Jeff Kirvin, doyen rantster of the Palm, has revealed that
P1's got a policy of not documenting things developers need to know. In particular, Treo 650 stability suffers because PalmOne revised the source code and
omitted error trapping. P1 is also alleged to change the DIA (
Dynamic Input Area) with each new device without documenting this critical component.
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The underlying problem here is that the software base behind PalmOne's code is not nearly as robust as PalmSource. You only have to look at the documentation in PalmOne's code to realize what the problem is (namely none - there is virtually no documentation at all in the code I've seen - I would never hire any programmer who wrote code like that as it becomes impossible to support or thoroughly debug).
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Kirvin's podcast #28 is very much worth listening to. He posits that the current 'Franken-Garnet' P1 altered versions of PalmOS has been pushed beyond practical limits, claims the Tungsten C is still the fastest palm because its OS has not been tortured beyond recognition, and notes that PalmSource's Cobalt fixes this problem. He posits that changes to customize the DIA might be done to satisfy cellular carriers, either inadvertantly or intentionally. (Those carriers, BTW, have become p1's largest customers, and love to do things which simplify their workload while locking you into their system.)
He also notes the WindowsMobile crew is far better at working with developers, and implies that WindowsMobile5 will pose an extreme threat to PalmOne's devices, as WM developers get the information they need, and therefore WM5 will hit the ground running.
I've heard similar issues regarding the 650 from other developers I speak with, and they all are worrying about P1 because of problems I see which well could arise from starving the devlopers and turning a deaf ear to writers and 'power users'.
M$ uses the free Modeus conferences and other events to reach, and listen to, those power users, whereas P1 and PalmSource charges for conferences to get tote bags and much less useful swag, and get ignored.
These developers, and power users like you and me, are the new 'shamans' of our tech-driven culture;
how often have you been asked, no, begged, to make something work for an otherwise intelligent friend, who hasn't taken the time to immerse themselves in your tech field?
I think he's got some important points to make. Please, take half an hour; download the podcast, listen to it, then respond to the poll I've attached, if you do nothing else.
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