Ah, there's nothing quite like that warm, fuzzy, anachronistic feeling of watching old tech work its magic on new silicon. Such is the case with Classic, the official PalmOS emulator for webOS, and of which MotionApps has posted a new video today featuring good ol' HotSync in action on the Palm Pre.

Owing to Classic's no-USB-no-Bluetooth limitations, it's network HotSync only here. But hey, if you're still relying on a Palm OS app that itself relies on HotSync then it's manna from heaven. The feature is coming in the next version of Classic. Now what we really want to see next is a video of the MAME emulator running under Classic running under the webOS emulator running under Wine under Linux under Windows under OS X. Mmmmm, technology eating itself. (Video of Classic HotSync after the break.)

Palm Pre & webOS hacking has come quite a distance since we last took a look. Thanks to some excellent community-developed tools and Palm's generous free access to the Mojo SDK, it's now quite simple for your average user to get their homebrew on, a godsend in light of the still-undernourished state of the official webOS App Catalog.

One of those aforementioned tools is Preware, an open-source package management system which allows the user to download and install homebrew apps and utilities with one touch. Currently in beta at version 0.7.7, it can access any of the open package repositories from the open standard preware.org repository aggregation site. webOS-Internals developers Rod Whitby and Brandon VanBelle (better known to the community as rwhitby and oil) today released an alpha build of version 0.7.8, which adds app screenshots and descriptions and makes the whole experience a bit more user-friendly. They're looking for help with alpha testing, so if you're willing to roll your sleeves up, read on for Linux installation instructions.

On the surface the Palm Pre's stock Music app looks and for the most part works great, however dedicated audiophiles and people that use playlists can't help but want something with a bit more flexibility. In comparison to more robust music players like the Palm OS classic PocketTunes, the webOS Music app sadly comes up short in the features department. Fortunately, a new homebrew contender called, NaNplayer by BlubbleApps is well on its way to providing the perfect panacea for your mobile music woes.

Intended for eventual paid distribution via the official webOS App Catalog, NaNplayer is packing a pretty hefty list of added features even in its early state. In a nutshell: it aims to offer faster performance over the stock app, automatically generated playlists, allows you to edit said playlists and even has find-as-you-type artist/song selection and can choose music based on your GPS location. Oh, and it offers a position slider so you can "scrub" through your songs, correcting the most glaring omission from the baked-in app. Continue reading for a video preview.

If there's one thing we can gather from the recent spate of leaks, it's that the folks who come up with inventory codes at Palm are not big on dramatics. Rather than go for cool code names, like "Nighthawk" or "Lentilbreath", their preference is for decidedly more staid letter/number combinations like P100, designator of the original Palm Pre.

This habit does not look like being kicked anytime soon: an anonymous tipster has sent those crazy homebrewin' monkeys at PreCentral.net a photo of Sprint's inventory management system which reveals two previously unknown Palm devices showing up as: PALM 120 and C40. If we operate on the same assumption as last week's Verizon leak, we can hazard a guess that the PALM 120 could likely be some sort of variation of the rumored Palm Eos. But C40? That's new. New and interesting. We'll be keeping our eyes peeled.

Dear great pasta monster in the sky. I don't ever want to meet Coupe D'Kill of the Gorgor Roller-Girls in a dark alley. Come to think of it, I don't want to meet her anywhere without being surrounded by bodyguards. In episode 4 of the entertaining "Meet My Palm Pre" videos, Bell's roving Palm Pre spruiker, Bradley, takes the Palm Pre out to meet the hardcore elite of Canadian sport: roller-girls and lawn bowlers!

This episode makes a great case for the Pre's intuitiveness: even old people can learn it! The money quote: "What is Wikipedia?" As usual, embed after the break...

Call off the sniffer dogs and the search choppers, folks: the Palm Pre's Missing Manual has been found! For some odd reason Palm neglected to include copies of this weighty 287-page tome in the Pre's packaging. (Possibly because it would have had to have been shredded and compacted into a tiny cube of paper pulp in order to fit.)

But I digress. O'Reilly's new book is written by USA Today personal-tech columnist Ed Baig, includes a CD-ROM and (most importantly) is in full-color for maximum prettiness. Covering everything from gestures to media, it promises to "help you go from newcomer to expert in no time" and comes in both dead-tree and ebook editions, which will set you back $24.99 and $19.99, respectively. Or $27.49 for those greedy types who just have to have it all. It ships this week.

The intrepid investigators at PhoneArena have been tipped off to some hot news: two not-quite-mysterious Palm devices have appeared in Verizon's inventory database. (pictured after the break) Code-named the P101 and P121, the general assumption of the Internet seems to be that these are, respectively, the Palm Pre and the rumored Palm Eos.

As Phonenews.com reported back in March, the Pre was codenamed P100 on a leaked Sprint roadmap, so it's quite likely that the P101 is the Verizon edition. And since Eos is the only other webOS device of which we have even scant evidence thus far, we can guess that's the P121. Unless Foleo 2 is coming sooner than expected.

If there was some kind of medal for "services to the online Palm community", then Jason Robitaille should be given fifty of them. The prolific homebrew developer of webOS Quick Install and Internalz has made a discovery equivalent to finding an oasis in the desert: placeholder code in the webOS Mojo SDK for improved cut/copy/paste support.

Somewhat embarrassingly for Palm, who touted this feature in the run-up to the Pre's release, you can only X/C/P in editable text fields, a level of functionality beneath even the geriatric (but loved!) Palm OS Garnet. Let's hope Jay's find doesn't turn out to be a mirage.

Another one for the ages pile. The progressively-getting-stranger "Meet my Palm Pre" series of advetorials continues apace, with Bradley this time introducing a dancing Sicilian barber (no, really) and his customers to the wonders of webOS. As opposed the the lovely ladies at the nail salon, the patrons of Carrado's barber shop just seem confused about Bradley's schtick. Which doesn't stop the boss from taking advantage and placing a free call to Italy. Full embed after the break.

Canada, your time has come: Bell are now shipping the Palm Pre to all interested parties up in the Great White North. The page promises free shipping too, so you may want to get in quick while the offer still stands. It's $199.95 CAD on a 3-year contract or $599.95 without a contract with a minimum 500 MB data plan.

Poor Bradley. How will he impress the ladies now that everyone can have one?

Coinciding with the Palm Pre's North North American launch, four new apps have been added to the official. on-device webOS App Catalog. Yelp is a local business guide, Yahtzee (demo) is a webOS version of the classic game, Tetris Mania (also a demo) needs little explanation, and The Canadian Press Mobile is a driving simulator wherein you pilot an automoblie full of journalists.

Um. Wait. Actually, turns out it's a news app. It's interesting to note that gaming mega-colossus Electronic Arts are the publishers of Tetris Mania; seems the titans of virtual sports are dipping their corporate toes in Palm's waters. Let's hope they find a warm spot. (And let's abandon this analogy right now before it gets any more dubious.)