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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RE: NOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!
Dear MicroTroll
There, that's it.
MS Reader for PalmOS
RE: MS Reader for PalmOS
God I hope not
embrace and extend.
RE: embrace and extend.
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.
That will come for sure if Palm falls in the visible trap
RE: embrace and extend.
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
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...
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 say better watch out for Microsoft!
RE: MS licencing practice sucks...
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...
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...
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!
They are just making their software compatable with Palm OS not trying to take over the OS.
RE: SENSATIONALISM!
RE: SENSATIONALISM!
RE: SENSATIONALISM!
becareful - Reason that MS do this
This may mean ...
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
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
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
JW
RE: Palm XP
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
Irony, sarcasm?
Duh!
(Don't normally post this type of thing but jeez!)
RE: Palm XP
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