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Palm OS To Run On Linux

Posted by timothy on from the funky-upstart-linux-os dept.

mwk88 writes "PalmSource today announced it is acquiring China Mobile Soft, a leading Chinese mobile phone software company, and will offer future versions of Palm OS Cobalt running on Linux. Full disclosure: I am a PalmSource employee -- but also a Slashdot reader, and would like to get some feedback. You can find more detail in this letter to the Linux community." NewsForge (also part of OSTG) has a textified (non-PDF), linked version of the letter.

2 of 408 comments (clear)

  1. Interesting FAQ by hajihill · · Score: 5, Informative
    The FAQ in this article is better than the article...

    Two questions on the tip of my tongue were answered outright and the section gives good perspective on the angle company is taking. From the article:

    Q. Why are you calling it Palm OS for Linux? Isn't that like saying you have an operating system on top of an operating system?

    A. "Palm OS for Linux" is not the formal product name, it's just a description of what we're developing. Our software is known as Palm OS and we wanted to keep continuity with that.

    Q. Does Palm OS for Linux replace current versions of Palm OS?

    A. This is an addition to our line, not a replacement. Other versions of Palm OS continue to be available. As always, we'll make decisions on their future growth path based on feedback from our licensees and other partners.
    My suggestion: scroll down for the good stuff. It's at the bottom of the article.
    --
    Of blankness, I know nothing.
  2. They got the trademark Backwards by Jakosa · · Score: 5, Informative

    " Linux is a trademark owned by William R. Della Croce, an individual, and previously owned by Linus Torvalds, the originator of the GNU code of the same name." wrong! The Linux Trademark suit (1996-1997) Though this has been tried again in other countries, the definitive case over the trademark on "Linux" happenned after an individual named William R Della Croce, Jr of Massachussets fraudulently trademarked the name "Linux", claiming he had made the first use of the name in 1994. Nobody noticed until he sent threatening letters to WGS of Aurora, CO (Linux Mall), Yggdrasil of San Jose, CA (first maker of a Linux distribution on CD) and others. The Linux community provided ample evidence that this was not true. The resulting lawsuit was settled with the trademark being assigned to Linus Torvalds. Right!