Now all we need is to combine TealOS GUI over an Ã…ngström OS and we’d have the perfect OS replacement for older Palm 5 devices.
Palm
Palm Treo Pro Delayed, to be loaded with WebOS?
Everyone is talking up the fact that the Palm Pro has been delayed. When first announced I decried that fact as One more foolish Palm move because it was being created as a Windows 6 device. Claiming that it was diluting a potential ‘Nova’ OS, now Known as WebOS, that was imminent. It should always have been loaded with WebOS, and now maybe it could be. This delay could be the perfect wave for Palm, a touch based Pre , and a non touch version, the Pro, of WebOS.
Palm WebOS for the T/X
I may be a bit wishful after seeing the demonstration of the Palm Pre but knowing that you can get Angstrom Linux on the Palm T/X, there isn’t any reason that you couldn’t get the Palm WebOS shoehorned into it. But I’m assuming that CPU power and memory will be issues. Still one can be hopeful that since the Linux Kernels are nearly the same version, the WebOS environment is the only portion that needs to be ported. It might be a bit sluggish, but the Angstrom installation has built-in over-clocking of the T/X processor so that hurtle could be overcome.
Future of Linux on the Palm
Having read this article about how to Dual Boot Linux on a Palm TX. I then downloaded the linux distribution described in the demonstration from the Reware Project And loaded it on a spare 2GB SD card as outlined. IT works as described, and it didn’t do any harm to my normal Palm OS installation. After trying the music app from this project and drilling down through the filesystem to find a complete Linux distro, I downloaded another system called Opie from here http://atrey.karlin.mff.cuni.cz/~miska/ and have now been throughly impressed with Linux running on my Palm.
The OPIE project is more or less a replacement PIM running over the Linux, and contains many Palm PIM equivalents, and although not as polished as the Palm applications, it makes for a very good beginning. From what I can know, the OPIE system boots off a Ã…ngström Linux distribution of a Linux v2.6.23 kernel. And while the networking elements of the Palm T/X don’t appear to be operational, it’s still impressive.
If the forthcoming release of Nova Linux can take the edges off this OS, much in the vein of Android, Palm just might pull it out of the fire.
Here hoping!
Palm App Store is a failure
Giving Palm the benefit of the doubt I tried The Palm Software Store and attempted to download some ‘freeware’ apps from the Store directly into My Palm T/X. Well those that didn’t crash the T/X and reboot, failed to download at all. What a boneheaded move, create a store that doesn’t work, just prior to releasing your new
Nova OS!
Opera Mini 4.2 on Palm T/X
I’m impressed, Opera Mini 4.2 works on my Palm T/X without crashing (so far) and the rendering of pages, while small, actually look like the real thing. Further, snapback to the previous page is very quick, and painless. I’ll be doing more testing, but this is a breakthrough as far a browsing on the Palm. I’ll have to try it on my S40 Symbian Phone (6300).
Apple Slaps down developers again
Every day I’m more and more impressed with my Palm T/X choice as Apple extends iPhone NDA. Apple is getting genuinely proprietary about their iPhone/iPod app store. They are making a mockery of their own developer community and that won’t last, seeing as there is now the Google G1 Android phone and it’s open source development roots.
UPDATE: 
Missing Sync for Palm
I finally got fed up with the marginal, and with the Mac OS 10.5.5. update, broken iSync and Palm Desktop. So I went inter-web and bought and downloaded a copy of Missing Sync for Mac and after a bit more complicated install, and first sync. I think it might be a winner, and the Palm is even more integrated with my MacBook.
Mac OS 10.5.5 Breaks Palm Sync
Instead of ‘fixing’ any issues with Palm synchronization, MacOS 10.5.5
Fixes an issue in which contacts might not sync properly with PalmOS-based devices.
now fails consistently. I should have avoided when I saw Apple mention Palm Sync. 🙁
One more foolish Palm move
if this rumor is true that Palm’s Treo Pro in the wild, probably not fake. Then Palm has got to be the most foolish company in the world. Just when they are promising a new OS, a Linux cum Android like platform, they should announce yet another Windows based Phone, makes the company management come off all unfocused and wishy-washy in the vision department. How foolish can you be? Bring out the new OS, dammit, even in beta format. Get on with it Palm!
Apple’s iPhone is closing the door on the future
After hearing about how the iPhone can phone home and kill apps? I knew that my choice to purchase a Palm T/X was the correct one. But this is even more a vindication of my choice of the Nokia 6300 to act as the modem for both my MacBook and Palm T/X when Apple pulls posted iPhone modem app Apple won’t even allow you to use all the abilities of something You Own! just because they made it. DRM be dammed, being slaved to Apple is even worse. And just when Apple was beginning to increase marketshare, Job’s paranoia is making Apple into another Microsoft.
Java JVM for Palm T/X
Java for the Palm T/X has been such an issue since Palm stopped hosting a copy, I have found and will host a copy of the installation in the form of WEME571.zip which contains the PRC files that constitute the Java JVM for the T/X. Just browse the folders in the ZIP and install the prc’s. This will then let you run java applets and programs such as Opera Mini 4.1
UPDATE: Some good instructions on Making Opera Mini 4.1 Broswer work for Palm OS
Twitter learning curve
I think I’m beginning to understand Twitter, and I managed to deplete my 250 Twits SMS’s. You really need the desktop client when on the internet. And only use the Mobile SMS when, Mobile. Doh!
What I have found are interesting conversations with people I know, what I don’t understand is people who are following me, who do not know me, and I have never meet. What value following me? The first thing that comes to mind are squirrels gathering nuts, (me being the nut in this scenario) but I’m sure I will find out my role here.
One other thing, picking a desktop Twitter client has been interesting as I use a PC in the office and a Mac at home, and a Palm T/X and Nokia 6300 as mobile. Choices…
Small favors
Well, that day came on monday night, the call telling me my Dad passed away, the only small favor I managed was that my preparations of my mobile communications has worked out as planned. The Nokia 6300 on Vodafone.ie linked up with the AT&T network in Chicago and using the Palm T/X, I managed to connect to the Edge network on the Nokia to check flight changes, I also checked my email from my MacBook through the 6300 as well without having to pay for WiFi in the Airport. And when I had to make some phone number changes on the phone, the three (Palm/Mac/Nokia) synced up and shared the changes. Almost like they were made by the came company, standards, who knew, I suppose that’s why I don’t use Microsoft products. The only down side, the boss in Dublin knows my phone number, so if the shit hits the fan, I’m still on call.
Blogging life
It’s amazing that when family matters start to stress you, everyday activities like blogging loose their appeal. Facing aging and dying parents and the unpredictability of their loss makes everything else pale to insignificance. But I’m more or less prepared, in part, ready to hop any flight, when my brothers tell me the end is near. I have managed to put in place as many mobile communication and messaging technologies as I could manage so as not to be burdened with packing a laptop and various other bits and bobs that might make flying more of a burden that it will be otherwise. I could probably makes the States with only carry on luggage, dispensing with check in issues and customs. These new toys consist of a new Tri-band Phone in the form of the Nokia 6300 and a Palm T/X for more of the heavy lifting email, and web communications issues. With the U.S. now searching all laptops and sucking off suspicious data from disk drives these devices should prove useful for quick passage.