Registered: Sep 1999
Location: Texan in Calgary for a while
Posts: 1361

Open Desktop

Discuss the Open desktop article here.

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James Hromadka
Old Friend

Registered: Sep 2000
Location: Rochester, NY
Posts: 284

At the very least Palm should license a base set of libraries publish the API at no cost. Then people could develop their own GUIs, or companies like M$ could include the functionality directly into applications like Outlook.

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Registered: Sep 1999
Location: Seattle, WA, USA
Posts: 406

I would love it if it happened.

As James mentioned, it would allow many other platforms to be updated much more quickly.

Registered: Apr 2000
Location: St Petersburg Fla
Posts: 224

Base kernel needed

quote:

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Originally posted by sowens
At the very least Palm should license a base set of libraries publish the API at no cost. Then people could develop their own GUIs, or companies like M$ could include the functionality directly into applications like Outlook.

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Registered: Feb 2001
Location: Not so sunny, San Diego, CA
Posts: 51

PalmDesktop = Poorman's PIM

When I first installed the PalmDesktop (PD) software, my greatest joy was seeing that the Palm could synch with Outlook instead; contacts, tasks, calendar, memos, the works. I haven't so much as taken a cursory look at PD since then. Somehow, I get the feeling Palm has the same idea.. "here's something in case you DON'T already have a PIM.. to hold you until you get something better"

So, with the capability to synch with Outlook, Act!, and even Outlook Express/Windoze Address Book (WAB) files, what's the point in a beefed up PD?

Although, if PD were as "ubiquitous as browsers" then synching/ xferring files from a PC would be possible almost anywhere. But then what you're really talking about is file xfer capabilities (write a document on any PC then xfer it to your Palm). This sounds more like Bluetooth's venue than an open-source PIM.

Or am I totally missing the point?

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Registered: Dec 2000
Location:
Posts: 46

About time someone said it

Maybe I'm alone here, but I use multiple platforms. From a given day I go from Solaris, to Linux, to Windows(98,NT,2k,XP), to Mac(9,X), to Beos. Having the PD opensourced would benefit me greatly. Like many others, I try to stay away from Microsoft as much as possible. And since I use many oses other then Windows, I can't always use outlook, also I hate outlook .
If the PD was opensourced, it would give developers the ability to integrate it into their apps. For example, imagine staroffice having PD functionality. Staroffice is free, and already available for many oses. Immediatly it creates a way to put the PD on any desktop. However, ultimatly, what I'd really like is the PD written in java, opensourced of course, and run in a browser. Imagine accessing your PD from any java capable browser, anywhere in the world as long as you got a webserver up on your home machine. And to sync all you need is a small prog to upload to the machine. Basically, setup a mypalm type site on your own box that works with every machine.

Viva la Opensource! Viva linux! Viva la revolution!

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I swear, she told me she was 16!

Registered: Jul 2000
Location:
Posts: 61

Yes, the Palm Desktop does suck. It seems as if Palm is doing little to improve on it. I liked the comment, "Here's a PIM to hold you over until you get a real one". Unless your running Windows, it doesn't help. (OK, Entourage on the Mac does kinda of work.)

Palm needs to open source the API's and let 3rd parties makes the PIMs. They should concentrate on the Palm OS itself.



Opinions are like, well you know...

Registered: Dec 2000
Location:
Posts: 2

What happened to the simplicity of Palm?

The Palm Desktop works for me-
Simple and not bogged down with bloated features and options.
There are so many PIM choices out there with 3rd party conduits.
Open source sounds great, but don't knock PD.
The last thing I'd like to see is a PD so full of feature laden crap (like some other software out there) that my other 3rd party conduit or links won't be compatible with -Backup and Install buddy, MobileLink, Syncplicity, WordSmith,blah blah

I enjoy functioning software.

I think some in the Palm will lose focus if it moves to the MS paradigm of features over usability.

Registered: Feb 2000
Location:
Posts: 1571

Re: What happened to the simplicity of Palm?

quote:

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Originally posted by digichimp
The Palm Desktop works for me-
Simple and not bogged down with bloated features and options.
There are so many PIM choices out there with 3rd party conduits.
Open source sounds great, but don't knock PD.
The last thing I'd like to see is a PD so full of feature laden crap (like some other software out there) that my other 3rd party conduit or links won't be compatible with -Backup and Install buddy, MobileLink, Syncplicity, WordSmith,blah blah

I enjoy functioning software.

I think some in the Palm will lose focus if it moves to the MS paradigm of features over usability.

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Registered: Dec 2000
Location: Alexandria, VA
Posts: 49

An article I read a while back...

I read an article a while back about what Palm had done with Claris (which it had purchased) and how it had incorporated Claris features into Palm Desktop for the Mac. As a Windows user both at home and work, I would love to see some of those capabilities available for PCs, and think open source is the best way to get there. Whether or not we'll see it happen... who knows.

Registered: Mar 2001
Location: Out of my skull, back in five minutes
Posts: 1435

Since I do all my major organizing on the Visor itself, the Palm Desktop's just a backup for me (tho, it's easier to add contacts to the Desktop than to the Visor). I'd like something better but it's not a big deal to me.
I guess an open-source version would be useful because you never know when someone will take it and come up with something truly killer.

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Registered: Nov 1999
Location: bright side of the moon.
Posts: 996

i think many of you are missing a very important point.

where to begin...

Palm has already made it clear that wireless information is the direction that it would like to head into. Infact, i read somewhere that the next wave of Palms (no matter what the model) will have wireless capability built in (or easily available?).

Not too long ago, Palm purchased Anyday.com (i think that was the name of the site) which allows users of the Palm.net network to sync their 4 basic apps (calendar, contacts, todo, memo) wirelessly to a remote server which was also accessible via your PC.

obviously, the big bucks come from people subscribing to the wireless services. that's why cell phone companies practically give away the phones (handspring headed in this direction with the recent decrease in price for the cell phone springboard module...get more people paying for the service...profits are larger).

with the 3 points mentioned above, i really don't see why palm would want to invest too much time or money in the desktop application. there will come a time when every Palm owner would simply sync wirelessly to a remote server and in the event of a memory wipeout, even reload everything onto the palm wirelessly. at the same time, if you're on your desktop and want to look at your schedule (palm not handy), you could either log into your account via a webpage, or, and here's the point, have your information on the remote server sync with ANY desktop application you want to use. the desktop PIM becomes such a small chip in the giant puzzle, it's just not worth the time/money which could be used elsewhere.

RIM is headed in this direction, and Microsoft wants to take this whole 'remote server' concept a step further (from what i gather..) with the whole XP/Whistler stuff.

Sure, there will be people out there that will still want to use a Desktop PIM with their handheld device, but they'll be going against some well ingrained heavyweights like Lotus, Outlook, etc.

I don't think Palm should do anything else with the desktop (waste of resources) as it'll just be a losing cause, especially when dealing with big business where exchange servers, outlook, and lotus are running the show.

just my thoughts!

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Registered: Oct 1999
Location:
Posts: 91

Re: What happened to the simplicity of Palm?

quote:

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Originally posted by digichimp
The Palm Desktop works for me-
Simple and not bogged down with bloated features and options.

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Registered: Nov 2000
Location:
Posts: 3

No, Palm should focalise on what makes them different. I have been using ACT! for PIM for about 6 years and synchronising with the first Pilot.
Why try and compete with existing PIMs, like Outlook, no good strategy unless Palm camn bring something really outstanding, which is difficult since an addressbook or a calendar doesn't give much room for fancy developments.

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Antoine
Geneva Switzerland

Registered: Sep 1999
Location: Texan in Calgary for a while
Posts: 1361

It's not about competing with other PIMs. There are already conduits for that. It's about having a decent PIM for users that don't want to buy another PIM like Outlook or ACT.

It's interesting to see how many differences there are between the desktop for the Mac and the one for Windows. They're completely different. Why?

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James Hromadka
Old Friend

Registered: Jul 2000
Location: Beverly, MA
Posts: 125

open source projects

How about JPilot? This is what I use to sync my Handspring Edge on my Linux machines at home and at work. Instead of bothering Palm and trying to start up a whole new project, why not throw support and ideas into an exiting project. If you are using a Linux/UNIX based system and want to check it out, try JPilot:

http://www.jpilot.org/

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Registered: Sep 1999
Location: Texan in Calgary for a while
Posts: 1361

Re: open source projects

quote:

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Originally posted by linuxppcguy
How about JPilot? This is what I use to sync my Handspring Edge on my Linux machines at home and at work. Instead of bothering Palm and trying to start up a whole new project, why not throw support and ideas into an exiting project. If you are using a Linux/UNIX based system and want to check it out, try JPilot:

http://www.jpilot.org/

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James Hromadka
Old Friend

Registered: May 2000
Location: St. Paul, MN
Posts: 1429

james.......must.......sync......with.....OSX..

must sync..

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-miradu

Registered: Dec 2000
Location:
Posts: 37

James:

The reason why the Mac and PC PIMs are so different is because the Mac PIM is based entirely on Claris Orgaizer, which used to be a Mac-only PIM for synching with a Newton.

Instead of porting the Windows version of their own PIM, they simply bought Claris' PIM, made a new splash screen, and revamped the conduits to work with the Palm OS.

They knew Mac users would never go for the lame excuse for a PIM that is Windows Palm Desktop. And ultimately, they were too lazy to bother with a port, even though that would have been the right thing to do from a consistency standpoint.

The thing I can't figure out is how years later, none of the features that make the Mac version so much better have made their way into the PC version. Palm has simply sat on these two programs, updating them only whenever a new OS made the current version incompatible (and they haven't even done that yet for OSX).

I'm convinced that people at Palm sit around all day surfing the web. What exactly have they gotten done since the Palm V came out?

Personally, I use Entourage on my Mac, only because I want ONE Contact list that has all my phone numbers, addresses, and emails. Mac's Palm Desktop is great for memos and calendar functions, but it has no email client. This forces me to have separate contact lists in PD and Entourage, which then need to be updated separately. Royal pain.

It's bad enough I have to manually update ANOTHER list on my cell phone. (I've got to get a VisorPhone.)

I'd love to see the software open sourced, so that eventually someone could get it right, and I could avoid using buggy programs like Entourage, which is the only program on my Mac that crashes with alarming consistency if I don't treat it just right.

Not to mention OSX support. I hate being stuck in OS9 just because of Hot Syncing. (Remember, those of us with non-USB Macs can't even sync in Classic.)

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mrjoec
www.mrjoec.com

Registered: Jul 2000
Location: Beverly, MA
Posts: 125

Re: Re: open source projects

quote:

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Originally posted by JHromadka
Nifty! Anyone know how to compile it for Mac OS X?

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