Palm developers unite against Microsoft

ZDNet has a rather interesting article about how the Palm development community has kept Microsoft at bay. What is interesting to note is that in early 1999 Palm had 3,000 registered developers. Today they claim over 70,000 third party developers. The story talks about how Kim, creator of SilverScreen, and other Palm developers give the platform and edge over Microsoft by writing software exclusively for Palm.

Article Comments

 (12 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 Comments Closed
This article is no longer accepting new comments.

Down

Damm right too!

I.M. Anonymous @ 6/2/2000 5:37:58 PM #
might it also be due to the fact that palms are better and crash about 100000 times les than ANY verson of windows. Altough i'll hold judgment untill windows goes open source
RE: Damm right too!
PDA Boy @ 6/4/2000 4:09:34 PM #
I think you should reverse that number to 000001 times! I've owned a Pocket PC (Jornada 545) for over six weeks now, and I haven't had any crashes! So I don't know what the hell everyone is talking about.

Palm devices are better than the PocketPC? Hmm, well I went through 3 Palm IIIc units before I finally gave up and bought the Jornada! So if you are trying to say that a piece of shit handheld that performs miserably and has a cheap plastic case that cracks like the IIIc (as apposed to the sleek metal case on the Jornada), is superior to a stylish full-functional Pocket PC, then yes, the Palm is better.

Stop being so closed minded. And stop purchasing every god damn device that wears the Palm logo! Did it ever occur to you that Palm could build a shitty PDA? I used the IIIc and compared it to the Pocket PC, now I've seen the light! This isn't a religion folks, it's a business! Palm will not continue to succeed unless they start innovating and adding some much needed new features. If they don't, then eventually Microsoft (or someone else) will begin to overtake them in the market.

RE: Damm right too!
NumLock @ 6/4/2000 5:52:23 PM #
I believe the Sony PDA, which will probably be out in late August/September will make up for the IIIc's multimedia shortfalls. It may have wireless and mp3 abilities out of the box.

Besides, for what Palm doesn't do is potential for the third party development community to make up for.

watch out

BleuAnt @ 6/2/2000 10:44:42 PM #
MS has a way to swindle developers into thinking there's big money in their OS. Stay vigilant.

This is pathetic

I.M. Anonymous @ 6/2/2000 11:53:06 PM #
You sound like a bunch of kids. Grow up. Also the article doesn't say anything about developers "uniting" against Microsoft, just that they don't want to write for it right now. They also say they may change their minds. Its pretty pathetic to twist the sotry like this. Is the Pocket PC making you insecure?
RE: This is pathetic
Paul P. @ 6/3/2000 3:03:02 PM #
Yes, "I.M. Anonymous" the WinCe platform is making Palm users insecure. After all the Palm OS only holds 93% percent of the market as of last tally.

Speaking of insecure. It's hard to take someone's comments seriously when they won't even back them up with a name.

RE: This is pathetic
Modus Operandi @ 6/4/2000 2:30:02 AM #
It is kinda pathetic. I mean, these are little lumps of plastic you can write on, right? So get the one you want and don't worry about what other people get! IT'S NO BIG FREAKIN' DEAL!
I used to be a brand loyal doof (for palm) and then I finally was so pissed at the IIIc that I got what I wanted- a high-res color screen and some more fun stuff! No big deal- maybe if Palm comes out with something like that I might get it, but right now my lump of plastic is just fine.
RE: This is pathetic, but it's going to get worse before it gets better!
PDA Boy @ 6/4/2000 10:00:39 AM #
I wonder if these developers are choosing not to write code for Pocket PC on their own accord, or at the request of Palm? If so, isn't that the type of behavior Microsoft is being prosecuted for?

Also, if Palm developers won't port their software to other platforms, does this mean that no young start-up company with a great idea for a new handheld should even bother developing their product because Palm has all the best programmers under their thumb? Hmm..,I smell an abuse of power!

Oh! and by the way, I bought a Pocket PC over a month ago after upgrading from a long line of Palm's (please don't throw tomatoes), and I haven't experienced any of these "crashes" that all of you keeps talking about. It's funny when Palm zealots ask me: "Hey! What's it like using a PDA that crashes all the time?" I just laugh and say: "I don't know...You tell me?"

Look you idiots, there is room in this market for more than one player. It's boring to think that all I have to look forward to is owning a Palm with limited functionality. Pocket PC is just the type of competition Palm needs to keep its core features updated. And lets face it...the Palm is beginning to languish in terms of features!

You are pathetic
Steve Sabram @ 6/5/2000 6:03:13 AM #
It is obvious that you haven't written a line of code for the Palm. I was a guest speaker
at PalmSource last year. There wasn't any pressure or threats from Palm to not write
to Microsoft. It is the plain case of a better, more elegant product around a corporate
structure that doesn't create their third party developers like bottom feeders. It is like
Apple with all of the anti-socials skillfully removed from the scene. The reason why
developers are not writing for PocketPC and other platforms is that the coding for those
platforms are too involved. You either have someone trying to cram a desktop PC in
your pocket or they think that everyone knows assembly code and can read a
schematic to make their super-pager more functional. Palm got the mix of just enough
OS software and a simple enough of an interface down to make this finally happen from
the ground up. Others try to port their desktop or pager technology into a new
market is catering to expand the value of their IP instead of answering to the needs of
the market.
RE: I agree with one thing...
Maven @ 6/5/2000 11:13:02 PM #
It+really+is+good+to+have+competition%2E++It+helps+keep+prices+down%2C+and+new+features+coming%2E++God+bless+capitalism%21%21+%3Cgrin%3E+++The+pressure+for+more+and+greater+things+is+pushing+Palm+towards+more+powerful+processors%2C+more+memory%2C+and+more+resolution%2E++The+future+is+exciting%21

70,000 developers? yea, right

Donald @ 6/5/2000 11:15:45 PM #
I bet about 65,000 of those "developers" signed up to become developers to get copies of OS 3.5.

Crashing PDA Cases

Another PDA Boy @ 6/7/2000 7:02:21 AM #
Hey PDA Boy,

you seem to be a little over-weighted to crash 3 Palm IIIc in such a short time ? Just buy a Palm V with a extra titanium case to prevent this... It is really NOT smart to project own shortfalls onto a good product so far.

Top

Account

Register Register | Login Log in
user:
pass: