Pixi Cometh

The Palm Pixi will officially be released on the 15th. However, it’s already making appearances and there are a number of reviews of the new smartphone. We’ve seen the a Pixi commercial (see below), which we like a lot better than the Pre commercials. Two things of note: Wal*Mart is pricing the Pixi at $30 (unbelievably low for a smartphone) and Palm has announced the availability of the first artist series back covers. Check out the links for more information about its features.

Developers Wanted

Developers who signed up with Palm to receive the SDK but who were not yet part of the pre-release program received e-mails today inviting them to participate in the developer program before it goes live in December. We have heard from internal Palm resources that they’ve got a good handle on the app process and should be able to process apps without the long delays that some developers have seen. If you want to know more about developing apps for webOS, check out webOS 101 or watch the videos of webOS School’s sessions at Iowa Code Camp.

Ares Makes War On Complexity

Recently Palm demonstrated a new webOS app development tool called Ares. Ares allows developers to create, test and deploy apps within a browser. It supports dragging and dropping of components and provides a means for developers to apply actions to them. Although developing for webOS is already very simple (requiring knowledge of JavaScript, HTML and CSS) it does require downloading and installing an SDK. Ares should open up app creation to developers with fewer resources or training in webOS. Whether this translates into better apps or not remains to be seen.

Roundup

This week also saw a couple of developments in the homebrew scene: An irc client was released and Preware updated to a new version that is capable of installing patches on webOS versions 1.1.3 to 1.3.1, so Pixi owners will be able to install on day one and have access to over 90 patches, 680 themes and 250 applications. In a welcome change, Sprint did away with conditional call forwarding tariffs so now users of Google Voice and similar services can forward calls from their phones. Lastly, Merrill Lynch had a meeting with Palm management who convinced them to upgrade Palm’s stock. As always, check us out on Twitter and feel free to comment below!

Jason, please introduce yourself and tell us a little bit about your background.

Well, my name is Jason Robitaille, one part university student, one part hobby developer, all Canadian.  My website is www.canuck-software.ca though lately I’ve been posting most of my software in the Canuck Software subforums at PreCentral.

WebOS Quick Install

One question that came up at the Sprint Open Developers Conference was:  How do you pronounce your last name?

My last name is pronounced “row-bih-tie”.  It’s a French name, heh.

How did you get started with programming?

I got started years ago during high school.  LOVED the PalmOS back then and had the Zire 71.  In grade 10 computer science class they taught us very basic VB.NET programming and from there it was only natural to play with HandheldBasic, and from there I was hooked on software development.

How did you become interested in webOS development?

My current device is the Palm TX.  Around last December I was looking for a prospective smartphone.  I was really on the verge of quitting Palm for good.  With all the buzz about “Palm’s last stand,” their make or break announcement happening at CES, I figured I’d wait until after that before making any decisions.  Turned out the Pre was exactly what I was looking for in a smartphone.

If I understand correctly, you still don’t have a Pre yet because it’s not available in your area of Canada.  Why invest so much time in a device you can’t even use yet?

It’s because of my Palm TX.  I still use it daily and it’s like a mini computer.  Unfortunately, with the Pre and webOS, it doesn’t have the same breadth of third party apps as the PalmOS  A lot of apps I make are in anticipation of getting an actual device (with a few being done on request).  I wanna make the transition from the highly functional, but very outdated, PalmOS to the sleek webOS as smooth as possible.

For those not familiar with it, can you tell us what webOS Quick Install is and what’s special about it?

WebOS Quick Install was released several months ago, and it was the first, and to date only, cross-platform ipk GUI installer.  And it’s come quite a long way since then.  Not only does it offer full application installation and uninstallation, but more recently it was expanded to offer full patch integration. In just a few clicks you have access to dozens and dozens of patches for your device. What’s more, WebOS Quick Install also supports installing .patch files directly, all the while following webOS-Internals standards.

Other notable features include the ability to send and receive files to and from your device, theming, a basic Linux command line interface, and most popularly, a built in ipkg feed viewer.  With the ipkg feed viewer, you have access to hundreds of applications from across the web.

webOS Repair Utility

You also have a program called webOS Repair Utility.  Can you tell us what it does and why you wrote it?

webOS Repair Utility basically scans the program files on your device and compares them to the respective factory stock files.  In this way, it’s able to detect modified and missing files on your device, offering the option to restore the factory file. In addition, there is the ability to do a factory restoration of a specified file.  The advantage of both these features is you no longer need to wipe your device with webOSDoctor to restore files.  One thing people need to keep in mind is this is an in-development program, so keep expectations realistic.

I made this program in response the issues I had seen across the PreCentral forums.  People were having to use webOSDoctor when only a handful of files needed to be restored. It was insane to me that people were having to spend all that extra time running webOSDoctor and restoring things to how they were pre-wipe.  It’s still in-development.  [ed: I had a chance to use it so that I could apply a patch that was balking.]

Theme Builder

Then there’s webOS Theme Builder.  Some of our readers may not be familiar with themes and how they work.  Can you first fill us in on how themes work and then tell us how Theme Builder makes it easier to design themes?

As webOS is built on a foundation of HTML/CSS/JavaScript, virtually everything about it can be skinned. Skinning on the desktop is accomplished with WebOS Quick Install and a zip with the replacement images and a theme.xml file in it.  The theme.xml basically tells which files go where on your device.

WebOS Theme Builder basically makes things simplified.  The theme.xml gets built automatically, and with the latest 2.0 release, there’s a theme assistant, providing an easy way to add common image replacements for images like icons and system graphics.  [ed: Themes let you change the look of many parts of webOS.  At last check there were over 600 themes available.  You can use webOS Quick Install or Preware to install them.]

Internalz

Lastly, there are Internalz and FileMgr Service.  Who are these for and what do they do?

One thing sorely missing from webOS was a file browser.  It seems really inconvenient that users had to connect to a computer in USB mode to move or delete a file. With that in mind, I made Internalz and FileMgr Service.  Internalz is the webOS application that you use and FileMgr Service is a background service that powers Internalz.

Currently Internalz is able to browse the full file system, copy and move files and directories, rename directories, and delete files and directories. May not sound like much right now, but I have big plans for Internalz in the future. One particular plan is to add unzip/unrar/untar support. Can’t go into any other details, but rest assured, there’s lots of useful features coming to Internalz.

Are there any others that I missed?

Recently I created an open source utility call Unified Diff Creator. In short, it’s an easy-to-use patch maker. I’m also one of the people working on the open source video recording app. Everything else is in development and not yet released to the public.

Judging by the types of programs and apps you’ve produced it seems like you are more interested in the ‘nuts and bolts’ aspect of webOS.  Would you say that’s true?

Yea, that’s pretty accurate.  However it’s a bit more due to necessity rather than choice.  If I could, I would be doing a lot more webOS on-device applications. In particular, I’d greatly like to develop apps I could sell on the App Catalog (as I’d make more money by even selling $0.99 apps compared to the donations I’ve received), but I feel it’s more necessary to have tools like WebOS Quick Install and Internalz first. Plus, it certainly doesn’t hurt with creating a reputation of building quality software.

What would you like to tackle next?

I have many many things in development.  One big project I want to be continually updating is Internalz.  As well, I have many unreleased projects that I’ve been making progress on, including a dedicated archive extraction app, a comic book reader, a system monitor, and a school note taking app/class management app. But alas I’m only one man and it may be a while before everything sees the light of day. In the more immediate term, however, one project I’ll be working on is an open source cross-platform Java-based port of Rod Whitby’s Meta-Doctor, which I’m calling MetaDoctorX.

Have you had any interactions with the folks from Palm?  If so, what’s their reaction to the work you’ve done?

The only interaction I have with Palm is with Chuq [Von Rospach] (Developer Community Manager), though I’d love to have greater interaction with Palm, and do anything I can to assist them.  I’m a long time Palm user and love the new direction the company is going.  Their interaction with other developers has shown they realize it’s the third party apps that make the platform, and while they may occasionally misstep, it’s mainly as they’re playing the catchup game with the other smartphone platforms (and they’ve generally rectified those situations promptly).  I have the utmost confidence in webOS and wish Palm all the best. If they need to contact me, they have my email, eh.

What do you do when you’re not working on webOS software and dreaming about the day you’ll get the Pre?

Well, university takes up a lot of time.  I’m going for a 4-year major in Computer Science (specialization in networks and security) and a minor in Film Studies. Between university and webOS work, my little amount of spare time goes towards hanging out with friends and the occasional playing of World of Warcraft.

What’s your favorite pizza topping?

I’m a sucker for ham and pineapple, heh.

Thank you very much for taking the time to talk with us.

preDevCamp This Weekend

Are you interested in developing applications on webOS, the Pre’s hot new operating system?  Are you looking for a developer to develop your ideas?  Head out to a preDevCamp!  With events planned at cities all across the globe, August 8th will be a good day for the Pre.  Copies of Mitch Allen’s Palm webOS book will be handed out for free at several of the events.  We’ve even heard that Adobe will be donating two copies of Creative Suite 4 Web Premium at the San Fransisco preDevCamp.  Of note, Pre101’s editor, Roy Sutton, will be attending the combined Washington DC and Baltimore preDevCamp to be held in Silver Spring, MD.  See the Baltimore page for location.

In addition, expect to see many more homebrew applications showing up after this conference.  PreCentral is hosting a competition for new or updated applications.  The prizes will be new Palm Pres!  Time to sharpen those webOS skills.

New Homebrew App Catalog

PreCentral has released an app catalog for homebrew applications.  You can quickly search applications by tag or sort by various criteria, including ranking.  It’s never been easier to browse and install homebrew applications.

Palm Pre Arrives in Canada on August 27th

According Palm, the Pre will be on sale in Canada starting on August 27th.  The Pre will be sold by Bell Mobility and pre-orders (no pun intended) can be placed online via that link.  It will sell for $199.95 with a three-year contract.  Welcome to the club, neighbors to the north!

Wrap Up

In addition to the stories above, there were some posts suggestion Microsoft should purchase Palm, Palm got some help from Deutsche Bank, Palm sponsor’s Nick at Nite’s Glenn Martin, DDS and Palm’s CFO will be a speaker at an upcoming technology conference.  Got any news tips?  Send them our way by commenting below.

What Is Homebrew?

Homebrew gets its name from the practice of individuals making their own beer.  Over time, the term began to be applied to developing applications for closed environments, such as consoles.  Homebrew was a particularly apt description for early developments on the Pre because, without a public software development kit (SDK) early coders had to reverse-engineer existing applications to figure out how to create and install applications.  Nowadays, with the SDK open for any to install homebrew isn’t quite as accurate a name.  In a future post we’ll discuss application development with webOS, the Palm Pre’s operating system.

Where To Find It

The largest repository of Pre homebrew is found at the PreCentral Homebrew Apps forum.  In the forum are many posts where software authors have uploaded links to their applications.  Today, there was an application for tracking your GPS coordinates during a run, a Chess game, and a sliding-block game, among others.  Explore the forum and read the comments to see what is available.  Homebrew applications are distributed as .ipk files.  .ipk files are packages that contain all the pieces an application needs to run on the Pre.

How To Install It

Anyone who has installed the SDK can easily download applications to the Palm Pre.  Once the SDK has been installed you use the ‘palm-install’ batch/script file to install the application.   There are instructions for PC and Mac at the PreCentral homebrew forum.  The Linux procedure is practically the same as the Mac procedure.  For PC users, there is a GUI installer called PreBrew that makes the process of installing applications easier.

Should You Install It?

The questions you should ask before you go installing homebrew applications is:  Should I install this?  Because Palm has not reviewed any of these applications there is always a security risk to installing them.  It is possible for a malicious coder to create an application that does things that you don’t expect, even potentially causing data loss.  Also, installing the SDK isn’t a simple undertaking.  If you don’t plan to be developing applications it may be best to avoid it.  [Update: The latest release of the Palm SDK no longer is causing problems on Windows or Mac OS during install].  Palm plans to be opening up the App Catalog in the Fall so if you’re squeamish about the process it would be best to wait.  If, however, you’re adventurous, then dive in, there’s lots to explore.