By now you’ve probably heard that [[http://www.palmone.com/|PalmOne]] is renaming itself [[http://www.palm.com/"|Palm]]. Don’t get excited — this doesn’t mean that the [[http://www.palmsource.com|PalmSource]] is being reabsorbed, it’s just a name change.
Note: To clarify, in this article I’m referring to hardware company as PalmOne, the software company as PalmSource, and the two together as Palm. I realized this is a little out-of-date, but without knowing the future name of PalmSource, this seems the only reasonable option…
As a developer of both Mac OS and Palm OS software, I can’t help but compare this to [[http://www.apple.com|Apple]] prior to the the second coming of Steve Jobs. Taken as a whole, PalmOne and PalmSource lack direction, and are floundering around trying to write a new OS to replace their increasingly outdated current version, and is full of indecision, infighting and confusion. Further, the new OS won’t be brought to market even if it is even finished. Talk about [[en:second system effect]]. Worse, split across two companies, it is unlikely either company can turn the mess around.
Let’s face it: the licensees are useless. Sony’s gone, Tapwave’s gone, what’s left? Oh, sure, you can pick a half dozen names, but can I go down to the store and buy any of these devices? No, of course not. Do I care that some little company is offering a Palm OS 4.1 based smartphone in parts of Asia? No. I bet you, dear reader, don’t care either.
So on one side of the fence, we have PalmSource: Writing and rewriting an operating system that nobody cares about. Getting a royalty from PalmOne’s device sales, and essentially offering nothing in return. On the other hand, we have PalmOne: Going down increasingly convoluted paths trying to teach a pig to sing, while a replacement animal that can sing and dance is already available.
This latest move is interesting, but I think it completely fails to solve the core problem: One of PalmOne or PalmSource needs to buy the other, and then they need to focus on creating a great mobile platform… operating system and hardware. Linux is not the answer. Linux isn’t even an answer for this problem. The problem is lack of any kind of direction — Linux is not a direction, it’s a kernel. In this context, it’s a buzzword. Applying buzzwords to a problem does not fix it.
PalmOne/PalmSource, you need to find a way to kiss and make up. Every day I am more convinced that you’ll hang together or hang apart. Can’t do it? Oh well. Maybe Microsoft will hire your engineers when you disappear completely and produce something actually useful next round.
Oh yeah: And make your development tools suck less.
Readers: Have no fear. Positive attitude will resume in the next blog entry. In the meantime, here’s some [[http://kittens.sytes.org/|@#$%ing kittens]].
Update: On reflection after a comment from Ben Combee, this doesn’t quite say what I want it to. It is the union of PalmOne and PalmSource I expect to see fail, because it appears to be a completely dysfunctional relationship.
I do think there is hope for the platform, but I think the hope comes from PalmOne rather than PalmSource. It’s called a [[en:Fork_%28software%29|fork]]. And it’s about accepting that the two branches will never be reunited. PalmOne might actually teach the pig to sing. It’s a tough task, but it just might be possible. It’s rained fish, after all. Can teaching a pig to sing be that much harder?
PalmSource, on the other hand, has wasted a lot of money building its second system that nobody else wants. I think if PalmOne is going to succeed, it’s going to have to be in spite of PalmSource instead of because of them.
And I really hope there’s a buyout clause somewhere in there PalmOne can activate when PalmSource dies…
But you still need a plan for updated tools. Codewarrior Palm 9 isn’t going to cut it forever.
May 25th, 2005 at 11:40 pm
I don’t agree with you about palmOne; I think they have a definite direction — they currently have four product lines aimed at different segments of the market but using a common OS platform. We’ve just reclaimed the name that people still associate with hardware devices — people still call them PalmPilots! palmOne has more software engineers than PalmSource, and we’re working on providing a value-added set of applicatons and libraries on top of base Palm OS Garnet.
While I can’t talk about what we’re doing the future, I think you’ll continue to see a series of handheld computing devices that focus of the needs of large sets of customers and innovate, sometimes in design or price point, sometimes in new features.
May 25th, 2005 at 11:49 pm
Ben, I know you can’t comment on specifics. I just want you to know I appreciate just the good feelings coming from your direction, and I hope it works out better than I’m afraid of.
I should have mentioned, though, that I think if one of the companies can save the situation, it’s PalmOne and not PalmSource. PalmOne might actually teach the pig to sing. It’s a tough task, but it just might be possible. PalmSource, on the other hand, has a really good money incinerator going building its second system. I think if PalmOne is going to succeed, it’s going to have to be in spite of PalmSource instead of with them. I hope there’s a buyout clause somewhere in there PalmOne can activate for when PalmSource dies…
May 25th, 2005 at 11:54 pm
Ben,
Reading my post, your commend, and my comment, I’ve realized my post neeeded an update tagged to the end. Thanks for keeping me honest.
– Steve
May 26th, 2005 at 3:59 am
Steven,
IMHO, the success of PalmSource hinges on whether or not they can convince a vendor/licensee to build a low end/cheap/for-a-penny phone built on the PalmOS. The reason why Symbian has so many devices in the field is because they are given away by the vendors. It’s fairly obvious that if the general public doesn’t understand the virtues of product A vs. product B, they’re going to go with the cheapest model. Period. From what I’ve seen in the Microsoft products, they are going to have those for-a-penny phones in about a year. That’s how long PalmSource has to sink or swim. Again, all of these are solely my opinion and I’d love to be wrong, but all the indicators point in that direction.
-Jon
PS. Too bad you couldn’t make it to the DevCon. It’s fun!