkDJ · · Score: 0

      Looks like an outdoor hat rack. A very weird person's outdoor hat rack.

  24. The pictures on the Oslo by prof187 · · Score: 0, Redundant

    I really hope that those pictures on it are just poor quality. They are very pixelicious. It looks like Palm is developing very nicely, they have came up with a very sleek design, anyway. Also, I wonder what the blurred out part beside "Oslo" used to be.

    --

    My other sig is an import.
    1. Re:The pictures on the Oslo by FRiC · · Score: 2, Informative

      The blurred out area besides the word Oslo is a serial number. I saw the same picture but with the serial number intact on several Chinese websites last week, and was wondering why there had been no mention of it at all on the English websites.

    2. Re:The pictures on the Oslo by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Informative

      It was a serial number. The article says that Palm requested the original picture with serial number intact, presumably to trace the leak to an individual.

    3. Re:The pictures on the Oslo by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      You gotta' read the whole story about the serial number and Palm:

      http://www.pocketpcthoughts.com/forums/viewtopic .p hp?t=2152

  25. Apple iPod/Palm hybrid? by theolein · · Score: 4, Interesting

    This might of course just be one of those attempts to troll /., but that jog wheel in the lower portion of the device looks very much like Apple's iPod control wheel. Given that there have been many rumours of Apple/Palm cooperation and that Palm OS5 is supposed to have all sorts of new features, examples of which are improved QuickTime compatibility, and possibly inclusion of Apple's Ink handwriting technology, there could be some basis to these rumours. Apples' cracking down on rumour websites, as well as Palm offsetting risks to Apple entering the PDA market would be further grounds for interesting news next week at the MWNY.

    1. Re:Apple iPod/Palm hybrid? by Chanc_Gorkon · · Score: 3, Informative

      Doesn't look like a Jog wheel to me. Looks more like a directional pad.

      --

      Gorkman

    2. Re:Apple iPod/Palm hybrid? by arban · · Score: 1

      Indeed it does look like the iPod wheel. I thought it would be interesting if the disk had a dual feature. In one mode the ring would act like the iPod (rotating) and in the second mode it would act like a directional pad (ala console controller).

      This may not be a real unit but who knows...

      --

      "You like Chinese food." -Fortune Cookie
  26. Discrepancy in pixellation by aegilops · · Score: 1
    I assume that the slideshow screengrab was for significantly scaled down original images. I draw your attention to the curvature on the corners of the "Slideshow" button area - pretty smooth and well displayed. But compare to the images displayed within the slideshow itself, particularly the red garment worn in the bottom left image - strong pixellation.

    OK, it's conceivable that the original image was drawn out of Duplo bricks, but if so, frankly, I've seen better ASCII art.

    Aegilops

    1. Re:Discrepancy in pixellation by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Not a problem - assume the screen is high res,
      (320x320) - older apps end up looking like old apps because the OS just doubles the pixels.

      Perhaps the [slideshow] button is drawn with an
      OS (high res -aware) toolkit...

    2. Re:Discrepancy in pixellation by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      not only that, but it's a SLIDE SHOW, meaning the pictures are probably full screen with smooth edges when you click on them, but small, pixelated POS when it's a slide show.

      The Slide Show button, on the other had, is rendered by the program and full size, not a resize of a much larger button.

      Many palm picture apps do that, and if you owned a Palm you'd know better than to say something so stupid.

      and for all of you saying "oh it's fake, look at the left side above the graffiti!".... what, you didn't notice the FREAKING CLOUDS IN THE BACKGROUND?!? Maybe whoever took the picture cut-n-pasted it onto clouds because they didn't want their boss to identify the desk the photo was taken on! Maybe whoever hacked the picture wasn't very good at photoshop because the right side above the graffiti isn't even level with the left side!

      Not saying it's a real photo, but some of the reasons you people have come up with for thinking it's a fake are just absurd.... jeez, and this site is suppose to be for "nerds".

  27. New karma system? by chabotc · · Score: 2, Offtopic

    It seems the ./ crew got so sick and tired of people trying to get 50 karma, they now changed it to a less quantifying system. (this is based on something i remeber reading a short time ago where a ./ member mentioned that giving karma a name and a value was the worst mistake they made with slashdot)

    My karma used to be 50, but when i now view my info page, it now shows 'excelent'.

    Very OT, i know, but i didnt find a reference to it yet, so i figured it was a interesting tid-bit to share

    1. Re:New karma system? by acceleriter · · Score: 0, Offtopic
      And in Taco's typical, capricious manner, the change was implemented without a chance for comment by users or even an announcement.

      He still thinks this is his little kingdom. I guess when LNUX is finally delisted, VA folds, and the bankruptcy trustees order the machines taken away, he'll finally get it.

      --

      CEE5210S The signal SIGHUP was received.

    2. Re:New karma system? by WebMasterJoe · · Score: 0, Offtopic

      My karma was only 40, now it's also excellent. But spelled correctly for me. Does that mean mine is better than yours?

      Since it's so excellent I guess I can post a little offtopic too. It will still be excellent! Yay!

      --
      I really hate signatures, but go to my website.
    3. Re:New karma system? by acceleriter · · Score: 0, Offtopic

      That's the editors modding you down. Typical /. tyranny. Yes, it's their site, but it's shit without users, which is the way they're headed.

      --

      CEE5210S The signal SIGHUP was received.

    4. Re:New karma system? by hendridm · · Score: 0, Offtopic

      I have a feeling people will be more likely to post opinions that are gaurenteed to be marked as Flamebait or Troll (ie, comments where the vast majority of the Slashdot crowd disagrees with your opinion), since it's not a numbers game anymore.

      I like that.

    5. Re:New karma system? by crisco · · Score: 0, Offtopic
      Too bad we can't sort by comments that generated the most moderation. The utter crap that drops to -1 would only rate a 2 or so, while the carefully crafted trolls would rise to the top. Along the way, you'd get some decent comments in there somewhere.

      Maybe they should put that in the 'paid-for' service, that might motivate a few of the trolls to drop some coin on /.

      --

      Bleh!

    6. Re:New karma system? by Buck2 · · Score: 0, Offtopic

      Now THAT'S +1 Informative!

      --

      As my father lik@(munch munch)... ....
    7. Re:New karma system? by Buck2 · · Score: 0, Offtopic

      Now THAT's +1 Informative!

      --

      As my father lik@(munch munch)... ....
    8. Re:New karma system? by sulli · · Score: 0, Offtopic
      This was the Post of Death. Total moderations were about 800. Many (but not all) users who modded it up were $rtbl'd (banned from moderation) - see sllort's journal for a very detailed account.

      FWIW there is now a User Created Discussion on this subject - interesting and mostly civil debate there.

      --

      sulli
      RTFJ.
  28. PalmOS 5 is a non-event by g4dget · · Score: 3, Interesting

    You can already run the emulator if you really care. But why would you? PalmOS 5 on ARM will run applications in interpreted 68k code; only the kernel will run in native ARM code (and maybe a few assembly routines you hand-code yourself). That means it will likely not run faster. It also doesn't look like there is going to be a lot of new functionality. Altogether, I don't see much reason to hold my breath for these devices. In terms of nifty hardware, the Sony's are hard too beat (although they are not the most reliable).

    1. Re:PalmOS 5 is a non-event by bcombee · · Score: 2, Interesting

      Actually, Palm OS 5 runs all of the OS calls in ARM mode, so 68K programs that run on OS 5 devices will be quite a bit faster. The only apps that run slower are ones that require a lot of calculation in the app itself, and even those were running at 70% of full speed going from a 33MHz 68K to a 75MHz ARM. Apps that used lots of OS calls were sped up from 3 to 10 times, according to presenters at PalmSource 2002.

    2. Re:PalmOS 5 is a non-event by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Nice Troll, subtle yet you clearly show why PalmOS 5 is already a failure.(Sigh)
      Many(probably not all) apps will indeed run faster on the new processor.

      OS5 will include native SSL 3.0/TLS 1.0, support for systemwide encryption, a doubling of screen resolution,better support for web browsing, native support for 802.11b, and the ability to finally use multitasking and multithreading applications.

      Palm OS 5 may not be a "Pocket PC" killer yet, but they are heading in the right direction and will not mindblowing, OS5 can only be seen as an improvment over the current OS.

      Maybe OS6 will bring "BEOS" to Palm devices, but until then Palm devices will continue to be a great way to store and manage you personal data on the road. They also continue to be cheaper and have better battery life.

    3. Re:PalmOS 5 is a non-event by ardiri · · Score: 1

      as a palmos developer - this is not entirely true.

      palmos 5.0 replicates palmos 4.1 and a few extra API's. they have developed a layer called PACE which allows emulation/transition of m68k on an ARM CPU. there are mechanisms for new API's (improved sound, hi-res etc) but - as a developer - you can also write "armlets" (i know, i have done it) which take advantage of the ARM cpu directly without emulation. it has become common discussion to write decoders, compression, encryption etc code within an armlet; things that have previously been hindered due to "limited" processing power.

      palmos 6 is rumored to be a native ARM development platform. but, where palm and its beOS engineers go on that - is just speculation until it happens.

      these images were leaked from within Palm, the etched out area is actually a serial number (which, they put prominantly on seeding units). people at Palm are not happy - this leak was internal; someone is going to lose their job. from discussions i have had with Palm personnel - they already know who did it.. so much for a severance package *g*

    4. Re:PalmOS 5 is a non-event by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Interesting

      Whatever you tool. No one will ever forgive you for the trojan.

      For those who don't know:
      This guy was one of the developers of Liberty, a commercial Gameboy emulator for PalmOS. Unfortunatly, he spent more time figuring out how to keep people from ripping him off than he did on making the emulator useful. For a long time he hung around #pdawarez on EfNet as |HaCkMe| learning about how PalmOS apps were cracked.

      Well of course, Liberty was cracked and ardiri here got pissy and released a new version (this one had sound..oooooo). But, at the same time, he released a "crack" for the application which was actually a PalmOS trojan that would nuke all of the apps on your Palm. He made all sorts of excuses after releasing it, even tried to claim releasing it was an "accident" and saying it would be "professional suicide" to release something like this to the public. Newsflash Ardiri: Professionals don't write trojans.

      Anyway, take what this guy says with a very large grain of salt. He's a proven liar and trojan coder. Don't believe me? Aaron, don't even bother trying to deny or refute this. Google's cache of the SANS advisory, the cache because otherwise you have to register to view it.

      NO ONE WILL EVER FORGIVE YOU.

    5. Re:PalmOS 5 is a non-event by glauben · · Score: 1

      Aaron, IMHO, I'm saddened by your comments because, as opposed to the other commenter, I believe you.

      I would have loved this "box" had they used soft graffiti and opened up to a keyboad, instead of opening to a hard graffiti area. Just some gentle reflection on the useability, again IMHO, would have relegated this idea to the "Thanks for the idea - NEXT!" column.

      The i705 would have been just that much better had they put soft graffiti in the box (a more powerful IR port and sound _recording_ capabilities would have also made this the best).

      Anyway, just my two cents (okay, maybe three or four)

      Mark

    6. Re:PalmOS 5 is a non-event by g4dget · · Score: 2
      Actually, Palm OS 5 runs all of the OS calls in ARM mode,

      That's what I said.

      so 68K programs that run on OS 5 devices will be quite a bit faster.

      That seems unlikely. Look at how much time applications on other platforms spend in the kernel: it's not much.

    7. Re:PalmOS 5 is a non-event by g4dget · · Score: 2
      OS5 will include native SSL 3.0/TLS 1.0, support for systemwide encryption,

      Applications that need that already have it built-in. This makes no difference to users, at least in the short term.

      a doubling of screen resolution,

      There are already plenty of PalmOS devices with doubled and higher screen resolution, and applications support them. It's convenient for developers that there is a single API now, but that makes no difference to users.

      better support for web browsing, native support for 802.11b,

      If you want those features, they are already available and they work. Again, no difference to users.

      and the ability to finally use multitasking and multithreading applications.

      That is not one of the features Palm lists on their web site.

      I maintain: PalmOS 5 is a non-event as far as users are concerned, and mostly as far as developers are concerned as well. All indications are that for most users, it will work no differently from PalmOS 4.

      Palm devices will continue to be a great way to store and manage you personal data on the road.

      Did I ever say they were not? All I'm saying is that you don't need a PalmOS 5 device for that--stick with PalmOS 4 devices--they are cheaper and they work for those applications.

  29. Most likely a fake by niola · · Score: 3, Interesting

    This device appears to be a fake - seems very contradictiva of what Palm has been saying.

    First off, they pretty much told everyone that new product releases would slow to a crawl for a bit. Two reasons for this. One is that they have a LOT of inventory they want to discount and move. Sitting on inventory is bad. The other reason is that PalmOS 5 just got out of beta and released to licensees on June 10th. Don't forget that PalmOS and Palm Hardware operate as seperate entities, therefore the hardware group gets treated just like any other licensee.

    I seriously doubt that Palm would release another device using the older OS as long as they are sitting on product.

    Just my $.02...

    --Jon

    1. Re:Most likely a fake by CMiYC · · Score: 2

      Okay so maybe they do have a significant amount of inventory that they need to move. The hardware group would be crazy not to still be enganged in R&D operations. Maybe this Palm is simply going to end up as a marketing prototype. Palm will get a market group together and see what their comments are on it. There are always products that companies engineer and do not release. It is very possible we might not see this one, but instead one similar to it.

    2. Re:Most likely a fake by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Don't forget that PalmOS and Palm Hardware operate as seperate entities, therefore the hardware group gets treated just like any other licensee.

      yeah... right.

  30. palm envy by nege · · Score: 2, Informative

    Oh that looks schweet. I have always loved the 5 seris because they are so slick, not to mention thin. Unfortunatly, I cannot justify the pricetag considering you can get a great processor and motherboard for that price at motherboards.com. I can always dream though.

  31. A couple of points by n-baxley · · Score: 2

    1) The image is obviously doctored to some way since there is part of the name missing. You can see that it has been clone brushed over.

    2) Hard graffiti area?! Why is it that Palm is so far behind the curve?

    3) Please tell me that is a microphone at the top right so I can finally ditch my digital recorder.

    4) Finally, what the heck is up with that picture in the bottom left?

    1. Re:A couple of points by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      1) Looks like some scotch tape

      4) The review in the german c't magazin of PalmOS 5 said it still uses a logical 160x160 pixel display resolution. Only text and Palm GUI elements take advantage of a display with higher resolution. The pictures looks so darn ugly because of what it depicts and because of this; the thumbnail program uses a 2x2 pixel region to show one pixel in the photograph.

      Because this ugliness seems to match the remarks in the c't, I guess this picture could be a real one.

    2. Re:A couple of points by browman · · Score: 2, Interesting

      Hard writing area is good, because you don't f*ck up a bit of the screen you need to look at. Think about it, your PC keyboard has greasy pawprints all over it, your screen doesn't, that's the way it should be...

      My PocketPC is pretty well scratched up on the input area, so I've switched back to my old PalmIII which fared much better and got vastly more use. Might invest in a nicer one, but that hard area is a good idea... don't knock it...

      --
      You fool! You've given cheese to a lactose intolerant volcano god! Do you know what that means?
    3. Re:A couple of points by n-baxley · · Score: 2

      I have to disagree. I've got a Handera 330 with the soft writing area and love it! For one I can minimize it when I don't need it(browsing, reading, gaming), and it echos my pen path so I can see what it thinks I just wrote. That definetly cleared up some confusion on why I can't write a space to save my life. I've had it for over a year now and have had no scratches at all on it and I use it quite a lot. I do have a keyboard for when I have to input a ton of stuff. Another thing I might suggest if your screen is scratching easily is to get a screen protector. I used one on my palm III and it worked great, but I haven't needed it on the Handera.

  32. Mirror! by hisham · · Score: 3, Informative

    Here's a mirror of the pic(s) if need be. Have fun.

    --
    Codito Ergo Sum
    1. Re:Mirror! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0


      THIS is the original:

      http://www.pocketpcthoughts.com/images/newpalm-l ar ge.jpg

      that dave one is fake - it's pretty obvious how he hacked up the original one

  33. Collapse by sehryan · · Score: 4, Interesting

    To me, it looks like the lower half will be able to slide up to cover the graphiti area. That would make it have a pretty high "whoa" factor, but honestly I don't think it would lend itself to being very productive.

    Not that I have ever been all that productive with graphiti.

    --
    The world moves for love. It kneels before it in awe.
    1. Re:Collapse by sehryan · · Score: 3, Funny

      maybe because i can't spell graffiti right.

      --
      The world moves for love. It kneels before it in awe.
  34. Is it me? by iONiUM · · Score: 1

    Or do those two mirror linked images look slightly different? At the top where it says "Oslo" on the actual device, it looks like the first link (earthlink) has a small sticker or something blurred out near there, whereas the second link (davesipaq) does not have the sticker/blurred portion.
    If this is the same device, why is there this difference?

    1. Re:Is it me? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Informative

      Dave, the fucker that he is, stole the image from the original site (Pocket PC Thoughts) and then edited out the watermarked image, used a clone brush on the spot where the serial number used to be, and put it on that gay blue background.

      The original image that was posted:

      http://www.pocketpcthoughts.com/images/newpalm-l ar ge.jpg

    2. Re:Is it me? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I dont think so this looks like this Dave guy got the original and then thoughts doctored it up?

    3. Re:Is it me? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      It's you.

    4. Re:Is it me? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      "I dont think so this looks like this Dave guy got the original and then thoughts doctored it up?"

      dave is an idiot and doesn't get ANYTHING first, including his women. That boy is all about sloppy seconds, even in the pocket pc world.

  35. IMNAL by af_robot · · Score: 1

    Looks semi-legit - but who knows, and who knows how long the images will stay up?

    I just don't understand why I'm not allowed to put a picture to a web server? I'm not selling it, not violating their copyrights, i did not sign any NDA's and for the God's sake why some fu@#%ing so-called Director of Global Information Security can require me remove the picture from my web site?!

    1. Re:IMNAL by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Why are you talking if as if YOU were the one was contacted by them? :-)

    2. Re:IMNAL by Cid+Highwind · · Score: 1

      I just don't understand why I'm not allowed to put a picture to a web server? I'm not selling it, not violating their copyrights i did not sign any NDA's and for the God's sake why some fu@#%ing so-called Director of Global Information Security can require me remove the picture from my web site?!

      Actually, yes you are. Handing out copies of someone else's pictures (or words, or music, etc) without their permission is exactly what copyright laws were made to prevent.

      --
      0 1 - just my two bits
  36. Why doen' by fmaxwell · · Score: 3, Insightful

    Finally a Palm with a button layout that can be useful for games! This has taken too long!

    That's like someone bemoaning the fact that a GameBoy does not ship with good software for organizing business contacts. The market for handhelds is business people, not kids who want to play video games. In fact, if Palm devices start to be used for video gaming, the business market may start to regard them as toys rather than useful technology for professionals.

    1. Re:Why doen' by aonaran · · Score: 1

      But, since Palm's early adopters are techies and techies like to play games it makes sense that if a tiny change can make it easy to play games AS WELL AS do business they might as well do it.

      Palm's Comdex booth (which I saw at Comdex Canada this week) now sports 3 pictures of palm devices doing various tasks, and one of those 3 pictures is a game (mostly to show off the colour screen)

    2. Re:Why doen' by yog · · Score: 3, Interesting

      Perhaps a rep as a game device would hurt Palm, but there are certainly good uses for that 4-way rocker switch beyond games. For example:

      Spreadsheets--at last, we have a way to navigate intuitively, up-down as well as left-right.

      Image display--obvious use is navigating and selecting thumbnails

      Options and Preferences--navigating tabs and operating various kinds of controls.

      Gosh I'm too tired to think this morning but probably there are hundreds of other potential applications. Overall this seems like a positive development that adheres more or less to the K.I.S.S. philosophy.

      --
      it's = "it is"; its = possessive. E.g., it's flapping its wings.
    3. Re:Why doen' by Phil+Wilkins · · Score: 2

      ...because only kids play games right? Odd that the availablilty of PC games hasn't relegated them to toys.

    4. Re:Why doen' by drinkypoo · · Score: 2
      The market for handhelds is business people, not kids who want to play video games. In fact, if Palm devices start to be used for video gaming, the business market may start to regard them as toys rather than useful technology for professionals.

      Even suits play games on their palms, though they're usually of the solitaire variety. Lots of people buy cellular phones over other cellular phones because they can play stupid games like worm/snake (I know, it's classic, but compare, work with me) let alone the kinds of games you can play on handhelds these days.

      I come for the service, but I Stay for the legroom; I come for the biz apps but I stay for the games.

      --
      "You're right," Fisheye says. "I should have set it on 'whip' or 'chop.'"
  37. Wow. by Coke+in+a+Can · · Score: 0

    For the very first time, I'm happy I don't have the money to buy the newest hardware. I mean, what's with the graffiti? That pad being stuck there forever is one of the most annoying things. I'm happy I can't upgrade from my m100.

  38. Hmm.. by swatch60 · · Score: 1

    Glad to see that Palm is finally interested in designing less boring (albeit functional) hardware.

  39. Re:"Oslo" by pubjames · · Score: 2

    I hope they're not naming it that in leu of Norway's governmental competence or whaling practices...

    Are you referring to the Norway that has the highest quality of life of any country in the world according to the UN, or some other Norway? Sounds like they have a competent government to me...

  40. Interesting stuff on the picture by fabiolrs · · Score: 1

    - The name (Oslo) is "photoshop edited", there is a strange area in front of the name, looks like they wanted to hide something.

    - There is a mic on the top/right side

    - The craddle is the same one used on the M505 model, isnt it?

    --
    Fabio - Sumare/Sao Paulo/Brazil/South America/Earth/Solar System/Milky Way/Universe
    http://www.morroida.com.br
    1. Re:Interesting stuff on the picture by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Even stanger, the other picture Slashdot linked to (the one on Daves iPaq) doesn't have the photoshopped area by the name. Odd.

    2. Re:Interesting stuff on the picture by smaug195 · · Score: 1

      I believe the photoshop is of a unique serial number for each prototype unit. Hence, if that number gets out they can trace the leak, and reporters protect their sources.

      Or the whole thing could be a hoax, whatever *shrug*

    3. Re:Interesting stuff on the picture by fabiolrs · · Score: 1

      Good point! :)) I checked and it doesnt seen like jpeg compression "failures" :))

      --
      Fabio - Sumare/Sao Paulo/Brazil/South America/Earth/Solar System/Milky Way/Universe
      http://www.morroida.com.br
  41. I noticed this just now by MemeRot · · Score: 0, Offtopic

    Yesterday afternoon I had 48 karma. Today it's excellent. No announcement from the editors. No update of the faq which still says the karma cap is 50, not 'excellent'. Since I guess I don't have the ability to track karma on a point basis anymore, I'm not going to post as an anonymous coward, cuz now I really don't fucking care if you mod me down as off-topic. Since there is no story about this, there is nowhere for me to make this comment and have it be on-topic, but it's clearly relevant to the slashdot community.

    Thank you so much editors, now I will be free to troll and troll and troll, which is what this is going to encourage for anyone that had high karma. You really might want to reconsider how you view karma, you don't see it as a point keeping system, but it is. Once I had maxed out my karma a while back, I really lost interest in posting about most issues. What keeps people playing games like Everquest? The eternal desire to have more experience, more gold, more of some kind of point system than others. Same thing kept me posting.

    1. Re:I noticed this just now by Nepre · · Score: 1

      I clicked on this story to read about the new Palm OS, not your karma. Don't bitch when you get modded offtopic. You are offtopic.

  42. You have to understand the whole story... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Informative

    No one linked to the actual story here:

    http://www.pocketpcthoughts.com/forums/viewtopic .p hp?t=2152

    The image looked "doctored" because it was - the serial number was blurred out, but that's it. Palm also threatened this guy and he took down the images...

  43. Bad design by totallygeek · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Moving parts are a Bad Thing(tm). They're always the first thing to go wrong, and the most expensive to replace.

    You are right. While speaking about bad design, the worst is the CD jewel case. I mean, they come out with compact discs -- awesome, but make the hinges on the jewel cases the weakest two pieces of cheap plastic known to man!

    1. Re:Bad design by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Hell yes. I break more of those things than you would believe. I kinda wish they still made those cartridge-based CD-ROMs. Then I could just buy a shitload of cartridges at Sam's Club or CostCo for cheap and put all my CDs in them. No more dealing with crappy jewel cases or accidentally scratching CDs.

      Who's bright idea was it to leave the data surface basically unprotected anyway? We put magnetic and magneto-optical media in permanent cases, and they don't seem that much more fragile than CDs. Leaving the CD surface completely unprotected and open to scratches and fingerprints just seems like a bad idea to me, no matter how much error correction you have.

    2. Re:Bad design by A+coward+on+a+mouse · · Score: 1
      Leaving the CD surface completely unprotected and open to scratches and fingerprints just seems like a bad idea to me, no matter how much error correction you have.
      It's only a bad idea if you want them to last a long time... Remember back in the 80's how you could use your CDs as sled runners and they would still play? Back then, putting a protective case around the CD would have seemed silly; why put a protective case around an indestructible CD?

      Once CDs became widely adopted, the recording industry hipped to the fact that unlike LPs and cassettes (and 8-tracks, and reel-to-reel tapes), CDs didn't wear out. This cut into their ability to sell hardcore fans replacements for their favorite records. Solution? Make the coating on CDs so fragile that just putting it into and taking it out of the jewel case enough times will ruin it.

      I'm sure whoever revived this market segment by reducing the durability of CDs thought it was a good idea. I'm pretty sure his/her boss thought it was the best idea since the CD itself. ("Wow, cheaper to make than LP/Cassette, saleable for 50% more, and less durable? Perfect! How's it feel to be the newest executive on the team, Simpson?")
      --
      If you mod me down, I will become more powerful than you can possibly imagine.
    3. Re:Bad design by wompser · · Score: 1

      What the heck is a "CD?" Is that like one of those old "LP" thingies grandpa is always rambling about?

      --
      .....
  44. Be folks working on v6 by brokeninside · · Score: 4, Insightful
    AFAIK, the engineers from Be are working on v6 which is currently a nebulous "next generation" OS for Palm Computing.

    Palm OS v5 is essentially the Palm OS kernel hacked to run on ARM with a few kludges for a bit of functionality that Palm OS currently lacks to make it competitive.

    If these pix are real, they are far more likely to be of a unit running Palm OS v5 than v6 as v6 doesn't really exist yet except on whiteboards in the heads of the OS architects.

    I have two hopes for v6:

    1. Palm Computing doesn't pull an IBM (OS/2 PPC) or an Apple (Copland, the original MacOS 8).
    2. The Be invasion of the software division of Palm Computing proceeds a la the NeXT invasion of Apple.
    And I still think it a shame that Palm Computing decided that Linux (because of the GPL) was incompatible with their business model in relation to IP. It is also a shame that they didn't (apparently) look into one of the BSDs.

    Of course, the Be crowd was purchased at a fire sale price. I bet JLG is kicking himself in the head when the company he refused to sell to Apple for millions barely managed to get hundreds of thousands in liquidation.

    1. Re:Be folks working on v6 by kalidasa · · Score: 1

      I have two hopes for v6:

      1. [snipped]
      2. The Be invasion of the software division of Palm Computing proceeds a la the NeXT invasion of Apple.

      Your wish is their command: Be Inc. completes takeover of Palm. Here's hoping that Be does for Palm what NeXT did for Apple!

    2. Re:Be folks working on v6 by amichalo · · Score: 1

      Looks like the Apple iPod team was working on this - from the familiar looking jog dial wheel.

      --
      I only came here to do two things; kick some ass, and drink some beer...looks like we're almost out of beer.
    3. Re:Be folks working on v6 by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Yeah, because we all know that the iPod was the first device to *ever* use a jog dial.

  45. Photoshopped? by Sergeant+Beavis · · Score: 1

    I don't know, it looks kinda fake to me. There is a light glare on the screen that doesn't seem to translate over the case in the upper left corner. I'm no expert mind you but it doesn't look real to me.

    --
    There is nothing inherently safe about liberty. That's why so many people died protecting it.
  46. Screen size? by ayeco · · Score: 1

    When are they going to get it right? Why can't they get past the square screen? Sony has it right, push the screen to the extents of the device.

  47. New look, same old OS by Winterblink · · Score: 1
    Wow, another hardware design change for the Palm. Whoopdeedoo.

    When are people going to wake up and realize they're buying the exact same device that's been selling for years? Color screen? Great. Too bad it's a teeny-tiny one. SD card slot? Cool, but 95% of the people out there don't need it and won't use it.

    For me, I stopped doing the Palm device thing when they discontinued the V line (which was just finally dropping in price to something worth purchasing) in favor of the m line, a ridiculously overpriced series of crap. Sorry, but Palm hardware is starting to seem more like FisherPrice's My First Handheld PC to me.

    --
    "I'm a leaf on the wind. Watch how I soar."
    -Hoban Washburn
    1. Re:New look, same old OS by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Funny

      Wow, another hardware design change for the PC. Whoopdeedoo.

      When are people going to wake up and realize they're buying the exact same device that's been selling for years? GUIs? Great. Too bad there's thousands of people that still can't figure it out. 120GB hard drives? Cool, but 95% of the people out there don't need it and won't use all of it.

      For me, I stopped doing the computer thing when they discontinued Windows 3.1 (which was just finally becoming usable enough to be worth purchasing) in favor of Windows 95, a ridiculously overpriced piece of crap. Sorry, but computers are starting to seem more like FisherPrice's My First PC to me.

  48. Serious width discrepency by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    The Palm's screen is totally uncentered in the case. This is an advanced looking prototype, but the width of the case between the left edge of the screen and the left edge of the case is 69 pixels, while between the right edge of the screen and the right edge of the case is 50 pixels. I added some marks and comments on the pic to illustrate this if you want to see what I mean more clearly, at http://www.argy.net/fakepalm.jpg. I'll delete the image around midnight GMT-5, so I don't get linked to from other Palm sites...feel free to make a copy if you want. Note that if you use IE with "enable auto image resizing," it could be hard to read, as the image is 824 pixels high, and the text won't resize cleanly.

    1. Re:Serious width discrepency by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      It's tilted to the right, stupid.

  49. Re:"Oslo" by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0
    Are you referring to the Norway that has the highest quality of life of any country in the world according to the UN, or some other Norway? Sounds like they have a competent government to me...
    You would be refering to a country which is one of the world's primary oil suppliers, and would be bankrupt twice over without it.
  50. Modded as Troll?? by theolein · · Score: 1, Offtopic

    Strange, the way the modding goes on /. sometimes. I genuinely was just speculating, but I suppose if someone's in a bad mood...

  51. Directional wheel? by theolein · · Score: 3, Informative

    You mean like one of those things on a game console controler? In place of a mouse? Wouldn't that be a bit of overkill with a PDA having a stylus?

    1. Re:Directional wheel? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      You've never seen a PocketPC, have you? Practically every one has a D-pad. Not overkill at all, IMHO. It's great for games. Being able to operate the PDA one-handed is nice too. With a D-pad you don't even need to take out the stylus, unless you need to input data.

  52. Why this isn't a Pshop job by Diamon · · Score: 3, Interesting

    If you look at the image here you lose the photoshop tell tails on the edges. Also look at the flash reflechtion on the screen particularly at the top where you can see a fingerprint smudge. If it is a fake there's far more work in making it look real than was necessary.

    1. Re:Why this isn't a Pshop job by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      The image you have is the original and is 100% legit.

    2. Re:Why this isn't a Pshop job by bhartman · · Score: 1

      There are several things that bug me about this:

      1) Didn't anyone else notice the "Pocket PC" marking on the bottom of the device? That reeks "composite image".

      2) It doesn't matter if there's a smudge on the screen or not. It'd be easy enough to take an image of a real Palm and combine it with the fictitious parts.

      3) The button in the middle of the device (whether it's a jog wheel, or whatever) is contrary to the design specifications that Palm uses. It's simply not the simple device that Palm has been famous for (and quite successful with).

    3. Re:Why this isn't a Pshop job by Diamon · · Score: 2
      1) Didn't anyone else notice the "Pocket PC" marking on the bottom of the device? That reeks "composite image".
      Yes everyone noticed that, it's just typical image branding that websites do to keep people from ripping off the images they post.
      2) It doesn't matter if there's a smudge on the screen or not. It'd be easy enough to take an image of a real Palm and combine it with the fictitious parts.
      True, you could do that but why? If you're going to doctor something you want it to look as professional as possible. So you'd get a clean image and composite it, that way you don't need to transfer one image's flaws to the other. So as I said far more work than you'd need for a mock up.
      3) The button in the middle of the device (whether it's a jog wheel, or whatever) is contrary to the design specifications that Palm uses. It's simply not the simple device that Palm has been famous for (and quite successful with).
      So I suppose that 2 direction scroll button that's already in the same exact spot as the new d-pad is also contrary to the deisgn spec Palm uses? It's just replacing a 2 directional control with a 4 (or possibly 8) directional control to allow for images larger than the screen in two directions instead of just one.
  53. I doubt that it would have hurt by John+Harrison · · Score: 2
    People play games on them anyhow. The market for handhelds is not exclusively business people. That is like saying the market for cell phones is business people so they shouldn't have games either.

    A pda is computing device that is fully capable of playing games. I doubt that they choose the button layout in order to handicap it. If it had been pointed out to them early they might have corrected it. I can certainly see the usefullness of a left and right buttons outside of games, can't you?

  54. The Lawyers got em. by OS24Ever · · Score: 2, Redundant

    Surfed to the link and now there are 'pictures removed' and a note that the Palm lawyers called them wanting the high-res pictures with the SN of the unit to find out who's beta unit it is, and how to sue them for it.

    So apparently it may be a real item, not a photochop.

    --

    As a rock-in-roll Physicist once said, No matter where you go, there you are.

    1. Re:The Lawyers got em. by benzapp · · Score: 1

      OS/2 for ever!!! yeeeeaaaaaahhhHHHhhh!

      --
      I don't read or respond to AC posts
  55. Buy one TODAY .. its a clie by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    320 x 320 color screen

    fast processor

    palm os

    doh, it alread exists, its a clie

    http://www.sonystyle.com/micros/clie/

  56. Go Norway! by Frank+of+Earth · · Score: 1

    It must come with a fish pda and ice cube tray to store it in!

  57. OMFG SO FAKE by DaPhoenix · · Score: 1

    Okay while the pic of the OS might be real that palm pic is def. faked or def. edited.
    come ON!
    look at http://www.davesipaq.com/palm.htm

    look at the top screen portion of the handheld...

    now look in the lower left corner...

    see the white? why are teh ends so exactly cut...

    They could have at least given us a pic of it sitting in a persons hand - screw editing.

    Bastards.

    --
    -- -=innocent ramblings from the mind of an insomniatic programmer=-
  58. A picture is worth a thousand words. by sixdrift · · Score: 2, Informative

    I pulled the pic into a graphics editor and did a little magnification of the subject. I found a couple of interesting things.

    There are some square-ish artifacts around the obviously oval "Slide Show" button that should not be there if the icon was generated. The same square-ish artifacts exist around the inverted triangle icon in the upper right.

    Additionally, the right edge looks as if it was lifted from something else and dropped on there, or the overall dimensions were adjusted. At any rate it looks like somebody mucked with it.

    So... for (int i=0; i 1000; i++) printf ("fake");

    There's my opinion in one thousand words.

    1. Re:A picture is worth a thousand words. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Forget about "analyzing" that stolen image. You should look at the ORIGINAL.

    2. Re:A picture is worth a thousand words. by SoupIsGoodFood_42 · · Score: 1
      You need to learn more about digital imaging and JPG compression I think.

      I don't see how that square part means it's fake. If so, why on just that button and not on all the GUI elements? If they were faking a screen, they would normaly just paste the screen on to the PDA anyway. Your giving the impression that they faked one or 2 GUI elements.

      Any photo will look like a fake if you think it is and start to analyis it in detail.

    3. Re:A picture is worth a thousand words. by sixdrift · · Score: 1

      (red face of embarrassment) I was giddy in the moment. I really do know better. Got carried away with it. Official retraction.

  59. It's a fake by cthlptlk · · Score: 2, Interesting

    I can't remember where, but I've definitely seen those pictures--the little girl with face paint and the hats on the wall--long ago. My first instinct is that they're part of the Photoshop 3.0 tutorial materials.

    1. Re:It's a fake by harmonica · · Score: 2

      The images started out as PCD files as part of a Kodak sample Photo-CD, IIRC. That CD was distributed to demonstrate the quality of the whole Photo-CD system.

      However, why do you think that using these images (in one form or another) on the screenshot makes the whole thing a fake?

  60. Re:THATS MY POINT DICKWAD!!!!! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    "Where's my karma gone"

  61. Ah! I didn't know! by kitzilla · · Score: 2, Insightful

    I didn't know I wanted a pocket-based version of iPhoto in my life. What I THOUGHT I wanted was inexpensive wireless email, and an improved version of Graffiti that isn't so apres- 1995.

    Hmm. No obvious antenna, and that aure looks like a standard Graffiti pad.

    Thanks for straightening me out, Palm!

    --
    This is my post. There are many others like it. If you don't like what you read here, go try one of the others.
  62. WHOAH by snubber1 · · Score: 1

    What makes this photo so crazy (real or not) is the fact that there is the STAR icon in the grafitti area. That is the 'favorites' button that comes on the i705 wireless pda.

    I think a wireless color palm would be a killer app.

    --
    I don't really mind double posts on //..
  63. Photomanipulation confusion. by Night0wl · · Score: 2, Informative

    Ok, so as I was reading the comments I found various, "It's fake" and this that and the other thing. The one thing that threw me off is mention of a cloud background, I saw absolutely no clouds...

    Until I found the OTHER image.

    http://members.rogers.com/kawaichan/palm.jpg
    No cloud. Branding. SN Obscurity.

    http://hisham.cc/files/pics/palmaroo.jpg
    Clouds . REBranding. SN Obscurity redone.

    The second one done by daves ipaq is horribly manipulated. It's quite obvious he wanted credit for it, and so modified it to have his cloudy background, removed the other guys branding, and removed the others SN Obscurity. You can tell, because half of the "o" on Oslo is mangled.

    Dave, you suck, uninstall photoshop you fool.
    If you want to zoom in 400X to see if you can detect any l33t choppage to claim your right as mastar-detective, use the first one.

    --
    Computational Madness in a round package.
    1. Re:Photomanipulation confusion. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      What are you talking about? Jason Dunn of PocketPCThoughts was totally bullsh*ting when he said the ATTORNEYS told me to take it down. Come'on shows you that this guy Dave had it first.

  64. more user-defined hot-spots by Locutus · · Score: 2

    The picture/pda looks pretty good and the slide-out panel to expose the Grafiti area is a nice touch too. Did you notice the 4 small icons around the Grafiti area? To launch these apps: clock, backlight, numPad, and keyboard. I think they should add 6 small icons in the corners of the virtuals buttons just to the sides of the Grafiti area and let us assign apps to them.

    I like the rounded edges of this PDA and now that we can go left and right from the front panel instead of just up and down. And a Select button. :)

    If OS5 is really going to be multi-tasking then having OK and Cancel buttons like the Zaurus are a must for quick selection and exiting of data and apps.

    IMHO.

    LoB

    --
    "Anyone who stands out in the middle of a road looks like roadkill to me." --Linus
  65. The invasion has begun by brokeninside · · Score: 2
    It is not yet complete.

    Just as I do not consider the NeXT invasion of Apple to have been complete until Rasphody shipped in the form of Mac OS X as the default Mac OS, I do not consider the Be invasion of Palm Computing to be complete until the next generation of Palm OS ships. (That is until what is currently referred to as v6 ships. That said, Mac OS released two major version updates and how many minor version updates prior to OS X? Palm Computing could conceivably do the same.)

    And one never knows, despite Be's mighty engineering prowess, it might suck. . . .

  66. Making is smaller means making it wearable by trainwrek · · Score: 3, Insightful

    I'm glad they are at least thinking about how to make the PDA less of a hassle to carry around. I think Oregon Scientific have the right idea with this one. Once you can carry a PDA w/o the obnoxious bulge in your pants they will finally be usable by normal people and not geeks. They need to basically disappear into your clothing to make them really useful.

  67. Re:"Oslo" by Large+Green+Mallard · · Score: 2

    Hmm I was pretty sure Canada got that title :)

  68. anyone recognize the pix on the screen? by redherring22 · · Score: 1



    I had a Mac Performa 600 w/ a CD-ROM drive-- that was a big step up from my apple iigs 10 years ago-- and it came with a sample Photo CD. The Performa took maybe 2 minutes to open up the 320x240 sized shots... thanks to its blazing 16Mhz 68030... but all of those pictures on that palm pilot's screen are from that sample photo cd from 10+ years ago. Just thought you'd like to know that.

    </mac-nerd nostalgia>

  69. Lots of PalmOs devices have jog wheels. by Thag · · Score: 2

    As far as I know, all of Sony's devices have had it, the Handera has it, and some of Handspring's models too, if I remember correctly.

    All before the iPod ever came out.

    So, I wouldn't read too much into it. The biggest impact Apple is probably having on Palm is through the ex-Apple ex-Be people working on the OS after PalmOS 5 (not sure if it's PalmOS 6 or 5.5).

    Jon Acheson

    --
    All opinions expressed herein are my own, and not those of my employers, who are appalled.
    1. Re:Lots of PalmOs devices have jog wheels. by DrVxD · · Score: 2

      > As far as I know, all of Sony's devices have had it,
      Sony devices (such as my S300E) DO have a jog wheel, but it's nothing like the one in the picture. On the Sony devices, it's located in the top left side of the device (which a friend has pointed out makes it useless for left-handed people), whereas the one in the picture is in the centre of the lower panel (i.e. where most curent Palm devices have the up/down scroll buttons)

      --
      Not everything that can be measured matters; Not everything that matters can be measured.
  70. For those who dare moderate this thread up... by bgarcia · · Score: 0, Offtopic
    ...just remember what the editors do to people who reply to or moderate up blatantly off-topic posts.

    Hint: check the link in my sig.

    Since I've already been bitch-slapped, I think I'm safe from further repurcussions. Although, this post should allow me to find out what the next step down from "excellent" is!

    --
    I'm a leaf on the wind. Watch how I soar.
  71. what about the new zaurus linux pda release 2day? by Kunta+Kinte · · Score: 2

    Sharp released a brand new zaurus in Japan today ( or it was at least scheduled for today ). The main site is in Japenese and is here http://sl.ezaurus.com Linux devices is also carrying the story at http://www.linuxdevices.com/news/NS3610510159.html

    This just breaks my heart. I submit a story on the hot new linux powered Xscale pda hitting the shelves and my story gets rejected. Later that same day I see a story on "feather-powered circuits". I kid you not :)

    --
    Based on upvotes, Ageism is the only "-ism" Slashdotters care about and think isn't SJW
  72. Ignore the Legitimacy Issue For Now... by dbretton · · Score: 2

    The first thing I asked myself was, "so what"?

    Even if these pictures are real, it's just the same old Palm OS, now with color and a new body.

    It's still yesterday's news in terms of the OS.
    It's not innovative enough.

    Palm is showing that they are resting on their laurels, and not driving the market forward.

  73. "EXCELLENT" Karma?? by dbretton · · Score: 0, Offtopic

    WTF is up with this?

  74. Why PCs aren't the same... by fmaxwell · · Score: 2

    ...because only kids play games right?

    If that were the case, managers would not have to worry, would they? The fact that adults play games and get distracted from work by them is why so many managers are wary of things that look like game-playing devices.

    Odd that the availablilty of PC games hasn't relegated them to toys.

    It's not odd at all. The PC has long been accepted as a proven, valuable piece of technology in the office. Handhelds are not nearly so widely accepted and many people see no need for them. Make these people, many of whom are in management, believe that handhelds are just pocketable game machines that can also store some phone numbers, and handheld sales and adoption rates will slow.

  75. Oslo = Palm Smartphone / Treo Killer by DevilsEngine · · Score: 1

    The small speaker at the top acts as phone speaker (which can either be held against your ear or used as a speakerphone). Microphone is concealed in the direction pad (as the speaker is concealed in the direction pad of some PocketPCs). The LED is the activation LED for the phone. Dialing is on screen, ala Samsung. Star icon brings up the new browser Palm just purchased. Use closed for standard phone features, slide open to use Grafitti with Palm apps or in websites. Ask yourself why it's codenamed Oslo.

  76. Palm Related - Mac OS X running on Palm IIIc by merger · · Score: 1

    Over at O'Grady's Powerpage is a story about a Dane who connected a hard drive to his palm 3 and has OSX running on it. If you follow the links there are even two good videos demonstrating the system running.

  77. game-playing on PDAs by GlenRaphael · · Score: 3, Interesting
    Finally a Palm with a button layout that can be useful for games! This has taken too long!

    That's like someone bemoaning the fact that a GameBoy does not ship with good software for organizing business contacts.

    Ericsson actually funded a company in late 1999 around the idea of making a better Gameboy that was also a decent personal information management device. With great 3-d graphics, Bluetooth connectivity, a notepad, datebook, etcetera. The company was called Red Jade, and I was the guy they hired to write the PIM functionality.

    Red Jade lost funding and died in the big crash of 2000, but it was a fun ride while it lasted.

    --
    I play Nerd-Folk!
  78. More from PDABuzz by Jonavin · · Score: 2

    PDABuzz has more info and a artist conceptual drawing.

    It looks pretty cool in white.

  79. Re:It's a fake - linux by betanerd · · Score: 0

    The Little girl is part of the printer test page for Mandrake linux 8.x

    --
    Insert sig here (slashdot) Insert cig here (Lewinsky)
  80. Extra Mirror by pdadavex · · Score: 1

    In case the mirrors go down, or you don't like the mirrors that modified the picture (like Dave's iPAQ), try here: http://www.davespda.com/rumors.htm

    1. Re:Extra Mirror by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Whats up with slamming this Dave guy. Comon lets lay off this guy. Heck at least he brought us the REAL pictures.

  81. My $0.02 on the legtimacy.... by ndnet · · Score: 1

    I'm not a photoshop or GIMP user, but personally, I believe the pic is false.

    1) Look at the joystick-like pointer, where it meets the front molding. There are 'jaggies' - anyone who has toyed with a image editor knows how much of a pain they are.

    2) There are three spots where the device shines, reflecting the light - on the screen, the palm emblem, and joystick. Assuming the joystick and emblem are real, look where on each reflection would put the light source. It would need to be, considering the joystick's reflection's angle, high up on the palm and to the left side. The emblem points toward it being lower.... (I've checked this with my m105.... I can't quite explain it, but look and you might be able to grab it.... it just doesn't look quite right :(

    I had more points, but I've already forgotten them. What we need is hardware that keeps track of my mind so that I don't forget these little idiosyncracies. O-O

  82. Summary of all mirror sites and story here by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    http://www.sys-con.com/wireless/article.cfm?id=309

  83. Please don't use this link!!! by ahecht · · Score: 2, Informative

    This is my webpage, and I've been slashdotted, and exceeded my maximum allocated bandwidth by a factor of three. Please get the image from elsewhere, such as Palminfocenter.com or tpug.org. Thanks.

  84. Palm's strategy ;-) by ijablokov · · Score: 1

    1. Leak pictures
    2. ...
    3. Profit

    It'll be at least a couple years before we'll start seeing the pervasive device market (3G phones/wireless PDAs) pick up again.

  85. CDs were sensitive to light. by EnglishTim · · Score: 2

    IIRC, the stuff they made the original CDs out of was sensitive to light and over a period of years would gradually turn yellow. They only found this out after CDs hed been around for a while.

    Shame that they couldn't find something equally tough to make them out of though.