New Programs Aid Application Developers (Updated)

Posted By: Ed Tuesday, October 23, 2001 9:29:46 AM

Palm has announced several new programs aimed at helping the large number of third-party developers who write apps for the Palm OS.. They include an improved, two-level Palm OS Developer Program, a certification exam to recognize the most elite Palm OS developers, and a new Palm-authorized Online Training Program.

The Palm Developer Program now has an "Advantage" level that offers direct technical support from Palm, a quarterly resource CD containing the latest development tools and technologies, and marketing opportunities. This requires a yearly fee.

Update: The Advantage level costs $500 a year.

Developers can join at the "Basic" level, which means they get software development kits, product images, limited access to source code, documentation, and access to pre-release tools and information. . This level is free.

Palm is also now offering a certification program. Developers will be required to pass a challenging written exam covering the spectrum of application development.

"Developers who pass this exam will comprise an elite group of exceptional talent," said Gabriel Acosta-Lopez, senior director of Platform Developer Services. "We are pleased to recognize the achievements of these developers and set the standard for future generations of Palm OS innovators."

Palm also today announced the first Palm-authorized online training courses. These are written by experts at Palm and co-developed with DigitalThink to teach customers, partners and application developers at all levels how to create and use Palm solutions. The courses are self-paced, and include online lab work and practice exercises. Course content will be updated regularly to reflect new technologies and developments.

Courses announced today include "Introduction to Palm OS Application Development," which is designed to help application developers learn about the fundamental requirements, tools, and services available for creating effective Palm OS solutions. Also announced today is a special enterprise-focused course titled "IT Essentials for Palm Powered Handhelds" that was written by Palm engineers and designed specifically for CIOs and IT managers who want to develop custom in-house applications for their corporations.

"Palm's new Online Training Program meets the demands of the growing developer community for the world's leading handheld platform," said Mike Lodato, vice president of market development at DigitalThink. "The online instruction DigitalThink has created with Palm will ensure that developers worldwide have instant access to high-quality training, allowing them to build cutting-edge applications for the Palm OS platform better and faster."

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$325 per lesson! Are they nuts!?!

I.M. Anonymous @ 10/23/2001 10:19:43 AM #
www.codewarrioru.com -- free lessons. 'nuf said.


Certification program

I.M. Anonymous @ 10/23/2001 11:08:58 AM #
Euuuuuuueeeeewwww!!! YUCK!

These are nothing but hassle for everyone involved!!

The only one that might benifit is Palm, who will charge fees for taking these exams.

I allready know I am one of the best developers out there, why in the world would I want to pay money to Palm to take this exam?

I for one will not take this exam. I dont need too.

RE: Certification program
I.M. Anonymous @ 10/23/2001 1:35:33 PM #
The worst thing about this certification is that it's not done online... I have to go somewhere to write the test. It's quite discouraging to small companies & contractors like myself. While the cost of the test may be ok, the cost of going there to take the test can be too much (especially in my case, being in Canada).

Sun's Java certification is the model Palm should have gone with. They have 4 levels, all tests are done online and they start out fairly cheap. It starts with "Java Programmer" ($150 US), then "Java Developer" (about $500 US I believe) and then speciality certification for J2EE, etc.

RE: Certification program
I.M. Anonymous @ 10/23/2001 2:38:50 PM #
You are absoluately right. Let the customers do the exam.

RE: Certification program
I.M. Anonymous @ 10/24/2001 12:45:59 AM #
How about Asia! We would likely see the exams offered somewhere within 4 hours flying time in the year (say) 2005.

Not a chance

I.M. Anonymous @ 10/23/2001 11:18:36 AM #
Every couple of years Palm announces a program with a PR spin that says how much they value the developers and how much they want to support them. The program, then, turns out to be one of differentiation. That is, they will differentiate big time vs small time developers by charging fees that only big time developers could justify. Thanks, Palm, but no thanks. I appreciate the website, the Palm Emulator, good SDK's, and the availability of Codewarrior for me to purchase. I'm not sure what else you are trying to do, however.

(A guy who sells 60K worth of Palm OS software per year)

RE: Not a chance
I.M. Anonymous @ 10/23/2001 12:23:45 PM #
wow...you sell 60k of palm software a year? May I ask what some of your products are or what your website is? I'm in need of some new shareware. My palm is feeling old and tired. Thanks

It's all about money

I.M. Anonymous @ 10/23/2001 11:38:51 AM #
One thing comes to my mind, will this certification be changed for every incremental OS update? 3.1 ->4.1 ? That would be really amusing.

Enterprise IT departments

I.M. Anonymous @ 10/23/2001 12:19:23 PM #
Look, the certification thing isn't a big deal. Let's say you are a company that is interested in spending some money on a specialized Palm program. Who are you going to hire? How will you know that your money is not going to someone long on hype and short on qualifications? Palm is just trying to provide some way for these people to be reassured. It doesn't affect, say, the developers of Datebook, etc. whose product speaks for itself.

RE: Enterprise IT departments
I.M. Anonymous @ 10/23/2001 12:32:09 PM #
Well I have one idea.

How about they ask to see the products the developer has done before?? Works like a charm.

RE: Enterprise IT departments
GrouchoMarx @ 10/23/2001 1:25:22 PM #
They can't always look at the developer's past work, because often the developer's past work is exclusively licensed to a previous client. That's not uncommon in the custom development world, which is what this is aimed at. It's not aimed at consumer companies.

This is no different than MCSE, A++, CCSE, RHCE, and the other certification acronyms. Those all cost serious cash. But in return, when a business comes to you to hire you for a given custom project, they can look at see that you do know your stuff, Palm says so. (Or MS says so, or Red Hat says so, or Cicso says so, etc.) It's great for marketing yourself to businesses, or when looking for a job with a development house. This isn't aimed at individual consumer-oriented developers like Mike McCollister, Aaron Ardiri, and C. E. Stuart Dewar, they don't need it. (Unless they want an ego boost. I don't know, how much is your ego worth? :-)

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