Here’s some of the latest talk in the forums:

• Now that webOS 1.4.5 is finally finishing making the rounds of the US carriers, tngirly is listing the things they appreciate about the latest and greatest from Palm.  What enhancements brought by the update do you appreciate the most?  And conversely, what new features and/or bugs are you not pleased with?
• Thanks to the army of awesome homebrew developers, there are patches that augment nearly every aspect of the appearance and functionality of webOS, and forum member ferriskeanu is wondering what else you think needs patching.  Let your imaginations run wild, folks.
•  Do you think Neato! is neato?  Do you have ideas for new features, feedback for existing ones, or questions about the application in general?  Be sure to check out the official neato! thread in the webOS developer forums, where many a developer maintains a presence.

We look forward to seeing you in the forums!  Not already a member?  Remember: registration is, and always will be, free.

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The stock music player in webOS works well enough, but like other native apps (Google Maps is a great example), it leaves much to be desired.  Enter Music (Remix) 2.0, an excellent music player that’s currently in beta form in the homebrew gallery, by Hedami Software. Music Remix 2.0 offers a slew of features to be excited about, including: flylists that let you add songs on the fly, a highly configurable homescreen, navigational touches that every music app should aspire to include, a mini player that lives in the notification area, Last.fm integration, and customizable backgrounds that all go a long way towards making this one of the most compelling music apps currently available to webOS. 

See what Music Remix 2.0 is all about in the video embedded just after the break.

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Here’s some of the latest talk from the forums:

• There are plenty of themes available to customize the looks of your webOS phone, but ElPhantasmo wants to know whats up with so many people trying to make their Pre’s and Pixi’s look like an Android or iOS device.
• Launch day Sprint Pre user bdhu2001 is curious:  how many of you like minded folks are going to line up to get a webOS 2.0 based device should one land on Sprint.
• There’s a Flash anticipation thread.  For those of you still excited about the technology to come to webOS, what content are you eager to access and why?
• Forum members are talking about the possibilities of future Palm devices not shipping with a hardware keyboard (we know that there’s a virtual one in store).  Since the hardware keyboard is/was one of the big sells for the Pre and the Pixi, would you buy a webOS based phone/tablet if it didn’t have a hardware keyboard?

We look forward to seeing you in the forums!  Not already a member?  Registration is free!

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Here’s a list of upcoming events for the month of September that are both Palm and webOS-community related.  Know of something you’d like to see listed here such as a hackathon or developer meetup that’s related to webOS? Sound off in the comments or send us an email!

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The exodus of what made up Palm’s top brass leading up to its merger with HP was as sudden as it was swift – the heads of nearly every department have jumped ship to the likes of Apple, Google, Twitter and even Intel.  One of the last of the displaced execs, former VP of PR Lynn Fox, has recently joined uStream (the company behind the video casting technology used in our live stream for the PalmCast) to lead the company’s PR activities.

Hey Lynn – Can you please get us an option to pay for a pro account that kills off those annoying preroll ads and maybe also makes it easer to use uStream for multi-person video conference broadcasting? KTHX!!

Source: TechCrunch

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The latest update of Preware (now at version 1.3.6)  allows users to install an application directly from a web URL, email attachment, or even from a file stored locally on the device itself.  This was a feature that was native to webOS back as far as version 1.0 — it was used in the very early days of the webOS homebrew scene to deploy applications in lieu of an official Software Developer Kit — but Palm plugged what could have been a potential exploit in subsequent releases.  Besides installing applications directly from email and website URLs, users can also use the excellent Neato! app to send links directly into Preware from the desktop, similar to Palm’s own send-to-phone feature.

Also included in the update is the ability to configure webOS to recognize Preware as the default application in handling the installation of apps from outside sources, a host of security conscious dialogs and prompts that are displayed to users when installing applications and changing file associations (It’s always recommended, of course, that you only install software from trusted feeds and trusted developers) and a good handful of bug fixes and performance optimizations.

When asked why webOS Internals went ahead with implementing this feature in the Preware thread in the webOS Internals forum, founder Rod Whitby noted that since Palm effectively changed its security model with the rollout of webOS 1.4.0, the group was unable to maintain package security how they had in the past. Rather than allow folks to "have a false sense of security", the change was made in order to best "educate the homebrew community against rogue attacks".

This is all very slick stuff, as this added functionality makes the "sideloading" of apps in webOS one of the easiest endeavors of all of the mobile platforms. If you dig the work of the webOS Internals group don’t be shy about sending them a donation.

And for those who are new to the world of homebrew, be sure to check out our getting started with homebrew guide and take look at the possibilities of device customization and performance enhancements made available by programs like Preware.

Discussion: PreCentral Forums

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Here’s some of the latest talk in the forums:

• The smartphone owning demographic continues to get younger and younger each day, and concerned parent celesuar1 wants to know if its possible to control what their Pixi wielding teen can see on its web browser.
• Verizon Pixi owners are relishing in having the very latest from Palm in the webOS 1.4.5 update, and they’re discussing all of the must-have apps, patches, tweaks and more.
• Sure the recently launched BlackBerry Torch is a portrait QWERTY slider with a touchscreen, but for shinerb the similarities ended there.  After using the device for 2 weeks they’ve returned it and gone back to the Pre.  How many of you dabbled with the Torch only to return to the Pre a short time later?
• Speaking of switching, papachange05 wants to know if you Sprint users out there will switch to Verizon in the event that the next generation of Palm devices don’t launch on your favorite carrier?

We look forward to seeing you in the forums!  If you’re not already a member, remember that registration is free! 

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According to the internal screenshot pictured above originating from deep within the bowels of Verizon, it’s looking like Big Red is looking to bring more advanced devices, such as 3G smartphones like the Palm Pre and Pixi and even the Motorola Droid, into the prepaid fold.  There’s no word on what these devices would be priced at, but a $45 monthly voice plan and $30 unlimited data add-on could make this a very attractive option indeed, so long as handset pricing isn’t exorbitant.

So does this put a damper on those rumors that the Palm Pre Plus would be end-of-life’d on on October 21st?

Via: Engadget; Source: Android Does; Thanks to everybody who sent this in!

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We’ve asked you about your favorite apps and your favorite tweaks in previous editions of our ongoing PC Brain Trust series, and the topic this time is music.

There are a number of approaches to listening to music on our webOS devices.  We can sync our music manually by dragging and dropping files from folder to folder, we can use old versions of iTunes or programs like The Missing Sync to automatically sync music to our devices, or we can use cloud based solutions like DropBox and streaming solutions like GrooveShark to pipe music in without going through the hassle of syncing.  

With the myriad of options available, we have to ask:  how do you choose to listen to music on your phone?  Do you stream exclusively, preferring the variety associated with the huge libraries of music companies like Pandora and GrooveShark have access to?  Do you you prefer the fidelity and control offered by having high bitrate MP3’s and WAV files hosted locally on your device?  Or do you pursue an approach that mixes the two?

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If a Palm Pre, an iPhone 4 and a BlackBerry were to exchange genetic material deep within the labs of an uninspired engineer to create an unholy spawn, we suspect that the end result would be something similar to the device pictured in the image above.  Hailing from China, this Pre knock-off sports a host of inspiring capabilities such as a non-touch sensitive "home" button that should look familiar to you iPhone owners out there accompanying a Fake BlackBerry or fake iOS operating system, dual SIM capability, an FM Radio, SD card support, dual camera and a rockin’ 3 hours of talk time.

While it’s nowhere near as good as the original (okay, we actually wouldn’t mind dual cameras or two SIM slots), it’s sure better than some other knockoffs we’ve seen.

Via: Engadget; Source: MICgadget, m8cool; Thanks to cash111 for the tip!

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