Old Hardware Emulated :POSE Emulating The Palm Pilot (Part 4)
More Apps!
A small selection from the massive library of clock applications for the Palm.
By the late
90's, the popularity of the Palm handhelds drew in developers en-mass
and as a result, the software library for the Palm exploded in size.
This had never been seen in the handheld ecosystem before. One could
accurately compare the size of the Palm library to today's
contemporaries like the iPhone, iPad, and the Android platform. This is
the Genesis of handheld platforms with massive libraries.
Many of what the programs that were developed on the Palm were very standard, like text-editors. Text-editors have been a feature on most handheld devices in varying forms since the beginning. The Tandy Model 100 computer was primarily used as a text-editor for journalist on the go. The editors featured on the Palm was part of this evolution progression. The Graffiti system allowed characters to be drawn instead of being typed. This was a very novel way of data entry that wasn't that common before the Palm. A keyboard was still available for those who were reluctant to enter data with a stylus. While many of the software trends were evolutionary in nature, some took on a much more revolutionary role. Several of these features that were introduced on the Palm would not only define that platform, but other in the future.
Many of what the programs that were developed on the Palm were very standard, like text-editors. Text-editors have been a feature on most handheld devices in varying forms since the beginning. The Tandy Model 100 computer was primarily used as a text-editor for journalist on the go. The editors featured on the Palm was part of this evolution progression. The Graffiti system allowed characters to be drawn instead of being typed. This was a very novel way of data entry that wasn't that common before the Palm. A keyboard was still available for those who were reluctant to enter data with a stylus. While many of the software trends were evolutionary in nature, some took on a much more revolutionary role. Several of these features that were introduced on the Palm would not only define that platform, but other in the future.
For example, the idea of having a eReaders with novels and other
books on your handheld was still in its infancy at this point. While the
Apple Newton did have eReaders before Palm, they didn't become standard
until the Palm Pilot quickly became mainstream. Soon, new platforms
wouldn't be caught dead without them. While being taken for granted
today, the idea of taking a library of books that one could casually
read on the go whenever was revolutionary, and that idea became
mainstream with the Palm.
When the word "spreadsheet" was mentioned in the 90's, the mental
image of a office minion sitting in a cubicle number crunching on a
Compaq Presario comes to mind. That mental image is still largely the
same today with the exception that those workers are probably using a
Dell Optiplex now. Despite this, spreadsheets wouldn't be constricted to
the desktops or laptops.
Some early handhelds like the Apple Newton, Psion 3, Amstrad NC100/200, and Cambridge Z88 allowed spreadsheet editing long before the Palm became a thing. However, this task wasn't widely considered something that handhelds could handle until developers proved that it could with them writing such applications for the Palm. With the mass adaption of the Palm, their would quickly become several spreadsheet programs for the Palm, along with numerous utilities that converted Excel files into Palm compatible ones. With the proliferation of Excel, many needed to edit their spreadsheets on the go, and the Palm made this task possible. Nowadays, having productivity suites on tablets and smartphones is standard, but this wasn't always the case, and this task was driven by the success of the Palm.
Some early handhelds like the Apple Newton, Psion 3, Amstrad NC100/200, and Cambridge Z88 allowed spreadsheet editing long before the Palm became a thing. However, this task wasn't widely considered something that handhelds could handle until developers proved that it could with them writing such applications for the Palm. With the mass adaption of the Palm, their would quickly become several spreadsheet programs for the Palm, along with numerous utilities that converted Excel files into Palm compatible ones. With the proliferation of Excel, many needed to edit their spreadsheets on the go, and the Palm made this task possible. Nowadays, having productivity suites on tablets and smartphones is standard, but this wasn't always the case, and this task was driven by the success of the Palm.
The arrival of image viewers on the Palm was a very interesting development. Unless
a driver on the go knew I-35 from San Antonio to Oklahoma City like the
back of their hand, one would need the aid of a map. Palm owners
realized that they could carry images of maps with them when going to
unfamiliar spots. For a road trip, one could carry that Texas Interstate
Highway map with them for reference. The image viewers on the Palm
also intended to serve as a portable directory for those that traveled
on subways, essential to those unfamiliar with the New York or the
London Metro. However, image viewers quickly outgrew their utilitarian
task and many users started to use them to keep pictures of their family
members, pets, their trips, etc. People would copy funny images onto
their device and share them with their other Palm comrades via infrared.
One of the image
viewers, VDI, quickly became the norm on the Palm. VDI offered a utility
that ran on both Windows and MacOS that allowed users to convert their
images into a VDI/Palm friendly format. The image utility allowed the
user to resize and crop their image to a particular resolution and
screen color depth. The utility provided a preview of the image before
the Hotsync and provided for different dithering techniques so one could
see how their image would appear in 4 or 16 greyscale color depth.
Anyone who's familiar with image dithering techniques would be familiar
with Floyd Steinberg. VDI supported this differing format, allowing the
images to appear more detailed on those low-depth devices.
Some apps would have star maps of the constellations and serve as a planetarium. Their were assorted calculators that offered
greater capabilities than the default calculator. Some of these
calculators would have either scientific or financial capabilities. Many
also could do currency conversions on the go for international
travelers. Their were several clock applications as well, including
those that again catered towards international users with support for
having multiple time zones. Their is even a Matrix screensaver that also
has a prominent clock feature. No device is complete without a Matrix
screensaver!
The Handspring
handhelds with the
modem capabilities allowed users to fetch email to their device. What's
now considered mundane by 2019 standards was nothing short of
breathtaking in 1999. One didn't need that Compaq Presario for email.
Soon, these devices just wasn't restricted to email either. Web browsers
started to make their way onto the Palm as well. The Palm browser would
connect to a proxy server that would connect to the webpage requested,
stripping out a lot of the HTML code and
making that page small enough that they could be rendered on the Palm.
Some apps, like Palmscape and Plucker; provided users a utility that allowed them to save a portable, offline copy of the website that they could them copy to their handheld on their free time. The utility would scan the requested webpage along with the hyperlinks down to a depth requested by the user. Called spidering, this technique would not only save the proper pages, but other pages linked to that page as well. Once saved, that user would have a offline copy of the webpage complete with other pages linked that are accessible via the saved hyperlink. One could view the NYTimes, WSJ, The Guardian, or the BBC while on the go. Many of the early browsers, like Palmscape, were text only, while later browsers like Plucker supported images while largely preserving the format of the website, making them quiet usable even on that small handheld.
The website crawler/fetching feature doesn't work well with the modern webpages as most sites now use large amounts of Javascript, CSS, and conforming to the HTML5 standard, which didn't exist when these mobile browsers were at their height. Back in the day, many of the respective sites mentioned earlier had low-graphic versions of their webpages for slower internet connections like dial-up (remember that). These low-graphic versions of websites were perfect for the Palm. Unfortunately, most of the major news outlets have done always with the low-bandwidth versions of their websites, which, in my opinion, is still essential for those on a restrictive data plan that don't have time for mountain-loads of Javascript.
Some apps, like Palmscape and Plucker; provided users a utility that allowed them to save a portable, offline copy of the website that they could them copy to their handheld on their free time. The utility would scan the requested webpage along with the hyperlinks down to a depth requested by the user. Called spidering, this technique would not only save the proper pages, but other pages linked to that page as well. Once saved, that user would have a offline copy of the webpage complete with other pages linked that are accessible via the saved hyperlink. One could view the NYTimes, WSJ, The Guardian, or the BBC while on the go. Many of the early browsers, like Palmscape, were text only, while later browsers like Plucker supported images while largely preserving the format of the website, making them quiet usable even on that small handheld.
The website crawler/fetching feature doesn't work well with the modern webpages as most sites now use large amounts of Javascript, CSS, and conforming to the HTML5 standard, which didn't exist when these mobile browsers were at their height. Back in the day, many of the respective sites mentioned earlier had low-graphic versions of their webpages for slower internet connections like dial-up (remember that). These low-graphic versions of websites were perfect for the Palm. Unfortunately, most of the major news outlets have done always with the low-bandwidth versions of their websites, which, in my opinion, is still essential for those on a restrictive data plan that don't have time for mountain-loads of Javascript.
Palmscape In Action!
Phem and Pose
As noted earlier,
the Palm executable were distributed in the PRC file format that were
then uploaded to the Palm device via a Hotsync. Emulators like POSE and
Phem and easily have the PRC file loaded into the emulator. I haven't
encountered any compatibility issues with any of the application
software written for the Palm. The emulation is very solid and
compatibility is very good. At this point though, with Android and
iPhone kicking around, their really isn't a modern use for running older
Palm applications other than the nostalgic factor. Still, it's
important to note were the modern apps that we love so much descended
from. The Palm platform was were the handheld devices really started to
come of age.
Articles of Interest
Palm V - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Palm_V
Palm OS Emulator - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Palm_OS_Emulator
Palm, Inc. - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Palm,_Inc.
Freescale DragonBall - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Freescale_DragonBall
Floyd–Steinberg dithering - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Floyd%E2%80%93Steinberg_dithering
Palm (PDA) - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Palm_(PDA)
3Com - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/3Com
Palm’s progress: The rise, fall—and rebirth—of a legendary brand - https://www.fastcompany.com/90246716/palms-progress-the-rise-fall-and-rebirth-of-a-legendary-brand
Palm: The Rise and Fall of a Legend - https://www.technobuffalo.com/palm-the-rise-and-fall-of-a-legend
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