PalmSource Exclusive [Part 4]: Michael Mace (CCO) and John Cook (Dir Prd Mktg)

Bob Russell · 06-16-2005, 06:40 PM

MobileRead.com is very pleased to continue presentation of this exclusive interview with two of the key leaders at PalmSource… the Chief Competitive Officer, Michael Mace, and the Director of Product Marketing, John Cook, who were kind enough to sit down with me at the recent PalmSource Mobile Summit and DevCon 2005 in San Jose, CA to share their views on the direction and future of PalmOS.

The interview is being presented on MobileRead this week as a five-part series, and it continues today with the fourth installment, covering communicating the PalmSource vision through the web community, the recent Nokia 770 Linux device, and a bit more on PalmOS for Linux.

MobileRead: As a first time visitor to PalmSource DevCon, I'm very impressed by the roadmap and strategy, and the way it's been communicated at all levels. It has been surprising to me. I've been surprised because there's been such a lack of information, even to developers and users and hobbyists and Palm fans all over. There are so many reasons to be optimistic here, and yet there is so much skepticism where people don't really hear this information. Are you trying to share that information a bit more, and do you see sites like MobileRead.com being a part of that communication?

Michael Mace: Sure. Here we are talking to you. And the idea is to get the word out. And the other thing I should add is not to be too sensitive to the concerns people have online.

There are two things going on. One is that a lot of this stuff is cyclical. I've been with Palm and PalmSource now for six years. And it seems like about every 18mos, people write us off. "These guys are dead. Forget about it. Never going to make it." Etc., etc. I could show you quotes I saved from 1999 from ZDnet Anchordesk saying "This Christmas is the end. Palm-sized PCs are adding color screens, Palm doesn't have it yet. They're going to be completely crushed. It's over, it's finished, this is it." So I'm kind of used to some of this stuff going on. I do think we could do a better job of communicating what we're up to. I'd like to see it.

Another problem that we have is that we need to work with a broader range of sites. There are a couple of PalmOS sites, one in particular, that are unmoderated and have been taken over by a small group of people who get their jollies by just being critical of everything. I'm not a big fan of completely unmoderated sites because it allows some people to intimidate everyone else into silence, and I don't think it's doing a service to the community. And having talked with a bunch of people here, I know I'm not alone. So one of the things we want to do is reach out to some different sites that are managed professionally and try to work with them.

MR: Nokia just recently announced a new Linux device.

MM: Yeah! I can't wait to play with that thing.

MR: It has a full desktop distribution of Linux, a large screen, wi-fi, bluetooth and is going to be about $350. How do you view that in terms of competition relative to what PalmSource is providing, and what are the PalmOS advantages against that sort of a device?

MM: Well, I want to go check it out. Unfortunately it was announced during our conference, so I didn't have any time to go look at it. But my first take is it looks like more like it's a browser pad, than a Palm sort of device. In other words it's only geared toward browsing. And that's an interesting field that puts them up against Tablet PC, although at a more attractive price. And frankly, I'd argue it may be something more for Microsoft to worry about than us. But I need to check it out more.

John Cook: It could be another one of those Nokia pad sort of things. The mobile TV device, too. Remember that they brought it out but then said "We're just kidding."

[Note: Following this interview there have appeared indications of problematic sluggishness on a prototype version of the device. But it's too early to tell if that is a typcial pre-production wrinkle or a product problem that could derail a product release.]

MR: They do have a developer community already enabled, and they are talking about a line of devices, but of course until it's on the market you don't really know.

MM: I'm really looking forward to it. I love innovation. I want to see a range of different types of devices. I think that's cool.

MR: Do you see, on the PalmSource platforms, devices that are running desktop distributions as well as the PalmOS platform to get the best of both worlds?

MM: Well, the way we're going to work it is to architect it on top of a pretty full Linux kernel. So is it a full Linux distribution, meaning it is exactly the same as what you get on desktop Linux? Of course not. You don't need that.

JC: A big part of our effort is to pull out what you don't need to make it more efficient, especially for battery efficient and memory efficient devices.

MM: But, we do expect that the Linux that's in our devices will be able to run standard off-the-shelf Linux software if you're a Linux hacker and want to do that. You'll get your command line and Linux app and be able to execute it if you want to, but that’s not the preferred way for a normal human being to interact with it as an average customer… just because they are going to want to work through this graphical interface. But if a Linux power user wants to get into that, we'll let them do that.

JC: And it might even be interesting for some enterprise party to maybe use the PalmOS environment 90% of the time, but 10% of the time [provide different access to a] SQL database. You can appreciate that with your company. [This last reference was to FedEx, a technology leader in the transportation industry, and profitable user of mobile computing.]

----

This interview will continue with the remaining installments…
..Part One
..Part Two
..Part Three
<Part Four>
..Part Five

Special Note: Please note that while we encourage a lively discussion of these topics, we require that the discussion remain polite and on-topic so the discussion can remain profitable for all. We will moderate heavily if necessary. Thank you!

Antoine of MMM · 06-17-2005, 12:24 PM

Its interesting reading both this interview and the answered questions at All ABout Palm. one coudl see a full picture taking shape of what's going on with Palm and Linux. As more of an end user than a developer, I can appreciate the move and am concerned more with usability. But to hear that you will keep teh roots there for Linux folks who want to play more, that too is a good thing. It would make for some interesting admin cases at several organizations.

06-16-2005, 06:40 PM	#1
Bob Russell Recovering Gadget Addict Posts: 5,381 Karma: 676161 Join Date: May 2004 Location: Pittsburgh, PA Device: iPad	PalmSource Exclusive [Part 4]: Michael Mace (CCO) and John Cook (Dir Prd Mktg) MobileRead.com is very pleased to continue presentation of this exclusive interview with two of the key leaders at PalmSource… the Chief Competitive Officer, Michael Mace, and the Director of Product Marketing, John Cook, who were kind enough to sit down with me at the recent PalmSource Mobile Summit and DevCon 2005 in San Jose, CA to share their views on the direction and future of PalmOS. The interview is being presented on MobileRead this week as a five-part series, and it continues today with the fourth installment, covering communicating the PalmSource vision through the web community, the recent Nokia 770 Linux device, and a bit more on PalmOS for Linux. MobileRead: As a first time visitor to PalmSource DevCon, I'm very impressed by the roadmap and strategy, and the way it's been communicated at all levels. It has been surprising to me. I've been surprised because there's been such a lack of information, even to developers and users and hobbyists and Palm fans all over. There are so many reasons to be optimistic here, and yet there is so much skepticism where people don't really hear this information. Are you trying to share that information a bit more, and do you see sites like MobileRead.com being a part of that communication? Michael Mace: Sure. Here we are talking to you. And the idea is to get the word out. And the other thing I should add is not to be too sensitive to the concerns people have online. There are two things going on. One is that a lot of this stuff is cyclical. I've been with Palm and PalmSource now for six years. And it seems like about every 18mos, people write us off. "These guys are dead. Forget about it. Never going to make it." Etc., etc. I could show you quotes I saved from 1999 from ZDnet Anchordesk saying "This Christmas is the end. Palm-sized PCs are adding color screens, Palm doesn't have it yet. They're going to be completely crushed. It's over, it's finished, this is it." So I'm kind of used to some of this stuff going on. I do think we could do a better job of communicating what we're up to. I'd like to see it. Another problem that we have is that we need to work with a broader range of sites. There are a couple of PalmOS sites, one in particular, that are unmoderated and have been taken over by a small group of people who get their jollies by just being critical of everything. I'm not a big fan of completely unmoderated sites because it allows some people to intimidate everyone else into silence, and I don't think it's doing a service to the community. And having talked with a bunch of people here, I know I'm not alone. So one of the things we want to do is reach out to some different sites that are managed professionally and try to work with them. MR: Nokia just recently announced a new Linux device. MM: Yeah! I can't wait to play with that thing. MR: It has a full desktop distribution of Linux, a large screen, wi-fi, bluetooth and is going to be about $350. How do you view that in terms of competition relative to what PalmSource is providing, and what are the PalmOS advantages against that sort of a device? MM: Well, I want to go check it out. Unfortunately it was announced during our conference, so I didn't have any time to go look at it. But my first take is it looks like more like it's a browser pad, than a Palm sort of device. In other words it's only geared toward browsing. And that's an interesting field that puts them up against Tablet PC, although at a more attractive price. And frankly, I'd argue it may be something more for Microsoft to worry about than us. But I need to check it out more. John Cook: It could be another one of those Nokia pad sort of things. The mobile TV device, too. Remember that they brought it out but then said "We're just kidding." [Note: Following this interview there have appeared indications of problematic sluggishness on a prototype version of the device. But it's too early to tell if that is a typcial pre-production wrinkle or a product problem that could derail a product release.] MR: They do have a developer community already enabled, and they are talking about a line of devices, but of course until it's on the market you don't really know. MM: I'm really looking forward to it. I love innovation. I want to see a range of different types of devices. I think that's cool. MR: Do you see, on the PalmSource platforms, devices that are running desktop distributions as well as the PalmOS platform to get the best of both worlds? MM: Well, the way we're going to work it is to architect it on top of a pretty full Linux kernel. So is it a full Linux distribution, meaning it is exactly the same as what you get on desktop Linux? Of course not. You don't need that. JC: A big part of our effort is to pull out what you don't need to make it more efficient, especially for battery efficient and memory efficient devices. MM: But, we do expect that the Linux that's in our devices will be able to run standard off-the-shelf Linux software if you're a Linux hacker and want to do that. You'll get your command line and Linux app and be able to execute it if you want to, but that’s not the preferred way for a normal human being to interact with it as an average customer… just because they are going to want to work through this graphical interface. But if a Linux power user wants to get into that, we'll let them do that. JC: And it might even be interesting for some enterprise party to maybe use the PalmOS environment 90% of the time, but 10% of the time [provide different access to a] SQL database. You can appreciate that with your company. [This last reference was to FedEx, a technology leader in the transportation industry, and profitable user of mobile computing.] ---- This interview will continue with the remaining installments… ..Part One ..Part Two ..Part Three <Part Four> ..Part Five Special Note: Please note that while we encourage a lively discussion of these topics, we require that the discussion remain polite and on-topic so the discussion can remain profitable for all. We will moderate heavily if necessary. Thank you!

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06-17-2005, 12:24 PM	#2
Antoine of MMM Mobile Ministry Magazine Posts: 119 Karma: 4507 Join Date: May 2005 Location: Charlotte, NC Device: Nokia N75/N800 Internet Tablet	Its interesting reading both this interview and the answered questions at All ABout Palm. one coudl see a full picture taking shape of what's going on with Palm and Linux. As more of an end user than a developer, I can appreciate the move and am concerned more with usability. But to hear that you will keep teh roots there for Linux folks who want to play more, that too is a good thing. It would make for some interesting admin cases at several organizations.

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