Hasta La Gadget!

So, you want to be a webOS developer, huh? That’s great kid, we’re excited for you, but there’s a catch: Palm won’t be handing out an actual SDK to most people until the end of Summer. In a post just published on the Palm Developer Network Blog, reps from the company say that although they’ve been cranking away on getting their full SDK in shipshape (the version given out to current devs is apparently pretty rough), they won’t have anything for a broader audience anytime soon. In their words:

With the Pre now in customers’ hands and reports of webOS hacks in the news, we know that you are more anxious than ever to get access to the SDK and start developing for webOS.

We’ve been working very hard on the SDK and are eager to open access on a wider scale, but the software and the developer services to support it just aren’t ready yet.

This should come as a bit of a blow to developers hoping to get cracking on Pre software, and will unquestionably turn those who can’t bear the wait towards the fully stocked iPhone or Android platforms. However, Palm does say that they’ll be opening the program up a bit wider, stating in the post that they plan to crank the number of devs with the early SDK in their hands up from “hundreds to thousands” over the next few weeks. Apparently, that’s part of process the company is beginning to ration out access, building to a full release.

Another bit of puzzling wordsmithing in this post comes in the form of the company’s stance on homebrew and DIY “experiments” (their words) which have come to light in the past couple of weeks. So says Palm:

As on any popular platform, we recognize that some developers will experiment in ways that cross official boundaries, but we believe that our formal offerings – and community efforts built around those offerings – will provide the best experience for the vast majority of webOS developers and users.

So while it’s not exactly a keep-off-the-grass statement, it certainly reads vaguely as to whether or not the company will lock out jailbreakers hoping to dive deeper into webOS. Further confusing the matter? Palm has just released the Linux source code used to compile the Pre’s firmware, making the possibility of cooked / custom ROMs a very serious reality, and obviously opening the floor to a lot of said experimentation. Mixed messages? Yes. Our word to Palm right now? Put every effort into getting that SDK out, or you’re at risk of quickly burning through all the good will you’ve just engendered.

Update: We’ve added some info above which reflects Palm’s statement that it will be considerably widening its pool of developers over the next few weeks with access to the early SDK.

Read – An update on the early access program and the SDK
Read – Open source packages

Filed under: Cellphones

Palm says no webOS SDK till end of Summer originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 19 Jun 2009 15:26:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments

Well, that was fast. Just a couple hours after we noted Palm warning against hacking webOS to allow data tethering on the Pre, the first set of instructions has popped up. It’s not the cleanest hack we’ve ever seen — you need to root your phone, enable SSH, and then configure your browser to run through a SOCKS proxy — but it’ll certainly get the job done in a pinch. Just don’t go crazy, alright? We’ve got a feeling Sprint’s watching Pre accounts with an eagle eye.

Filed under: Cellphones, Networking

Palm Pre data tethering is a go, Sprint be damned originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 15 Jun 2009 14:46:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

Sure, once you get Doom onto a device there isn’t much stopping you in the homebrew department, but we thought the implementation of an NES emulator on webOS outside of the Classic environment was worth noting — even if it happens to be astoundingly easy to pull off. All it requires is a quick trip to root on the device a compile of the FCEUltra NES emulator for Linux and bam, it’s good to go. Hit up the read link for instructions (we’re sure we’re simplifying things just a tad) — and no, the incredible appropriateness of using a Contra ROM to kick things off hasn’t escaped us.

Filed under: Cellphones, Gaming, Handhelds

Pre gets NES emulation in Linux; our thumbs are in for a world of hurt originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 14 Jun 2009 07:04:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

It’s begun. Although lacking a general release of the SDK, the first homebrew apps have emerged thanks to last night’s leaked WebOS root image. The first application puts a stake in the ground by displaying a simple “hello world” on the screen. Unfortunately, the code overwrote the pre-installed Sprint Nascar application… oh wait, that’s probably a good thing. Devs have also started tampering with existing code to disable the shutter sound on the camera while leaving the rest of the sounds enabled. Now why would somebody want to do that?

Update: New image from an excited developer that shows scm6079’s work over at PreCentral evolving with a 5-second photo timer and more. We’re being told that several members of the Pre hacking team consist of old-school PalmOS hackers from the Samsung i300 days. Now if Palm can just lure back the rest of its developers smitten by Android and the lure of App Store riches then they might just make something of this fledgling smartphone platform.

[Thanks, Scott M. and C.J.]

Continue reading WebOS homebrewers say ‘Hello World!’ to Palm Pre

Filed under: Cellphones

WebOS homebrewers say ‘Hello World!’ to Palm Pre originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 10 Jun 2009 05:43:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

Looks like Palm’s webOS Reset Doctor, intended for resetting Pre smartphones with a mangled system, has been outed to the public at large along with a very special bonus for hackers and other programming enthusiasts: a complete 195MB root image of webOS itself. Code-inclined individuals on the PreCentral forums have already cracked open the ROM and are getting an unfettered glimpse at the Palm’s new platform, which for the layman means it should open the doors for some crazy Pre hacking and possibly hint, by way of unfinished / unused code, of what’s to come for the platform — and if we’re really lucky, maybe someone will be able to look at this and move us one step closer to an unlocked Pre that could jump onto Verizon’s network. Amusingly, you also get to see all the comments left by the devs in the code, guaranteeing a few good chuckles from others who can relate. Intrepid computer science-ers can hit up the read link to find the appropriate .jar file or just follow along with all the fun in the forum discussion.

Filed under: Cellphones

Palm’s webOS root image leaks out, code enthusiasts reschedule their normal nightly plans originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 09 Jun 2009 21:27:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments