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    ACCESS and PalmSource Announce the ACCESS Linux PlatformPosted By: Ryan on Tuesday, February 14, 2006 1:02:16 AM
ACCESS' goal is to have ALP become the platform of choice for the development of high volume, feature rich smartphones and mobile devices for high performance networks, including 2.5G and 3G, worldwide. ALP is designed to provide a complete, consistent and customizable solution for handset and mobile device manufacturers and mobile operators. ACCESS and PalmSource expect to make the ALP Software Developer Kit (SDK) available to its licensees by the end of this year (2006). "We believe that ALP combines best-in-class open source Linux components with proven mobile technologies developed by PalmSource and ACCESS' Linux expertise," said Toru Arakawa, president and CEO of ACCESS, Co., Ltd. "As a commercial-grade, flexible, open, robust and standards-based mobile Linux based platform, ALP is designed to provide handset manufacturers with faster time-to-market while supporting the goal of operators to offer revenue-generating services, applications and content."
ACCESS Linux Platform
Where appropriate, open source components used in ALP are extended and certified by the Company. For example, ACCESS and PalmSource will enhance and certify the open source BlueZ libraries to provide ALP with a Bluetooth 2.0 technology compliant software stack. A number of ACCESS and PalmSource technologies have been incorporated into ALP, including:
By combining ACCESS' robust NetFront browser platform, its extensive business relationships with over 30 handset vendors and Linux expertise with PalmSource's advanced operating system, application portfolio, user interface and developer community, the Company believes that ALP will provide the market with a comprehensive yet flexible and integrated commercial-grade Linux based solution for the mobile market. Accelerating innovation - ALP features MAX, an innovative application framework designed by ACCESS and PalmSource to deliver an intuitive, easy-to-use user experience and user interface for smartphones and mobile devices. MAX will seamlessly support the concurrent operation of multiple applications and tasks. It will also provide easy access to background tasks. Designed to deliver a predictable and intuitive navigation model for both one- and two-handed user interface schemes, the MAX framework offers the flexibility to support five-way navigation and two dedicated keys, as well as touch-screen and stylus input mechanisms. Enabling customization - In addition to the MAX application framework, ALP is designed to support the existing Palm Powered Economy, the J2ME developer community and the open source community. This flexibility in choosing application models and user experiences enables handset manufacturers and operators to customize their offerings. Providing new opportunities for developers - The mobile Linux market is expected to grow from shipments of 3.5 million in 2005 to 28.1 million by 2010, according to the industry analyst firm Informa*. This presents new opportunities for both Palm OS and Linux third-party developers. ALP has been designed to ensure that properly written Palm OS 68K applications will run unchanged. We believe that this compatibility will enable PalmSource's robust community of over 420,000 registered developers to potentially reach new customers and markets. In addition, ALP, because it includes open source components including GTK and GStreamer, can support a wide variety of third party Linux applications and services. ACCESS and PalmSource plan to provide the developer community with development tools and SDKs to enable them to port existing applications and develop new applications for ALP. Building a Mobile Linux Ecosystem - Much like PalmSource gave rise to the Palm Powered Economy, ACCESS and PalmSource are focused on enriching the broader Mobile Linux Ecosystem. The first step in this mission is to make ALP is the most service-ready platform for smartphones and mobile devices by providing leading mobile operators the opportunity to collaborate with ACCESS and PalmSource and integrate their feedback and requirements into the ALP development efforts. Secondly, ACCESS and PalmSource will work closely with leading developers to optimize their applications to run on the ALP platform. We believe that doing these things will help build and grow a robust mobile Linux ecosystem that benefits developers, operators and handset manufacturers while providing end users with a wide range of applications to meet the needs of a diverse range of industries and consumers. Contributing to the Open Source Community - ACCESS and PalmSource have contributed Open Binder, a component object framework, similar in general concept to DCOM and CORBA, but better scaled for use on small devices. Open Binder provides a unique inter-process communication (IPC) paradigm implemented as a kernel-loadable driver, and incorporates a broad range of programmatic utility classes and frameworks. PalmSource and ACCESS have released the Binder driver and its associated frameworks to the open source community. For more information, see www.openbinder.org.
Industry Comments on the ACCESS Linux Platform "NTT DoCoMo has been a pioneer in the Linux mobile phone market since it began shipping the Linux-based FOMA 3G handset. To date, millions of the FOMA 3G handsets have been shipped, which we believe demonstrates the strength and potential of the Linux-mobile phone market," said Dr. Kiyohito Nagata, Ph.D., vice president and managing director, Product and Service Division, NTT DoCoMo. "We are excited about the ACCESS Linux Platform and expect ACCESS and PalmSource to lead further development of the Linux-based phone and application market." "Samsung is looking carefully at the ACCESS Linux Platform powered by PalmSource. We hope that customers can enjoy an enhanced multimedia experience through flexible and open Linux operating systems," stated Kitae Lee, president of Telecommunication Network Business of Samsung Electronics. "We will adapt the advanced technology faster than any others and keep providing customers with a variety of choices of technologies." "Wind River shares ACCESS' commitment to helping handset manufacturers and operators provide their customers with a powerful, easy-to-use mobile phone," said Kevin Curry, strategic alliance manager at Wind River. "We believe that the ACCESS Linux Platform is a natural extension to Wind River's device software platform and development suite offering." UPDATE: See this article for more details on the ACCESS Linux Platform. Source: PalmSource PR
More Stories Like This...  Access Linux Platform Release Date Slips PalmSource Announces the ACCESS Developer Network ALP Component Released to Open Source Community PalmSource Exhibiting ALP at LinuxWorld SF PalmAddicts Interviews PalmSource Spokesperson Access Linux Platform Shown at LinuxWorld More articles about PalmSource
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 RE: Unexpected
wow.. but end of this year..thats a long way off HP 4700. Previously every Palm from m500 to Tungsten T3. www.clieuk.co.uk/gavin.html RE: UnexpectedSeldomVisitor @ 2/14/2006 6:12:01 AM #
> wow.. but end of this year..thats a long way off No. The software development kit is "expected" to be available by the end of the year, not the actual OS: == "...ACCESS and PalmSource expect to make the ALP Software There's a big difference between an ADK and an OS and "expect" has been known to have different meanings to ... ahem ... different companies... RE: Unexpected
Please Palm, get this thing into a treo ASAP! This frankengarnet crap is killing me. The thing freezes, crashes, and resets all the time as does everyone elses. I want the reliable PalmOS back! Please! RE: Unexpected
ahaead of cobalt? It IS what is left of cobalt ----------- Software engineer at PalmPowerups.com TH55/U + T|X2 + T|E2 + Zire 72 + Zire 31 + Visor Prism + WristPDA RE: Unexpected
**This frankengarnet crap is killing me. The thing freezes, crashes, and resets all the time as does everyone elses. I want the reliable PalmOS back! Please!** Hehe. I feel your pain. But, a brand new OS riding on a brand new platform on brand new hardware ... I wouldn't get my hopes up for Palm III stability too soon. My, my, my... what HAVE we here?The_Voice_of_Reason @ 2/14/2006 11:54:11 AM #
Bwahahahaha! ------------------------ The Palm eCONomy = Communism™ The Great Palm Swindle: http://www.palminfocenter.com/comment_view.asp?ID=7864#108038 NetFrontLinux - the next major cellphone OS?: http://www.palminfocenter.com/comment_view.asp?ID=8060#111823 RE: UnexpectedPenguinPowered @ 2/14/2006 12:55:47 PM #
It IS what is left of cobalt Actually, there's nothing left of Cobalt. SQLite killed the data manager. Well, that's not entirely true. They kept the binder. (see www.openbinder.org) giggle
Bwahahahaha!The_Voice_of_Reason @ 2/14/2006 4:45:28 PM #
>>>It IS what is left of cobalt Actually, there's nothing left of Cobalt. SQLite killed the data manager. Well, that's not entirely true. They kept the binder. (see www.openbinder.org) giggle
I'll say it again: Bwahahahaha! TVoR ------------------------ The Palm eCONomy = Communism™ The Great Palm Swindle: http://www.palminfocenter.com/comment_view.asp?ID=7864#108038 NetFrontLinux - the next major cellphone OS?: http://www.palminfocenter.com/comment_view.asp?ID=8060#111823 PalmOS developers are going to dump the platform in disgustThe_Voice_of_Reason @ 2/14/2006 4:48:46 PM #
WAKE UP, PEOPLE!!! PalmOS has NO future, folks. Sorry. The endgame has begun. The emperor has NO clothes. TVoR ------------------------ The Palm eCONomy = Communism™ The Great Palm Swindle: http://www.palminfocenter.com/comment_view.asp?ID=7864#108038 NetFrontLinux - the next major cellphone OS?: http://www.palminfocenter.com/comment_view.asp?ID=8060#111823 RE: Unexpected
The PalmOS is dead. Long live the PalmOS! Seriously, this sounds like basically what happened when Macintosh moved to the BSD Unix based OS X. It really is a whole new OS underneath. We just have to hope it maintains the ease of use of the classic PalmOS. RE: Unexpected
Nothing left of Cobalt? And we should be unhappy... why now? SQLite killed the data manager. Good riddance. GTK killed the Picasso UI. So... what, no translucent windows? Not to be too harsh, but should I be grieving deeply? I don't know GTK too well, but I welcome our new GTK overlords if it means some interesting software ports from outside the Palm OS developer community. (Skype or Gizmo anyone?) Rome is being reimplemented in GTK. Oh, now that's actually juicy, Marty. Last we knew Rome was just research. Way to go, Romans! The launcher is new to the Linux implementation. And a fine launcher it will be if it gives a uniform interface to all those different types of applications without the user having to know or care how they were written. I don't think many people will shed a tear if Cobalt just turns out to be the compost used to sprout a thriving ALP. This in and of itself certainly isn't bad news for users of Palm OS.
RE: UnexpectedThe_Voice_of_Reason @ 2/14/2006 10:52:12 PM #
I don't think many people will shed a tear if Cobalt just turns out to be the compost used to sprout a thriving ALP. This in and of itself certainly isn't bad news for users of Palm OS. What planet do you come from, Beersy? ------------------------ The Palm eCONomy = Communism™ The Great Palm Swindle: http://www.palminfocenter.com/comment_view.asp?ID=7864#108038 NetFrontLinux - the next major cellphone OS?: http://www.palminfocenter.com/comment_view.asp?ID=8060#111823 WANTED: Cobalt. Dead or Alive.The_Voice_of_Reason @ 2/15/2006 12:57:26 AM #
It IS what is left of cobalt
Actually, there's nothing left of Cobalt. SQLite killed the data manager. And video killed the radio star... ------------------------ The Palm eCONomy = Communism™ The Great Palm Swindle: http://www.palminfocenter.com/comment_view.asp?ID=7864#108038 NetFrontLinux - the next major cellphone OS?: http://www.palminfocenter.com/comment_view.asp?ID=8060#111823 
 like N770
kernel 2.6.12, gtk, gstreamer - same components like in Nokia N770 http://www.nokia.com/770 But the browser is of course different, Nokia uses Opera. Looks like another win for gtk folks and bad thing for Trolltech's QT/E. but will it use the X Window System?
That was Nokia's mistake with the N770 (hence its sluggish performance and huge memory usage). Will ACCESS repeat that mistake? RE: like N770
The ALP system demo-ed in Barcelona does run X (probably because it was the quickest way they could show a working system) but from what I understand there's still discussion within PalmSource about whether this is the way they will ultimately go. I tend to agree with you on this, BTW: http://www.pikesoft.com/blog/index.php?itemid=49
RE: like N770PenguinPowered @ 2/16/2006 1:50:45 PM #
It is an interesting tradeoff. X is currently very heavy weight, although there are a few efforts afoot, such as the on-again / off-again push at handhelds.org, to make a tiny subset. (See also X11R7, which is a 'modular' reimplementation of X.) On the other hand, GTK+ isn't really ready to be standalone, and needs a bunch of window management support. By the time someone has done the work to make GTK+ usable, will they end up with as big a system as X anyway? Will it take them as long or longer than it would take to do the tiny X implementation? In Novemeber, I put together a Debian/Tiny-X embedded ARM mini-distro, which was less sluggish than the N770 is reported to be, but I didn't run it and Maemo on the same device, so I can't really say. RE: like N770
Interesting. Getting DirectFB Ready For Prime Time would be no small task but see http://developers.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=04/08/20/228223 (if you haven't already) for how it might work. RE: like N770
Fundamentally, I think X is the wrong tool for the job on mobile devices. I know people cite Moore's law to counter speed/memory usage criticisms of X, but heat dissipation and battery life mean that slower processors and limited memory will continue to be common on mobile devices and software has to be able to cope with that. RE: like N770PenguinPowered @ 2/16/2006 2:12:36 PM #
I agree. There is a lot about X that makes it a bad fit for mobile device. But it's another example of the general purpose versus purpose built argument. Purpose built systems have the advantage of being exact fits, with the disadvantage of being custom one of a kind creatures. General purpose systems have the advantage of flexibility and a large user community with the disadvantage of sloppy overhead. In the computer industry, as in most technology driven industries, the purpose built gear paves the way but the general purpose gear tends to win in the end.
RE: like N770
In the computer industry, as in most technology driven industries, the purpose built gear paves the way but the general purpose gear tends to win in the end. Mobile Linux has got a lot of buzz but is a pothole-ridden dirt track right now. I think paving first is the right approach. PalmSource can add more lanes when the traffic requires it. RE: like N770
But it's another example of the general purpose versus purpose built argument. Purpose built systems have the advantage of being exact fits, with the disadvantage of being custom one of a kind creatures. General purpose systems have the advantage of flexibility and a large user community with the disadvantage of sloppy overhead.
Indeed. PalmSource have a choice between doing the Right Thing (something like Gosling's putative window system) or the Cheap Thing (X).
RE: Sounds great!PenguinPowered @ 2/14/2006 1:25:50 PM #
Nah, expect the first device in 2008. I'm sure GSPDA will announce it at the '08 devcon. (removes tongue from cheek)
RE: Sounds great!
It's going to be a ways off, no doubt. I'm encouraged to start experimenting with maemo development with the expectation that my stuff could be leveraged when the ALP devices finally hit the market. I'm going to be very interested to see what Nokia does with that platform in the next year or two, even though I know it's probably going to remain a fairly niche platform for a while. David Beers Pikesoft Mobile Computing Software Everywhere blog www.pikesoft.com/blog RE: Sounds great!
Maybe the Samsung SGH-i500L and 10 other smartfones will have it by the end of 2005. That's what I'm hearing. Pat Horne; www.churchoflivingfaith.com RE: Sounds great!PenguinPowered @ 2/14/2006 2:49:31 PM #
I'm encouraged to start experimenting with maemo development with the expectation that my stuff could be leveraged when the ALP devices finally hit the market. Be careful with that, Maemo has a completely different application API, and Hildon isn't much like either Garnet/Cobalt, or NetFront. RE: Sounds great!
Maemo has a completely different application API, and Hildon isn't much like either Garnet/Cobalt, or NetFront. Oh yeah, there's Hildon, too. Well, perhaps not, then. RE: Sounds great!PenguinPowered @ 2/14/2006 3:00:36 PM #
The difference between Hildon and the PSRC Cobalt Cludge is a large part of why I declared Nokia to be a more interesting player than PSRC in Linux land.
RE: Sounds great!
The difference between Hildon and the PSRC Cobalt Cludge is a large part of why I declared Nokia to be a more interesting player than PSRC in Linux land. Each to his own, I guess. Looking forward to the day when I can look at the MAX API and evaluate this for myself. Nothing against you, Marty, but you come from a different programming background than I do and something tells me that the stuff that you consider to be important is going to be very different from the stuff that me and mine consider important. RE: Sounds great!
Now that was a fine piece of grammar, David. David Beers Pikesoft Mobile Computing Software Everywhere blog www.pikesoft.com/blog RE: Sounds great!PenguinPowered @ 2/14/2006 10:25:26 PM #
No offense taken, David, but after 30 years in the business, I can recognize that different domains need different interfaces. Max isn't Cobalt, and so my jury is out on it, but the way PSRC was headed with Cobalt over Linux was a very bad match and there was no way in your world that it would have been a good competitor.
RE: Sounds like absolute shi*The_Voice_of_Reason @ 2/14/2006 10:31:14 PM #
Nah, expect the first device in 2008. I'm sure GSPDA will announce it at the '08 devcon. (removes tongue from cheek) Excuse me, but who the he11 said you could take MY lines. I'm going to have a little chat with Ryan about you, Mr. Fouts.
And in case you didn't hear, the 2006, 2007 and 2008 PalmSource DevCons have now officially been moved to the Starbucks down the road from PalmSource (the one on N Mathilda Ave). I doubt there will be space for GSPDA to squeeze a product booth in between the donuts. ------------------------ The Palm eCONomy = Communism™ The Great Palm Swindle: http://www.palminfocenter.com/comment_view.asp?ID=7864#108038 NetFrontLinux - the next major cellphone OS?: http://www.palminfocenter.com/comment_view.asp?ID=8060#111823 RE: Sounds great!The_Voice_of_Reason @ 2/14/2006 10:55:47 PM #
I'm encouraged to start experimenting with maemo development with the expectation that my stuff could be leveraged when the ALP devices finally hit the market. Are you SURE about that, Beery? ------------------------ The Palm eCONomy = Communism™ The Great Palm Swindle: http://www.palminfocenter.com/comment_view.asp?ID=7864#108038 NetFrontLinux - the next major cellphone OS?: http://www.palminfocenter.com/comment_view.asp?ID=8060#111823 Marty shifts into full biotchslap mode:The_Voice_of_Reason @ 2/14/2006 10:59:36 PM #
The difference between Hildon and the PSRC Cobalt Cludge is a large part of why I declared Nokia to be a more interesting player than PSRC in Linux land.
W T F!!! I assume you won't be getting any Christmas cards from Gassée this year, Marty. Treacherous infidel! I wonder if PalmSource needs to update its NDA with a clause stopping former codemonkeys from ripping PalmSource's core product to pieces in public... Or at least waiting until AFTER they've failed spectacularly before doing so.
------------------------ The Palm eCONomy = Communism™ The Great Palm Swindle: http://www.palminfocenter.com/comment_view.asp?ID=7864#108038 NetFrontLinux - the next major cellphone OS?: http://www.palminfocenter.com/comment_view.asp?ID=8060#111823 RE: Sounds great!PenguinPowered @ 2/14/2006 11:19:36 PM #
Skippy, Skippy, Skippy. One can hardly call an alliterative moniker a 'biotchslap'. Anyway, I've never meet Gassée, so I doubt I'd ever made his christmas card list anyway. HAND RE: Sounds great!The_Voice_of_Reason @ 2/14/2006 11:38:44 PM #
One can hardly call an alliterative moniker a 'biotchslap'. I wonder what "alliterative moniker[s]" Gassée's coming up for you these days? Marty "Mother F*****" Fouts"? Hmmmm... that actually has a little je ne sais quoi.
------------------------ The Palm eCONomy = Communism™ The Great Palm Swindle: http://www.palminfocenter.com/comment_view.asp?ID=7864#108038 NetFrontLinux - the next major cellphone OS?: http://www.palminfocenter.com/comment_view.asp?ID=8060#111823 RE: Sounds great!PenguinPowered @ 2/15/2006 12:11:51 AM #
Um, Skippy? Gassee doesn't read PIC, and we never met. He's got no idea who I am.
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ACCESS and PalmSource, today announced the ACCESS Linux Platform (ALP), the latest evolution of Palm OS for Linux. The ACCESS Linux Platform is designed to be an integrated, open and flexible Linux-based platform tailored for smartphones and mobile devices. The platform combines Palm OS for Linux with the NetFront browser and open source linux components.
Palm Vx (a classic) -> Palm 505 (*yawn*) -> Dell Axim (slooow...) -> Palm TE (great) -> Qtek 9090 (great idea, lousy platform) -> Nokia 6630 (a toy) -> iMate SP3i (not bad) -> Treo 650 (almost perfect)