Rumor: Microsoft May Licence the Palm OS

In his most recent column, tech gossip hound Spencer F. Katt is reporting a rumor that Microsoft is considering licencing the Palm OS. According to his source, Microsoft wants to do everything it can to make sure that its .NET initiative is successful, and that might include making sure it works on the number one handheld operating system, Palm's. As Mr. Katt says, "Being a licensee could allow Microsoft to build .Net services onto the Palm platform with fewer compatibility issues."

Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer has said in the past, "No offense to the Pocket PC, but we might need to bring .Net services to Palm and other devices." He emphasized that .NET "might" be ported to the Palm OS.

The .NET plan will involve removing many Microsoft applications from users PCs and handhelds and instead have them served by an Application Service Provider (ASP), either over a company's internal network or over the Internet.

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NOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!

I.M. Anonymous @ 10/31/2001 8:56:13 AM #
@#$%&!!!

RE: NOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!
I.M. Anonymous @ 10/31/2001 9:25:18 AM #
pourquoi?

RE: NOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!
I.M. Anonymous @ 10/31/2001 10:13:38 AM #
I would be TERRIBLE to distract Palm from it's remarkable burst of innovation over the past 5 years . . .

Dear MicroTroll
I.M. Anonymous @ 10/31/2001 10:21:07 AM #
I'm sure you are thrilled by the "innovations" in PPC 3. Let's list them:
  • Try to make the OS usable, unlike the first versions
  • Copy what works from the Palm OS

    There, that's it.

  • MS Reader for PalmOS

    mikecane @ 10/31/2001 9:02:38 AM #
    It's no surprise. I've been waiting for MS to come around so they can port MS Reader to PalmOS. Maybe this is a hint that Palm will be adopting a 240x320 screen instead of Sony's 320x320?!

    RE: MS Reader for PalmOS
    c_blue @ 10/31/2001 9:40:58 AM #
    agree.... once you got QVGA you can then follow the same path laptop monitors did... but sideways..

    God I hope not

    I.M. Anonymous @ 10/31/2001 9:41:05 AM #
    That's all we need... Micro$oft coming in and screwing it up...

    embrace and extend.

    I.M. Anonymous @ 10/31/2001 9:50:41 AM #
    as long as it's not packaged that way. then the people who want it can install it and the ones of us who don't can ignore it.

    RE: embrace and extend.
    I.M. Anonymous @ 10/31/2001 10:00:38 AM #
    Microsoft has long pursued a policy of ruining the competition through "embrace and extend". This worked by Microsoft supporting some popular non-Microsoft standard. Microsoft would then complain that the standard was too limited and release a new application that used a Microsoft-only version of the "standard" with extended features. Only people using the Microsoft version could use the new features and competitors versions would choke on them. Microsoft would then depend on its desktop monopoly to force users to switch to their version. Microsoft's competitors would then be forced to try to support the new Microsoft features, which never worked as well as Microsoft's did because Microsoft wasn't sharing their code, even if the standard in question was an open one. This is how Microsoft tried to hijack HTML and Java, among others.

    I don't think this can happen with the Palm OS. Microsoft is certainly not going to sell a handheld running the Palm OS. They don't even sell ones with Pocket PC. My guess is they will licence the Palm OS, write the code necessary to add support for .Net, then give it to Palm and put lots of pressure on them to put it into the Palm OS. The main risk of this is that the code will be bloated and buggy, like all of their applications are.

    I don't think this is some kind of secret attack on the Palm OS. It is just an indication of how important .Net is to Microsoft. Pocket PC is important to them but .Net is the entire future of the company. They will do anything to make sure it succeeds, even work with Palm.

    RE: embrace and extend.
    mikecane @ 10/31/2001 11:15:20 AM #
    Embrace - "extend" - *assimilate...

    RE: embrace and extend.
    I.M. Anonymous @ 10/31/2001 12:08:58 PM #
    >Embrace - "extend" - *assimilate...

    That will come for sure if Palm falls in the visible trap

    RE: embrace and extend.
    I.M. Anonymous @ 10/31/2001 11:07:18 PM #
    Actually, all Palm OS licensees "embrace and extend" palm OS. However, as I remember, one of the condition of licensing Palm OS is that licensee should provide the extension back to Palm so that the extension can be incorporate to next version of Palm OS....

    Hence, we have such new features:
    - 16-bit color, USB HotSync from Handspring
    - VFS from Sony
    And there are even more not-yet-standardised features in favours of palm:
    - JogDial
    - Hires
    - virtual graffiti area

    I don't mind PalmOS can communicate the Windows world better, as long as it does not lost the simplicity and stability as it is today...

    Still scared for Palm
    skoty @ 11/1/2001 1:50:58 PM #
    The 'big' post above appeared to me to be right on. Very well said. Hijack is an appropriate word for what they've done to HTML, Java, HTTP, DNS, etc.

    Although the poster, 'I M Anonymous', believes that this does not pose a threat to Microsoft, I am still concerned.

    Microsoft has been a big supporter of the IrDA organization since it's inception. When Palms started hitting the scene with IR ports on them, they followed the IrDA OBEX standard for beaming business cards, etc. Then Microsoft came out with their embedded OS (WinCE at the time) and, although they were supporters of IrDA, they deliberately did not follow the accepted standard. This is why, until recently, PalmOS devices and Windows CE devices could not communicate meaningfully with each other. Recently, Microsoft gave in and accepted the OBEX standard. This was probably because people won't buy their devices if they don't interoperate with PalmOS devices (the leader in marketshare).

    They lost that battle and had to give in to the accepted communication standard. They're not done though. They're almost pathalogical in the way they are continually trying to sidestep their competitors.

    This .Net stuff scares me. If it succeeds, you'll only be able to use Microsoft software on the Internet. Has anyone tried to visit MSN with a browser other than IE?

    http://dailynews.yahoo.com/h/cn/20011025/tc/msn_com_shuts_out_non-microsoft_browsers_1.html

    If they get their feet in the door with the PalmOS, they'll screw it up. I'm still very confident in their ability to make it their way or the highway.

    MS licencing practice sucks...

    I.M. Anonymous @ 10/31/2001 10:08:37 AM #
    Licencing out to Microsoft is fine but Palm better make damn sure that they don't have other motives... it may be a trojan horse. If you cant beat them, join them right...
    Look what they did to JAVA, they adopted then changed the codes so that people have to use MS java script...
    I think expanding and licencing the Palm OS is the right idea, but I'd be very carefull and have regid criteria for MS using the OS.

    IMHO

    Sam

    RE: MS licencing practice sucks...
    I.M. Anonymous @ 10/31/2001 12:36:25 PM #
    I have to agree! The facts are that Microsoft's history isnt good or beneficial to others in the long run when it comes to licensing or collaborations.

    I say better watch out for Microsoft!

    RE: MS licencing practice sucks...
    I.M. Anonymous @ 10/31/2001 1:46:48 PM #
    Bet yer bottom dollar that the motive is to get a *legal* way to **** with Palm OS.

    I'm just surprised MS hasn't bought Palm outright so they can kill it...

    The LAST thing I want on my Palm is Microsoft distributed applications. Heck, the last thing I want on my desktop is Microsoft distributed applications. "Hmmm, Mr Gates, profits are off this quarter. Let's release a new 'feature set' & automatically charge everyone $49.95 for it."

    RE: MS licencing practice sucks...
    I.M. Anonymous @ 10/31/2001 9:19:22 PM #
    what if palm licenses the Microsoft Operations System?

    so they can better integrate a my palm portal into the pocket pc?

    palm doesn't even make the palm, eh, nevermind... "}...

    RE: MS licencing practice sucks...
    I.M. Anonymous @ 10/31/2001 9:21:44 PM #
    let me modify that...

    palm doesn't even make the palm os devices that are the best sellers, in the near future, probably. I mean that palm isn't going to be the top palm os device maker unless they can do something major to improve their productline and differienciate from sony, sony who no matter what palm does can and will continue to add multimedia to their product, and performance, power. so palm can only win by differenciation, or by performance by minimulzation strategy. You know that **** that talks about the different philosophys at work with microsoft and it's mobil device competitor palm. Microsoft thinks like Sony, with less style, and a soft.ner approach. eh, hah hah.

    and palm thinks/dreams about amazing batterlife, slow evolution, paced innovation (BULL)., calculater^&*& ack, excuse me, I mean aligator pricken ugly interfaces.

    Atleast handspring is starting to wake up to it's errors in the past. If Jeff Hawkings had never spit from Palm to make Handspring, the world would still be the same. Even the new Treo is flawed, we all know it, we just refuse to acknowledge the truth. Palm discovered the secret of instantanous messaging, and instant email from the blackberry pager which uses a chip from texas instruments to process email with little usage of power. That's why my Palm Vx, with omnisky only lasts a friggin day before recharge, it doesn't have the chip that the new Palm M705 was supposed to have. We all know the visorphone didn't have that chip or always on capability for "email". And the interface was fundementally flawed. Bad button placement, speaker placement, head rest, design etc.

    Not at all the quality of Jeff Hawkins original palm design. It doesn't have the chip that makes it battery efficient with wireless.

    We know this, because deep down we know that the Handspring people are the kind of people that would shout out such a fantastic feature from the tops of the roof.

    HAIL always-on...

    yours forever,

    -S-

    SENSATIONALISM!

    I.M. Anonymous @ 10/31/2001 10:40:27 AM #
    Why are people getting all crazy about this?
    They are just making their software compatable with Palm OS not trying to take over the OS.

    RE: SENSATIONALISM!
    I.M. Anonymous @ 10/31/2001 10:48:08 AM #
    no-one should trust anything ms does. their every move should be viewed with deep suspicion. if there is some way ms can hurt palm with this they will. this might not be a plot but ms plots so much they have to be watched allways.

    RE: SENSATIONALISM!
    I.M. Anonymous @ 10/31/2001 11:16:33 AM #
    It's a fact!!!!!!! Not sensationalism. MS likes to buy other coy's license and create their own version. History has shown that MS created a copy of MS java and forced others to use their version which works only on MS machines well.

    RE: SENSATIONALISM!
    PFloyd @ 10/31/2001 12:00:53 PM #
    If I can run .net apps from my palm with no big problems I won't mind. I know ms won't go out of their way to be a good corporate neighbor but if it gets more companies using palms, etc. that's ok w/ me. It certainly wouldn't hurt if Outlook supplied its own conduit either. I don't have a problem with chapura but it does add an extra layer to things.

    becareful - Reason that MS do this
    I.M. Anonymous @ 10/31/2001 1:25:59 PM #
    Don't let MS license Palm OS. Right now, first question that PDA consumer have to answer themself is Palm OS or PPC OS. most of them will go with palm because more popular, more market share. this question will be gone if there is MS-Palm OS. If MS license Palm OS, They will add a lot (and a lot) of features in Palm OS. base on license agreement, Those added features will be added in Palm OS next version (depend on Palm will add it or not). If Palm will not add those MS new features to its Palm OS, it will show that Palm OS lack behind MS-Palm OS. Consumer will go with MS-Palm OS because more features and still be Palm OS. Or If Palm add those MS features to its Palm OS more and more, MS will finally control future or Palm OS. PalmOS have to do what MS-PalmOS did, and then there will be no PalmOS.

    This may mean ...

    I.M. Anonymous @ 10/31/2001 5:49:03 PM #
    One implication of this announcement is that M$, deep down, knows that they will never crush Palm. Put it this way, if Palm was on its last legs (as all the M$ lackeys keep telling us) why would they bother licensing the Palm OS?

    Remember that this comes after pouring millions into developing WinCE/Pocket PC, after pressuring manufacturer into building PDA along M$ lines, after massive marketing campaigns and after years of disappointing results. It is very significant that this announcement was made so soon after all the hoopla over PocketPC2002 - their feedback must be poor.

    The reality is that, with this announcement, M$ have admitted publically that they have no faith in their own product. Within the next 6 months or so, there should be some more news from M$ about the future of PocketPC.

    Palm XP

    drw @ 10/31/2001 7:48:00 PM #
    Why do they need to license the operating system to write apps for it? Why can't they just use the developer tools other palm programmers use?

    In order to survive, PalmOS division is going to have to do several things.

    1. take a lesson from the MSFT/INTC playbook: keep users in a constant state of upgrade.

    2 up the licensing fee from $8/handheld to $25 immediately. If they can get two licence fees per handheld sold (one from the hardware manufacturer and the other from microsoft) that's a good thing.

    3 expand the OS division to writing all sorts of helper apps (sold seperately) then progressively bundle one of these apps with each new OS release.

    4. While keeping the existing palm OS begin development on a new OS (Palm NT) to funnel extra money from people who have to try both.

    5. hire me. I can't write code, but I've got ideas, something which seems to be lacking in Palm mgmt.

    David in Pflugerville, TX

    RE: Palm XP
    I.M. Anonymous @ 10/31/2001 9:16:30 PM #
    Let's see:
    You don't write code, you come up with these ideas out of nowhere, and you want them to hire you?
    Listen Buddy, I own palm stock and a palm M100. I don't really think you should be hired by palm.
    NO, you should be the CEO!!!!!
    Carl Whateverski seems like the ultimate PHB. You would be a welcome change stranger.

    RE: Palm XP
    I.M. Anonymous @ 10/31/2001 11:18:15 PM #
    I thinik Palm should only license its OS to PDA manufacturers and not to some who will reverses their OS!

    JW

    RE: Palm XP
    I.M. Anonymous @ 11/1/2001 9:22:44 AM #
    1. Constant upgrade cycles frustrate and alienate users. They only work when you have a monopoly -- like "MSFT/INTC"

    2. Increasing the licensing fee would price Palms even less competitively against PocketPC

    3. Bundling more applications stifles competition and innovation. It locks competitors/innovators out of the market: no one's going to buy a product that does X when X is built into the OS. Palm wisely prides itself on simplicity and utility. Adding more applications to the base OS violates this principle.

    4. WTF is the point of "Palm NT" ? While the Palm OS needs a more feature-rich kernel it doesn't need to provide support to users and developers for two seperate codebases.

    5. You have the same ideas as countless other drones.

    Sean in Austin, TX

    RE: Palm XP
    I.M. Anonymous @ 11/2/2001 1:09:07 AM #
    to the Sean in Texas I.M. Anonymous

    Irony, sarcasm?

    Duh!

    (Don't normally post this type of thing but jeez!)

    RE: Palm XP
    I.M. Anonymous @ 11/2/2001 6:51:55 PM #
    I'm very sure the original post was not sarcasm...

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