RAD Moose

So this week was full of a lot of press on the new Verzion Wireless / Motorola Droid (with Google Android 2.0) cellular phone.

It looks great and I wish I could afford one.

But I now have a Palm Pre with Sprint cell service for one month. (My regular cell phone that you reach when you call 916-436-1418 is on the Verizon Wireless network.)

I unboxed it and got it ‘activated.’ Have a Palm Pre with a Touchstone charger. The Touchstone is kinda cool.

So I spent most of today using it to get the feel of the WebOS and features. I tried a couple things and it seemed like there was something wrong. I remembered that there was an OS update recently so I checked that and got the latest installed (1.2.1) I then installed a few free apps (Pandora, Flashlight, gDial and The Weather Channel) and ‘bought’ a free MP3 via Amazon MP3. (I tried Amazon MP3 before the OS upgrade and previously you had to use WiFi to get your download, the 1.2.1 ‘fixed’ that so you can use the Sprint network.)

I set up email accounts and the apps that I downloaded. After using it all day, I feel like it needs a ‘developer evangelist’ or something. It just isn’t complete.

If Google can make decent apps running under the iPhone AND Android, why can’t Palm get them to make them for WebOS?

The web browser has some UI issues to deal with and it tries to hard to mimic an iPhone at the user agent level.

When docked, and turned 90 degrees on the touchstone, it doesn’t react and turn the screen, nor does the screen ever seem to go out when it is charging.

Well, this is supposed to be about my WebOS Dev experience, so  I will try to focus more on that.

I just wanted to give some feedback from general use of the Palm Pre. I am not sure if I would want one over an iPhone or DROID, however, it seems to be a solid, small phone that would appeal to many who want a simple smartphone.

Now I just need to call Scoble and talk with him about what the “Building 43 app” is going to be about as I learn WebOS (as my background is with VB.NET)

Yes, day three of posts about Palm WebOS and yet another question.

Yesterday Robert Scoble asked me for some info to send the Palm Pre, so I am guessing I am most likely going to see it tomorrow when I get back into Sacramento. (I bounce back and forth from SoCal to NorCal every few months it seems.)

When reading about the Palm Developer event from a few days ago, some of the information that was coming out of the event was that the attendees were given a Palm Pre, a Palm Touchstone and a O’Reilly Palm WebOS Developer book.

When I checked Amazon, the only O’Reilly related title that I could find was “Palm WebOS” and it wasn’t highly rated on Amazon. While I hope that it made it into the box, I am also looking for additional resources for Palm WebOS development besides that book, and the Palm Dev site.

Anyone have any other sites, books, articles, etc. that they could suggest to visit/read to get up to speed on Palm WebOS development?

Thank you for your feedback!

Hmm.. so far all my posts have ? in the headlines =)

I was tasked by Robert Scoble to build a “Building 43 App” for the Palm Pre he is sending me (see EffinTC disclaimer.)

Now, I have two thoughts on this.

One, make an app that has something directly to do with Building 43,  a site sponsored by Rackspace. With Building43,  ”The goal is simple – make it easier for businesses to use the new Internet to improve their business results.

Two, make an app to share the info, technology, ideas, and code behind the app with others to show how they can leverage the Palm WebOS platform and run with their ideas.

Now, for the first thought, an true Building43 app, I am not sure what that would entail and what really would be needed. I have visited the site, watched some videos and read some of the posts. An idea of a Building 43 specific app hasn’t jumped out at me.

For the second thought, this I grok and see how it could be done. I have a bunch of ideas for apps (although I wouldn’t turn down other idesa!) As I see how these can be developed on the Palm WebOS platform, I can document, interact and complete an app that shows others how it is to write a Palm WebOS app from someone who hasn’t done it before.

So, for now, I am taking the second approach (although I am going to write to Robert Scoble and ask for his feedback on what he sees as a “Building 43 app.”)

I am gathering info online during the time before I actually get the hardware to look deeper on what can and cannot be done within the WebOS environment.

I expect to have a link up soon to a survey where I will ask your help on some of the above questions that I have as well as what you want to see come out of this ‘project.’

Thanks for taking the time to visit. Your comments are welcome (although Spam is not) =)

I was watching my twitter stream via HootSuite tonight when Robert Scoble (@Scobleizer) posted that he got a free Palm Pre and a O’Reilly book on Palm WebOS development and that while he posted his EffinTC* disclaimer he also mentioned that he didn’t want it as he wasn’t going to give up the iPhone.

Now, I have wanted to get my paws on a Palm Pre since they were announced as I would like to learn a bit about the WebOS and see how to develop for it. I have done Windows and Web development before and also some Windows Mobile development too (as Microsoft did give me a “PocketPC” device about 6 years ago and I did some work for a company utilizing WinMo in the field.)

So, I thought I would ask ”@Scobleizer Can I has palm Pre and O’Reilly dev book, please? (Figure since i can’t get a job, I might as well learn Palm WebOS Dev)”

He replied “@radmoose will you build a Pre app for @building43 ? If so the Pre is yours!”

I said “@Scobleizer I would give it a good shot. Just give me some time to grok the Pre, the Dev book and get into it.”

And that is how it all began.

In the next week I am guessing I will be the owner of a Palm Pre and O’Reilly book on Palm WebOS development. I have already registered at the Palm Dev site so I hope to get up to speed soon.

I have no idea what my App for “Building 43″ will be but it will have a couple of ‘features.’ First, it will be ‘open-source’ and ‘free’ (although I am not sure exactly what license Palm is preferring right now.) Second, the code isn’t going to be the best stuff you have EVAR seen. It will be functional, open, and will hopefully give others incentive to write as they will say “I can do better than that!”  If you can, please do.

If you have an idea or twelve, please feel free to share. I can’t promise I will make the most awesome WebOS app known, but I will consider any and all ideas.

I am considering a couple games that I have done on other platforms.  No, nothing as complex as Pooyan or Moon Shuttle, I was thinking more like RoShamBo aka Rock,Paper,Scissors but that is not in sync with ‘Building43,” so I will hold off. (RoShamBo SMS  requires a backend server and doesn’t really go well into OpenSource.) Oh, and it won’t be a Flash App. I haven’t done any work within Flash in awhile.

Just wish me luck, point me in the right direction, and again, please share any ideas you may have. =)

* Note: EffinTC was my comment about the new FTC rules of disclosure for ‘bloggers.’  (I’ll save my comments about that for another post and here is link to my Amazon Wishlist.) =P