Comments on: Opinion: Palm OS 5: The Wish List
Article Comments
(172 comments)
The following comments are owned by whoever posted them. PalmInfocenter is not responsible for them in any way.
Please Login or register here to add your comments.
Comments Closed
This article is no longer accepting new comments.
For God's sake, LINKING !!!!!!!!
RE: For God's sake, LINKING !!!!!!!!
RE: For God's sake, LINKING !!!!!!!!
I want to link all the people in a company together in the Addressbook. I want to link a person's record to all of the appointments I have with them. I want to link a memo regarding a project to all of the to-do's for that project. I want to be able to jump back and forth from that memo to the to-do's with a single tap so I can create, edit or mark them without the OS getting in the way of my thinking. I want to be able to move through my data effortlessly with the OS doing all the work of changing applications and keeping track of where I was in each application.
DateBk4 gives you a little of this, but it should be a function built into the OS to really work.
PS: Check out MegaWiki 4.0. It's not perfect, but it gives you an idea of what linking can do.
RE: For God's sake, LINKING !!!!!!!!
A soft grafitti is great but will palm care about softgraffiti considering they dont have any intentions of making a device that can take advantage or it?
What i really want from OS5 is encryption for increased security. right now i can go to C:\palm and look for *.dat files and open with notepad,,and i can see my private records. Its just so easy for me. If i own a company i would never Trust palms current OS for sensitive Datas.
Thats my opinion.
graph
RE: For God's sake, LINKING !!!!!!!!
> they dont have any intentions of making a device that can take advantage or it?
a) Don't be too sure of this.
b) Even if they don't, that's the advantage of Palm's making the OS Group a subsidiary and eventually a separate company. The Palm Hardware Group is no longer controlling what goes into the OS. The OS Group gets its money from all the licensees and has to cater to all of them, including the ones who want a soft graffiti area.
RE: For God's sake, LINKING !!!!!!!!
RE: For God's sake, LINKING !!!!!!!!
RE: For God's sake, LINKING !!!!!!!!
That's where Palm wouldn't want to get involved since so many people sync w/ Outlook.
I doubt built-in linking will happen. But I really like the idea, as well.
RE: For God's sake, LINKING !!!!!!!!
RE: For God's sake, LINKING !!!!!!!!
LINKING IS A REALLY, REALLY USEFUL THING TO BE ABLE TO DO. I WISH THAT IF PALM HAD NOT CHOSEN TO INCLUDE IT IN THEIR OS, THEY COULD HAVE AT LEAST LEFT THE WAY OPEN FOR OTHER APPS, TOO. DATEBK5 HAS SOME GOOD LINKING CAPABILITY, BUT I HAVE SEEN FIRST HAND HOW USEFUL COMPREHENSIVE LINKING CAN BE. IT WOULD BE A GREAT IMPROVEMENT.
I love my Tungsten T, but I do miss the links.
RE: For God's sake, LINKING !!!!!!!!
http://c2.com/cgi/wiki?PsLink (summary)
http://www.jove21.com/palm/palmware/pslink.html (developers website)
IR Printing
Bluetooth Printing
RE: IR Printing
Yes! Printing.
Some people want to bark about how the developer community should do that, but I think the ability to print from a PDA is totally a core feature which palm should include and standardize.
Was in Europe not too long ago and tried to print from MultiMail which ended up failing becuase of a missing library. It was such a disapointmnet!
RE: IR Printing
--
http://www.arpx.net/article.php/top_10_palmos_applications - my top 10 palm apps
wish list
All I can say is I really wonder if Palm is listening. My observation of many compagnies is that they tend to listen their clients only via the satisfacion surveys...
Almost every times I e-mail to a compagnie to suggest them some improvments (read: help them), most of the times I don't get any answer. And if I have, they say big thanks but things don't change. There are exeptions, like Mindmaker, but they are so rare.
I don't know if this expression exist in english: praying in the desert...
RE: wish list
RE: wish list
I'm not sure. Praying in the desert means do something that will have no impact because nobody is listening.
Anyway, doesn't matter.
RE: wish list
RE: wish list
RE: wish list
RE: wish list
Multiple categories
RE: Multiple categories
RE: Multiple categories
WeSync lets you do this today.
You can have more than 15 address book categories and any contact can be in multiple categories.
You can have multiple calendars - one for work and one for - whatever you want.
Multiple Categories and much more Wish List Items
Unlimited # of Categories
Unlimited Filtered Lists(ala on Palm Desktop)
LINKING: if a Contact is linked to a Note/Memo let that Link be preserved during HotSync
FIND: When Searching for a Contact, it's 1st Prefered Attached Note/Memo should also show up on Desktop, and on PDA there should be a LINK to that Memo/Note for back and forth navigation ala on Desktop. BTW, how come only 1 Note/Memo can be opened at a time? In wordprocessors and other applications one can have more than one file opened at time
STANDARDISATION: Why is it a Note on Palm Desktop and Memo on PDA?(at least on Mac it is so)
PHOTOS FIELDS: Can there be several per Contact, so tha one has a "face to go with it"?
4,000 CHARACTERS per Note/Memo: the Truncation NEVER worked properly after HotSyn. Why can't I be warned with some kind of Characters Counter, so I know how close I am to the 4,000 limit. Better yet, NO LIMIT ON CHARACTERS, or at least a greater limit
Word Processing in Notes/Memos
Unlimited # of Notes/Memos
Top-Bottom Page in Note/Memo -- LONG LONG OVERDUE
VIBRATING ALARMS: vibration is very weak, and even if one is wearing very thin clothes, Vibration doesn't last long enough and strong enough to be noticed. If one is on the street, where there are lots of distractions, vibration is almost guaranteed to be unnoticed. BTW, same criticism applies to my Keyocera 2035 Cell Phone
NORTON AND VIRUS DETECTION: ala on desktop, there should be some software that one can run in order to see if All IS OK, ala Norton, TechTools(I am on Mac)
VOICE ACTIVATED PASSWORD: i.e. bring up Palm to one's mouth and say the password to get in
VOICE MEMO RECORDING: instead of writing it down, record it and be able to set alarm on each Voice Memo. BTW, I mean built into Palm, not an Attachment
EMAIL TO COMMAND: one should be able to Email a Note/Memo, or a Contact from Desktop or PDA
Extended Screens(hide Grafiti area)
Fully Functional Quicken
Each PDA Application SHOULD HAVE it's Desktop Companion
COLOR PALMS ONLY! Higher Resolution! More Memory! Faster! Solar Charging: so whenever a PDA is exposed to light it is being recharged, even if it's on = NO MORE BATTERY WORRIES!!!
RE: Multiple categories
This is almost exactly like what I was talking about in one of my later posts below. Combining this with wireless (and it looks like they do) is what will be the "killer app" for wireless, IMO. Of course this thing's been out for a while it seems and it hasn't caught on (in fact, I'd never heard of it). IMO, this is due to the *still* high cost of unlimited wireless. The beauty of this isn't just for businesses (though they can afford to pay the big bucks for wireless). I'm still floored.
Scott
RE: Multiple categories
RE: Multiple categories
Scott
YEAH
RE: Multiple categories
Ha! I can hear it now:
"Hey, will you guys shut up! I'm trying to log into my palm!"
"Turn off the damn music! I wanna use my palm!"
etc.
I love Mike Cane
That said, I really hope that Palm is listening to Mike on this one - it would be foolish not to.
RE: I love Mike Cane
Palm OS 5 wishlist
RE: Palm OS 5 wishlist
Second, PPCs are both larger and more expensive than Palms. That might change with ARMed units, but people still tend to stick with what they know (witness the metastatis of Windows!).
Third, plugging PPC here won't do anything more than show PPC owners in a bad light. Do you want that?
RE: Palm OS 5 wishlist
OK, how about run for hours without totally draining the battery and erasing the contents of RAM? Darn, I forgot, that's Palm again.
I've got one! Sit in your pocket without making a huge unslightly bulge that drags you clothes all out of shape. Oops, that's Palm again.
Oh I know, cost less than $400. Oh yeah, I forgot. That's the Palm OS again.
How about this? Get more than 20% of the worldwide handheld market. ****, that's not PPC is it?
RE: Palm OS 5 wishlist
Palm has to walk a delicate line here, to avoid producing something that just looks like a first revision PocketPC wannabe. They need to make sure it isn't easier (or cheaper) for developers to switch from Palm OS 4 development to Pocket PC development than it is to switch from OS4 to OS5. They also have to worry about adding PPC's negative aspects as they add the positive features. They have to worry about stability of the OS. (PPC is finally getting less crash prone, but it took 3 revs. Palm can't afford to go until OS 7 to get enough bugs out to have a stable OS.)
RE: Palm OS 5 wishlist
To restate much more simply: It would be like Mike saying that he wants his Palm to support toasting bread and me suggesting that a toaster would fit his PDA needs as a result.
Scott
RE: Palm OS 5 wishlist
RE: Palm OS 5 wishlist
Compaq and the rest are pushing for this. They want out of their PPC contracts because they lose ****loads of money. MS is forcing them to stay in with its Windows monopoly. Compaq and HP can't afford to lose Windows for their desktops.
Database
Doc Format
Doc format was not invented by Palm. It was created by iSilo (I think . . . at least some third party) and everyone else just adopted it.
Jon C. Zaring
Zaring Technologies
jzaring@zaringtechnologies.com
RE: Doc Format
Palm should take a leadership role in this issue. It's a kludge right now and it's outlived most of its usefulness, DOC has. A standard all developers could use that offers more features would be a great boost for the Palm Economy and help compete against PPC.
RE: Doc Format
RE: Doc Format
Palm could still protect their books, by requiring the Name/CreditCardPassword as inputs to their API call -- then the developer gets the unencrypted text back out for display. This way users would have a CHOICE in eBook reader, rather than having to use PalmReader for encrypted books. There are a LOT of better readers out there than PalmReader. Palm is "controlling" (monopolizing?) this market by using a proprietary format rather than DOC.
If Mike Cane's suggestion was to happen, let Palm propose an "extension" to the DOC format. Not a new closed format. Whatever happens, make it an OPEN standard, like DOC. Proprietary standards are NOT good for anyone. Competition and a choice of reader is the right way for innovation.
This would be a real shot-in-the-arm for eBooks on the Palm.
RE: Doc Format
That would suck since I love reading on my Palm. Nobody else has the selection peanut does. Let's not screw it up.
RE: Doc Format
RE: Doc Format
a better list
-multi threading
-better sound and a tone dialer to the address book
-native MP3 support
-real error detection and handling, having fatal errors because your removing all error handling in favor of speed is stupid IMO
-native jog dial support
-improved security so all these crappy password saving and security apps are not needed
-real expense application for personal expenses, something that blows away Money on Pocket PC and synchronizes to the PC
RE: a better list
Must have:
1) ARM + DragonBall support. We need faster CPU to handle many of the following items.
2) Multi-tasking. Gotta be able to download your new email while editing an outgoing email message.
3) Better sound (MP3 + pick any other sound format such as WAV)
4) Variable sized screen support, with options for handling older apps by way of re-positioning, scaling the screen, or scaling the UI elements on the screen by either hw or sw.
Nice to have (I know we can write these ourselves, but I think they're so common and important that it should be in the OS, and sooner rather than later):
5) Encryption API (MicroSoft is having a field day in the enterprise space because there is no built-in encryption on Palm)
6) Better text gadgets. I think their extensible font architecture is fine as it is. But I think you need to be able to have more sophisticated text in the OS gadgets. For example, the simple text box should support mixed font, color text, basic text formatting, and clickable words.
7) Tree View gadget. I want something like an extension of the PalmOS "table", but with the ability to expand and collapse nodes like the tree view in Windows Exploder.
I specifically did not put a real filesystem in there because I agree with bcombee that it would complicate the interface. This is exactly the type of feature we want to avoid. I don't want users to see any file except the main application. Otherwise, they will be able to start messing with it, and then you can imagine all kinds of disasters. Applications installing a half dozen user-accessible files with screwy names in different directories. Users renaming, deleting, editing files they're not supposed to, etc.
I would agree that the application launcher needs to be improved to allow for tabs and better UI, but you don't need to change the file system to do that.
-Jason
RE: a better list
Birthdays, Holidays, etc.
1) New application which would store special dates (e.g. - Holidays, anniversaries). This application could also "read in" special dates (primarily birthdays) from the address book app custom fields.
2) Date book would be modified to automatically check this application and the custom fields so as to display these holidays/birthday info on the appropriate date.
This functionality can currently be done via 3rd party apps but these all require that you tell that app to post the special dates to your datebook. By modifying the datebook app to look at this program's DB (and the custom fields in the datebook), it would be further automated, simplifying things significantly.
Scott
RE: Birthdays, Holidays, etc.
And yeah just custom name your categories
graph
Core OS improvements are highest priority
And second, built-in application improvements.
The reason I think this is important, is the build in apps can be replaced by 3rd party software, but the OS improvements cannot. (Ok, in the current OS we have hacks to sort-of help with that, but in OS 5 hacks won't be an option. And shouldn't be necessary if they build a flexible enough OS.)
I see the first group as highest priority, because without them, you can't even buy 3rd party solutions to resolve the other issues. (Just for the record, I use WordSmith as my memo pad and DateBk4 for the calendar.)
RE: Core OS improvements are highest priority
RE: Core OS improvements are highest priority
The basic ap that needs the most help is the To-Do list. Items which are overdue should show up in red. You should be able to set a reminder for these items to go off every day or every hour or something like that. And, yes, different alarm sounds for different events would help here, too.
Nice list. I hope Palm is listening and even working on most of these.
-Kevin Crossman
RE: Core OS improvements are highest priority
yeah but can i run autocad with it
I just want revenge is that so wrong
RE: yeah but can i run autocad with it
Let's say Palm increases the screen size to 240 x 320. Move the tape to 3.3" by 4.4". How much work can you do in there? Can you even get most of your menu bars in there?
RE: yeah but can i run autocad with it
A. solid state for the most part
B. small palm III size is kewl
C. plenty of battery life
D. your not bankrupt if you drop it
E. builders and contractors won't want to use it as a hammer
"you may delay but time will not" Ben Franklin
RE: yeah but can i run autocad with it
***
You have no imagination. That's why you work in a dead end job.
It may not be "feasible" today, but tomorrow is another story.
Have you heard of monitor sized displays using special glasses? Well, that's what we're going to see in future handhelds. These glasses are available for gaming and watching tv, but future handhelds will have ports to connect these glasses displaying large displays.
And no it's not science fiction. If you think so, stick with your plastic light sabers.
RE: yeah but can i run autocad with it
so how bout putting that palm Cad out now
oh i've used thoose vr glasses and their okay but not the best thing in the field an OLCD on a pull out screen would be great though
"I've not failed i just found 10,000 ways that won't work" Tom Edison--- the patent thief
RE: yeah but can i run autocad with it
RE: yeah but can i run autocad with it
RE: yeah but can i run autocad with it
SD/MMC would be a great place to store the files
1 of these days i'll register 1 of these daze
P.S. although i hate to say it they do have the PPC onsite program out (of course they run on the ARM hardware)
Increased Security should be #1
A soft grafitti is great but will palm care about softgraffiti considering they dont have any intentions of making a device that can take advantage or it?
What i really want from OS5 is encryption for increased security. right now i can go to C:\palm and look for *.dat files and open with notepad,,and i can see my private records. Its just so easy for me. If i own a company i would never Trust palms current OS for sensitive Datas.
Thats my opinion.
graph
PALM - FIX THE SECURITY PROBLEM!
OS 5 or OS 4.5?
As such, I must say (though perhaps I'm in the minority) that the Palm OS really doesn't *need* a major rewrite in the sense that the OS offers most of what people need. I'm actually glad to hear Palm touting multitasking as part of the new OS but not mentioning a lot of the gee-whiz stuff that PPC people tout.
Here's my list of important stuff:
1) Linking (see prior message by somebody)
2) Integration of birthdays, holidays, etc. via modifications to datebook and new "Holiday"-type app (see prior message by me).
3) Multitasking.
4) One standard high-res mode. I personally think that allowing for multiple different standards is going to cause trouble as it will minimize app compatibility (said differently - will require more work of developers - many of whom won't bother). My personal preference is for 240x320 with collapsible Graffiti area, though they need to make sure they get this right and ensure that they have the APIs developed such that apps behave properly when the area is "up" (Many PPC apps have important data hidden behind their input area - bad programming - not sure if the OS or the developer is to blame). BTW, Mike, sadly you need the "menu" icon because some apps use the full 160x160 resolution and "hide" the menu bar.
5) Improved sound support. I'm not talking about built-in MP3. Leave that for 3rd party developers. I'm just talking about the ability to play .WAV files (or something similar). Again, we're getting into dangerous territory now with Sony developing it's own "standard" here.
6) Seamless expansion memory. Can learn from the PPC here.
7) Support for all kinds of file types. Conversion may still be desirable in some cases to maximize viewing on a device, etc. But in other cases, it's good to be able to transfer a file from my PDA to someone else and then to a desktop somewhere.
8) Tap-and-hold menus. One of the few (only?) usability improvements that the PPC brought to the table.
9) Add support for attendees and meeting location to the datebook. This should be optional info that does *NOT* result in me having to edit a bunch of fields like the PPC makes me do. In other words, if I only want to enter a quick appointment I should be able to do it pretty much the way I do it now with the Palm OS.
10) I can't stress this enough: *REALLY* think about how wireless should be *INTEGRATED* into a device. I'm not talking about hardware here. I'm talking about how wireless changes the whole paradigm of using certain tools.
Example 1: I should be able to set up a meeting and have my PDA wirelessly send notifications to all of the attendees. Those attendees could then accept or reject the meeting which would result in me getting notified back again.
Example 2: I want to look at my wife's schedule and see what she has going on for the week. Since we're married, I should be able to see the details of her schedule. OTOH, if I want to see my friend's schedule, I should just see the time blocks which are taken/available. This implies storing this data on a web server somewhere. Oddly, Palm, Inc. had much of what they needed in place with Palm.net but decided to scrap it. What were they thinking?
Scott
RE: OS 5 or OS 4.5?
I will say that we're still hobbled in the US by our disparate wireless technologies, lack of coverage in many areas, and high unlimited use wireless costs. The good news is that the things I'm suggesting as being truly useful for wireless don't require high-speed. In fact, Palm's existing pager-style (slow) Palm VII/i705 wireless standard would suffice. I'm still a big believer in the web-clipping concept. I just don't get why they got rid of the server-stored PIM data which could be accessed by other people via web browsers and via their web-clipping applet. IMO, this needed to be *expanded* not dumped, such that the standard PIM apps could read/write to this web server data.
Scott
RE: OS 5 or OS 4.5?
Scott
RE: OS 5 or OS 4.5?
RE: OS 5 or OS 4.5?
Rob
RE: WeSync
I love the group scheduling examples, they are exactly the kind of area I do research in. The big issues here is that most companies and persons like myself would much rather run our own private servers for this kind of stuff. Unfortunately there are not yet any standardized and popular calendaring server/services solutions.
RE: OS 5 or OS 4.5?
Hahaha! Good call!
RE: Better Memo Pad
Embedded records
- Rene
More features doesn't have to mean Complicated
I hardly believe that's the case.
The best way to allow this is to simply leave everything up to the user.
For instance, if you are joe shmoe who just wants a PIM device, you have it. pretty much identical to what we have now.
For users who require more from their device they can enable all of the advanced features. Customization is key. Let the user decide what he or she should/would use. You can keep plenty of the guts covered under a "General user" hood, but allow those who want to have full control of their device the opportunity to.
I don't want either or. I want BOTH to be there for the using. Keeping the options open will only help this.
Mike hinted along these lines when he talked about wanting to put what icons he wanted on the command bar, etc. That's precisely the type of control that should be implemented. Your average user might not even know you CAN customize those, let alone want to change them. But for others...
Let's hope OS5 covers some of these issues.
RE: More features doesn't have to mean Complicated
Unlimited # of Categories
Unlimited Filtered Lists(ala on Palm Desktop)
LINKING: if a Contact is linked to a Note/Memo let that Link be preserved during HotSync
FIND: When Searching for a Contact, it's 1st Prefered Attached Note/Memo should also show up on Desktop, and on PDA there should be a LINK to that Memo/Note for back and forth navigation ala on Desktop. BTW, how come only 1 Note/Memo can be opened at a time? In wordprocessors and other applications one can have more than one file opened at time
STANDARDISATION: Why is it a Note on Palm Desktop and Memo on PDA?(at least on Mac it is so)
PHOTOS FIELDS: Can there be several per Contact, so tha one has a "face to go with it"?
4,000 CHARACTERS per Note/Memo: the Truncation NEVER worked properly after HotSyn. Why can't I be warned with some kind of Characters Counter, so I know how close I am to the 4,000 limit. Better yet, NO LIMIT ON CHARACTERS, or at least a greater limit
Word Processing in Notes/Memos
Unlimited # of Notes/Memos
Top-Bottom Page in Note/Memo -- LONG LONG OVERDUE
VIBRATING ALARMS: vibration is very weak, and even if one is wearing very thin clothes, Vibration doesn't last long enough and strong enough to be noticed. If one is on the street, where there are lots of distractions, vibration is almost guaranteed to be unnoticed. BTW, same criticism applies to my Keyocera 2035 Cell Phone
NORTON AND VIRUS DETECTION: ala on desktop, there should be some software that one can run in order to see if All IS OK, ala Norton, TechTools(I am on Mac)
VOICE ACTIVATED PASSWORD: i.e. bring up Palm to one's mouth and say the password to get in
VOICE MEMO RECORDING: instead of writing it down, record it and be able to set alarm on each Voice Memo. BTW, I mean built into Palm, not an Attachment
EMAIL TO COMMAND: one should be able to Email a Note/Memo, or a Contact from Desktop or PDA
Extended Screens(hide Grafiti area)
Fully Functional Quicken
Each PDA Application SHOULD HAVE it's Desktop Companion
COLOR PALMS ONLY! Higher Resolution! More Memory! Faster! Solar Charging: so whenever a PDA is exposed to light it is being recharged, even if it's on = NO MORE BATTERY WORRIES!!!
Go buy a notebook with Windows
The Palm was meant to be simple to use and effective for certain tasks, sort of organizer, but with much more.
I wish for light weight, low price, wireless e-mail, Wi-Fi/Bleutooth and KISS (keep it simple stupid).
Need more? Use your notebook or desktop.
RE: Go buy a notebook with Windows
There's nothing that has been asked that takes a the PDA out of it's status as an intermediary device between your laptop and your desktop.
We're not asking for Photoshop on the Palm.......
RE: Go buy a notebook with Windows
Sorry, couldn't resist...
RE: Go buy a notebook with Windows
Come on! JFK asked congress for the Moon and he got it!
Here are the specs....
2ghz proccessing with multi media extensions
250mhz graphics proccessing with 128mb of graphical ram
200 gigs of video storage
all in a 4.5x3x.5 inche form factor
RE: Go buy a notebook with Windows
Then we can add what we want and ignore what we don't.
Ryan
ryan@girlandgeek.com
http://www.girlandgeek.com
RE: Go buy a notebook with Windows
that's what a PDA is all about
that makes palm better thatn those pocketpc,etc
RE: Go buy a notebook with Windows
Nervous
Sorry, for mistakes.
RE: Nervous
The people (or losers) running Palm last year have all been fired. The new people (esp. Nagel) have often said the company has fallen behind and that they are doing something about it.
> Why we don't have build in Word Editor in PalmOS?
We do. Documents to Go comes bundled with almost every Palm OS handheld. That or Quickoffice. What more do you want? Or have you been brainwashed by Microsoft to only trust a word processor made by the same company that makes the OS? That's just silly.
RE: Nervous
Scott
RE: Nervous
RE: Nervous-Bundled wordprocessor
What does BeOS bring to the OS5?
RE: What does BeOS bring to the OS5?
---
News Editor
Competition is Good.
It may be time to drag out the all the articles and quotes from Palm Execs in 2000 just flaming all this exact requests.....
Well at least it might equal what the Pocket PC did BACK in 2000 if can ever get released out the door before the investors start calling for the next head.... Boy I am glad I didn't get hung out to dry on that IPO !
I want this out because competition is GOOD for everybody in the PDA community.
Too much too soon
I think it would make a lot more sense to release the rearchitected OS first that runs on the faster, more diverse hardware, and then add the bells and whistles later.
Even if OS 5 provides an identical user experience to OS 4 but pulls it off on brand new, completely incompatible hardware, it is still a major accomplishment. It may be a grave disappointment to the Power User who wants everything yesterday, but it is still impressive.
RE: Too much too soon
I am a Palm Developer and love the platform and support. But M$ has the ball right now. Palm is playing catch-up. There are alot of Palm Power users out there waiting to see what the next gen palms are going to be like. If it turns out to be a multi-tasking version of OS4 I think they will loose alot of market share.
RE: Too much too soon
I think that power users are simply a little bored with the OS as it stands and want differences for their own sake.
Having said that, this is exactly the reason why I never really liked MacOS. It was too simple to use for me and lacked features I can fiddle with, therefore I get bored.
Windows, for all its faults, is simply more fun for the technically minded to play with.
PalmOS 5... um... already here?
1. A real file system -- Yes, we need to put in VFAT or FAT32 into the system, of not go Unix-baised (Linux ext2, anyone?)
2. More categories -- Always an improvement
3. Top/Bottom page in Memopad -- Grab the SDK. The Memopad sources are there. Fix it yourself.
4. Native color support -- Already here. What you need is expanded use of color.
5. True font handling -- Agreed, Palm's own sans-serif 72 dpi fonts aren't cutting it for most users now. However, PalmOS has support for bringing in any font .prc, and there's already programs for editing them. Most programs just have to ID and use them.
6. A long-file standard. -- Already here, check the 3.1 API. DOC uses database .prc's.
7. Command Bar customization -- Expanded use would be nice...
8. Selectable Alarms -- Doesn't items other than the Datebook do this?
9. Task Switching a-la Win 3.1 -- Puh-lease, at the very least, this type of multitasking!
10. Soft/On-screen Graffiti -- Actually, a combo of #9 and this: Make the Graffiti window resizeable and movable. Linux on iPaq has this.
RE: PalmOS 5... um... already here?
-- wow, not only I must learn C, but the Palm SDK and CodeWorks, just to get two g*ddammed icons Palm was too stupid to put in? (Or were they too distracted, having wet dreams over that HQ building that didn't happen because they were having wet dreams over that HQ building...?)
Wait wait wait! OS 5? Give me my free 4.01 update first
RE: Wait wait wait! OS 5? Give me my free 4.01 update first
Now for the palm OS there is 4.1 thats costs your $40 But this is not avaiable for the m500 series and there was no promise of a free upgrade for 500 series...
RE: Wait wait wait! OS 5? Give me my free 4.01 update first
As for a 4.0.1 Palm OS there is none.
There is a 4.1 Palm OS upgrade for older palms,
not for the M series of palms and it is not
free.
Wish List - Beware
If Palm were to change the Datebook to have DateBk functionality, then they add a database program a la HanDBase, a word processor a la WordSmith, etc, etc, they will basically end up killing the companies who have helped make Palm to what it is now, by ensuring good quality programs to be available for this platform.
RE: Wish List - Beware
reaction
I think VFS does a good job. Palm didn't go all the way here, though. What they should have done in OS 4 was release a VFS driver for the internal RAM. Then, your application could just use VFS everywhere. Of course, this approach would have had the problem of backwards compatibility, so instead, Palm went the other way and provided a simple PDB reading library on top-of-VFS.
Remember, not having a hierarchial file system is part of Palm's simplicity. It keeps applications from getting too complicated, making users have to figure out where files are.
> 2) More Categories.
This was always a tradeoff. Each database record has a 4-bit category field. Using more bits would have required expanding the size of the record header and causing DBs to use more RAM. Individual apps can use their own category system, bypassing the OS's, but I think the 16 limit is fine for most things.
CodeWarrior for Palm OS technical lead
RE: reaction
I agree with you that 16 limit is fine for most things. But you have to consider that os5 is going out sometime this year. That means it will be mainly use next year. Yes, 16 is fine right now but will it be the same next year?
RE: reaction
Most people are fine with, "Home", "Business", and a few others for special activities. While computers have gotten more powerful and storage space has increased, people haven't changed that much.
CodeWarrior for Palm OS technical lead
RE: reaction
And I'm very happy I can have files names longer than 8.
BTW, it's not because YOU don't need it that nobody does. It's a little bit like the characters that allow to write formulas properly. It's not because you're not in science and you don't need this that nobody does.
RE: reaction
Keep it simple. That's the key for Palm and life in general.
RE: reaction
RE: reaction
Furthermore, I don't see what's complicated about having the ABILITY to have more than 8 categories?
It's still simple for the newbies or those who want it simple. But it allow power and flexibility for those who need it.
RE: reaction
-- only *you* do. Do you actually use it?! Do you have 1,000 DOCs in your PalmOS? No? Come back when you use the thing...
Let's Fire Up the Way Back Machine
- Kevin Quin
RE: Let's Fire Up the Way Back Machine
Palm m100 and refrub Visor Deluxes are both under $100.
Palm seems to have stuck as the name of the device, though PalmPilot still gets a lot of use.
Palm's ad campaign has improved a lot, if it has been scaled back some. There were plenty of nice ads over the holidays.
A sketch pad application (Notepad) is standard on all current Palm devices.
Screen technology has improved. The m100 and m500 screens have nice contrast, the IIIc was easy to read, and the m505 does a good job with its color, at least in bright light.
The only real items on your list not addressed so far are security and memo pad. Palm OS 4 made the devices less hackable, but didn't do anything about the desktop. There are sessions at PalmSource 2002 about Palm's new desktop software, including how to write your own plugins to it, and about their new security APIs in Palm OS 5, so I hope this finally addresses your issues.
Palm was in a hole with their PIM apps. They couldn't change the data formats since so many other applications relied on them to remain constant for compatibility. The 4K limit really was related to the early memory size on the original Pilot 1000 -- getting records longer than that could cause bad memory fragmentation on a 128K device.
CodeWarrior for Palm OS technical lead
Screen improvements
RE: Screen improvements
WISH
- Multimeda must be supported, or make a palm with and without mp3 support (short and long battery time)
- Office included and some great program like outllok too.
- BLUETOOTH!!!!
RE: WISH
RE: WISH
clickable web dates and addresses
Or I found my doctor's address on the web, I click on an icon and poof, at my next sync, a full entry is created in my Palm.
This seems like something pretty elementary to me, why does it not exist?
RE: clickable web dates and addresses
I've often wished it was easy to enter my company phone list into my Palm and then keep it up to date.
Then, everybody in the company should also be able to take advantage of this.
RE: clickable web dates and addresses
Scott
RE: clickable web dates and addresses
CodeWarrior for Palm OS technical lead
RE: clickable web dates and addresses
What level of support do Palm Desktop versions have for vCard / vCalendar? I'm relatively new to Palms and don't run PD.
I'm thinking something like:
- drag URL to event or card info from browser to Palm Desktop icon (not running) or app workspace (app running),
- Palm Desktop prompts to retrieve
- Add / Customize / Categorize elements specific to PIM app
- Sync
Of course, the apps on the handheld itself should be able to accomplish all of this if it has wireless capability.
RE: clickable web dates and addresses
Check out Coola.
RE: clickable web dates and addresses
they're not bad--in my experience, Anagram is better. Unfortunately, nothing similar for the Mac yet. :(
vCard and vCal work with Palm Desktop, I believe
Palm's Top 10!
10. INTERNET - its communication to internet needs to be speedier. This is the wave of the future. If internet isn't a cornerstone of the next OS, it is doomed for a short life span.
9. CONNECTIVITY - palm does a pretty good job here, but its communication with other core softwares in the PC/Mac such as email, notes and contanct needs improvement. Also communication with hardwares such as a printer needs to be native.
8. EXPANSION SUPPORT - current data management, let me put it this way... it SUCKS big time... It needs major overhaul.
7. MULTI-TASKING - It needs a native support to switch from one application to another with a simple stroke. ex. Switchhack (I can't live without it)
6. SCREEN RESOLUTION - It must support a higher resolution capability such and Sony of Handera.
5. SOUND - finally it needs a true sound capability.
4. SHARING DATA - IR was useful, but new ability to share info with multiple PDA is needed. (ex. bluetooth)
3. EASY DATA INPUT - Palm made its signiture mark with grafitti. It needs some update... grafitti is still valuable, but the Thumb key of Zaurus is an interesting idea...
2. SIMPLICITY - Palm started with an idea to simply one's life by organizing their schedules and contact info's. It's future success must also be based upon its simplicity to organize.
1. OPEN SOURCE - palm surpassed the PPC because of its ability to add hacks and software to customize one's PDA!
Of course, above 10 needs to be rock stable! ;-)
Sam
RE: Palm's Top 10!
CodeWarrior for Palm OS technical lead
RE: Palm's Top 10!
Linux is open source, yet companies like Red Hat, SuSE, Mandrake and so on make money selling it.
This also solves the OS/apps problem mentioned in a lot of posts on this page.
Palm can concentrate on making an OS with a few basic apps around it. This could then be combined with 3rd party apps and sold as a bundle. Same idea as a linux distro.
Technically able power users could easily modify this to their needs. Other users would use the default "distro" out of the box.
Forget the Microsoft bull****. Think. Why not?
Jan
Palm's top 10
RE: Palm's top 10
It looks far superior to the Targus voice recorder module, and that was a pretty nice unit.
Doug
RE: Palm's top 10
RE: Palm's top 10
As far as the multimedia levels go, clie's have it right, i think; and expensive model with a DSP mp3 processor onboard for multimedia enthusiasts (n760) and a cheaper, thinner model without as many media features ( t415/615, which can still play wavs and midis through an improved speaker).
I liked the handera, but the Palm III sized footprint is bigger than i like (especially cuz it's that big and still monochrome...), so I got me a t415.
Size, simplicity, size, ....
Ideally, the devices should be PC-card sized, like the REX, before being wristwatch sized.
Then worry about functionality. But some simple things that palm just hasn't got right -
- a speaker loud enough to act as an alarm (the current one isn't)
- decent buttons (eg jog dial, gameboy-type 4-way scroll buttons)
None of this is solved by an OS of course, but the OS should have this hardware in mind, rather than keep adding new managers
RE: Size, simplicity, size, ....
I disagree. This would make the screen way too small.
RE: Size, simplicity, size, ....
RE: Size, simplicity, size, ....
This way I could keep it in my wallet, like a credit card. You only need to see the top few lines in most applications anyway, except for the month view in the Datebook, but there are other ways to work around that. Even the Rex had a month view.
If the screen had a very high dots per inch ratio, and the ability, when needed, to zoom and pan, I think Palm could make this work.
If it had built in Blue Tooth, then a wireless screen built into your glasses would give you any sized screen you wanted. This would make it possible to have a wrist watch sized palm device as well!
RE: Size, simplicity, size, ....
Zen Of Palm no more?
defiantion, more complicated. I, for one, welcome that kind of complexity. I want my palm to be able
to play multi-media files, I want it to have native wireless support, I want it to have a transparent
removable media system.
Welcome the change, if it's for the better, but don't fear it just because it's different
RE: Zen Of Palm no more?
If features are not added to the OS who would ever buy a new PDA?
RE: Zen Of Palm no more?
Confession: I tried Datebk4 for about a month and thought it was great. Then I tried Datebk3, which I found to be better. Then one day I went back to the native Datebook. Guess what? It is better than both of them. Why? Well, it is pretty basic, but it does all the necessary things very, very well. The other apps had tons more features, which were fun to play with for a while. Eventually, though, the novelty wore off and I got less and less use out of the sophisticated features. And I felt silly for having spent hours reading manuals to use features which didn't turn out to be of much real use. Don't get me wrong. If anyone asks me to recommend a replacement for Datebook, I'd say either Datebk3 or 4 without hesitation. I'm sure lots of people would swear by them. For me, though, they are just too much for what I need.
Palm's formula is to build something which is (a) simple, stable and capable of all the basic functions and (b) flexible enough to allow more sophisticated add-ons. It's a very clever approach and one which they should be reluctant to depart from (if they know what's good for them).
I don't begrudge you the extra features you want. Just don't make me read any more manuals, please. And don't make the wonderful PalmOS more complex for those of us who do not really need more sophisticated stuff. Life is to short.
RE: Zen Of Palm no more?
features without creating an overly complicated OS. It's a trickey balancing act.
The best thing they could possibly do. . .
RE: The best thing they could possibly do. . .
RE: The best thing they could possibly do. . .
RE: The best thing they could possibly do. . .
It's a Palm
I don't WANT a PPC -I like the lean-ness of the palm interface. OK, I agree w/ your selectable alarms & soft graffiti - but I don't even want a color screen. I use my Palm all the time for reading & word-processing and I just don't need that other stuff (or an MP3 player, or photoshop!)
All I really want... is a black-and WHITE (not Green) screen!
RE: It's a Palm
I disagree about the bloat. It can be done. And average users wouldn't even know about it unless they needed to. All the extras mentioned above (and in some posts) can be stuck in a "expert layer."
Expansion
I'm waiting for a new Clie with
320x480
soft graffiti
16-32 onboard ram
optional PC expansion sleeve with driver support
*droooooooooooool*
Unicode
RE: Unicode
bull****
RE: bull****
RE: bull****
RE: bull****
can ensure the UI isn't complicated and unusable, there is no reason the Palm shouldn't have newer
features such as multimedia.
Don't forget, Palm is fundemantly a BUSINESS. They are concened with what the market wants, and
what competition is out there. The competition today? PPC 2002. And what is prominent in PPC 2002?
Multimedia.
Do the math.
It's time to move out of the 90s.
todo list: strike though a crossed off item
And while were at it, individual "show"options, for each category!
RE: todo list: strike though a crossed off item
Doubtful to please anyone
As many predict the alleged Palm S/W | H/W split will change things. Forget the hardware.. they will have to innovate to keep up with competition or be phased out (it will fix itself over time). Let the OS team work slowly, steadily, and with a shiny boot up their ***.
RE: Doubtful to please anyone
I wonder what the separate divisions will do? Clearly there is a need for these advanced features. Maybe there will be two levels of Palms? One for newbies (ie, "Classic Palm") and one for people who want more (ie, "Expert Palm")?
They cannot stay as they are with PPC circling out there. PPC will not be more expensive forever! And Gates & Co will keep hammering at it, changing it, until it's "close enough" for advanced Palmists to be tempted to take the jump...
RE: Doubtful to please anyone
Because OS5/ARM models will still run OS4/Dragonball applications, this dichotomy of processors isn't as bad as it might seem. The platform shouldn't suffer from the PPC's long difficulties with having to be sure each app was compiled for the right processor.
---
News Editor
ten points to improve
the option to putt more dan 10.000 adresses in Datebook...
gr
rw
Latest Comments
- My comments -katana
- My comments -katana
- My comments -katana
- My comments -katana
- My comments -katana
- My comments -katana
- My comments -katana
- My comments -katana
A built - in Journaling application