Comments on: OS 5 to Include Java Support, Web Browser, VPN Client

Unless you only use your handheld to store phone numbers, you'll be very tempted by OS 5. You are underestimating the speed increase you'll see. Take a look at this. Its a comparison between the speed of OS 4 and 5 drawing a simple graph.
www.watch.impress.co.jp/pc/docs/2002/0614/palm08.htm

For those who like multimedia, OS 5 will be a "must have". Expect audio and video players, 3D games, CAD software, and more all making use of that fast Intel or TI processor.

Where are you LauncherX?

PalmSource is adding real functionality to OS 5. That Java announcement is HUGE and the web browser looks like it is going to rock. It's at least as good as the one my laptop has.

Yes, as long as a version of OS6 is released for your particular hardware, you can have it reflashed to the newest OS.

For example, if you have a new Sony T6xx ARM device running OS5, you can load the Sony T6xx OS6 upgrade, but you would not be able to load an OS6 upgrade intended for Palm, Handspring, or Handera ARM devices.

As a side note, keep in mind that Sony will void your warranty unless they do the upgrade themselves.

What do want? The straight forward, elegant design of the interface of Palm OS is what drew people to palm (and keeps them there) in the first place. Its great, it no BS, it's to the point. Hi-res icons are a nice addition. The only thing they need to add is background wallpaper for the launcher, and decent integrated file manager for vfs. That's it. redesigning the gui would be a bad move. it is perfect. in fact - its the first straight forward graphical UI in the history of computing - and you want to change that?

This has nothing to do with os 5 - i currently use an m500 with xircoms 802.11b sled. I believe any palm device that uses the universal connector (including m125/m130) will work with this. BTW - it great!! I have it set up to connect to my home LAN and work - so %75 percent of the time i have a high-speed connection to the internet. If only that 802.11b-on-an-SD Card concept that was mentioned on PIC last week, would make it to market.....

I was trying to be nice and help you out because your stupid question shows you don't know what you are talking about. You said: "i'm going to buy a palm os5 handheld, because I need 802.11"

..which to anybody who understands english, VERY MUCH IMPLIES you thought OS 5 was needed to use 802.11b. When it was pointed out to you that this was not the case(OS 3.5 and OS 4 devices can use 802.11b - its just a matter of an actual hardware company providing the device OR connector - and OS 5 Palms will use universal connectors EXACTLY like the current crop of Palms do), you replied: "I should have clarified, I have an m100, so I want os 5 for the 802.11. I don't think I can put 802.11 on an m100, nor would I want to."

Which further implies that you still think OS 5 is needed for 802.11b. thus yr statement "so I want os 5 for the 802.11b". I then pointed out existing (non-OS 5) options. Why you this bugs you is beyond me. I suggest you have a communications problem, because if what you meant to say was: "I want my first 802.11b Palm to be a OS 5 device" - THEN that's exactly what you should have said. Ungrateful moron.

I don't know about NetFront, but I currently use Handspring Blazer browser with my m515, and it does not require "web sites to be formated for pda screens" - it does an excellent job of reformatting them itself. The whole route of requiring web sites to provide half a dozen versions of their site is just getting out of hand. We have Netscape / IE (yep, to be optimized to look right, you have to change and tweak because Netscape interprets tags/javascript differently), frames/noframes, flash/no flash, WAP version (the worst idea for bringing internet to cell phones ever...) and PDA formatted versions. As a person who used to do web development, i hated this. Most sites never offer all options/versions mentioned above - its way too costly. If you trully want unfettered access to the net, then the approach that is needed is to have intelligent formatting on the PDA app. Its not just Blazer either - there is some italian based company (someone help me out here) that makes a very interesting looking browser that also reads standard web pages.

I believe Java for Palm devices was available even before it was available for PPC devices.

Now, Palm will be ahead of PPC in defining a standard VM and a set of APIs - the PDA Profile, chaired by Palm via the Java Community Process in which many industry leaders participate.

I heard a rumor that Metrowerks plans to announce soon a special version of the Codewarrior IDE for Java designed for Palms and other PDAs, which is the same IDE most professional developers on Palm use. I think this will give Palm developers a headstart in Java development

Come on people. You barely think as it is, but in this case please realize it's only sand (i.e., silicon), plastic, and other sundry hardware. It isn't a religion or an alternative lifestyle (see Apple's SWITCH campaign and its sundry dorks).

I am neutral as technology only serves an end it isn't a religion. Say it over and over again. So, calm down and use the noodle noggin, which I know is asking far too much.

Thanks.

Amen.

www.softwarefx.com/SfxNewProducts/PocketCFX/features.asp

Palm could do like PPC, they include grafity, Jot and cursiver handwriting. This would give customers a choice.

I think that putting a jot like method as an option (not a replacement) would really be a great idea.

This will be very important for newbies and people that never mastered graffiti. Have you seen M$ anouncements for the PPC: Natural handwritting recognition so that you don't have to learn a new language.

This is enough to scare off many potential PDA buyers.
Also Jot is much faster and natural and you don't have to learn a "new language".

No, it's not a dumb comment. I teach Palm seminars and people tell me constantly that Graffiti scared them off. It's irrational because you're right, it is easy to learn, but people don't know that so adding jot or something solves a big marketing issue.

(Self-confessed Palm Geek)