PreCentral forum member and homebrew developer Arthur Thornton just earned himself a page in our book of awesome people: he figured out the so easy a caveman with Terminal access could do it method to getting Classic to work on webOS 2.0. It’s simple in concept and execution: extract the Palm OS ROM from the webOS 1.4.5 Doctor, and then load it onto your webOS 2.0 device. Tada, Classic instantly works.

It seems to be as simple as that, which makes us wonder why Palm decided to drop the Palm OS ROM from webOS 2.0 and shaft MotionApps in the process. The only thing the Palm OS ROM does is take up space (not a lot, it is Palm OS after all) and wait for Classic to launch it, so why cut it out. Unless Palm is pulling an Apple (dropping the floppy drive) and forcing developers and users to move on from old tech. Full instructions after the break.

Source: PreCentral Forums; Thanks Arthur!

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Welcome to Round Table, which is in fact not a table at all. Round Table is a continuing series on PreCentral where we pose a question to the staff and they provide their thoughts and insights. The question could be something simple like “what’s your favorite use for the Pre’s mirror?” or something a bit more complicated, like “why are you sticking with webOS (or are you)?” Or maybe we’ll just end up discussing our sandwich workflow. Today, however, we’re diving into the latest version of webOS. While few have been able to handle webOS 2.0, the veritable cornucopia of videos, screenshots, and reviews have made it easy to draw some preliminary conclusions. After the break, see what the crew has to say about HP webOS 2.0.

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If you’ll recall, back when the Pre first launched, there was plenty of consternation about the possibility of not being able to run your old Palm OS apps on the new webOS platform. Hearing the pleas of the faithful, Palm enlisted long-time Palm OS developer MotionApps to build a Palm OS emulator for webOS, the aptly-titled Classic. After some sixteen months on the market, MotionApps has decided to close development of Classic and cease further sales. Actually, it’s more like they’ve been forced to shut down development, as it seems webOS 2.0 doesn’t contain the Palm OS ROM needed to make Classic possible.

Indeed, we just installed Classic on our webOS 2.0 device and though it launches, it immediately brings up an "Illegal Operation" error, "The application <> performed an illegal operation and cannot continue."

We’ll let MotionApps’ blog post on the matter do the explaining:

We are sad to announce that Palm has removed Classic’s ROM from the new webOS 2.0 device ROM which will result in Classic not working if utilized with Palm’s new webOS 2.0.

This is contrary to our agreement with Palm and was done without our approval or consent. Based on this action, MotionApps will immediately stop selling Classic. However, as a courtesy to our clients, we will continue to support existing Classic customers on webOS 1.x for the immediate future.

MotionApps is also giving the source code for Classic to Palm, since it’s of no use to MotionApps anymore they’re giving it to the folks in Sunnyvale so they can “can do what they want to do with Classic and make it available with webOS 2.0.”

Honestly, we can’t say we’re shocked by Palm removing the Palm OS ROM from webOS 2.0 (though we’re slightly miffed that they’d break an agreement with a developer). The last version of Palm OS (5.4.9, to be specific) was released more than four years ago. While there are some apps and APIs that are still not possible or available on webOS, we can’t imagine that there are many Pre and Pixi users that are reliant upon Classic.

So, while we’re saddened to see Palm OS unceremoniously axed like this, we’re also glad to see Palm cutting the strings of the distant past and moving on with a more modern platform. If you’re going to miss Classic in webOS 2.0, we’re sorry, but it looks like it’s time to move on.

We’re reaching out to Palm now to see what they intend to do with the Classic code. Perhaps with the new APIs and the ability to run hybrid PDK/SDK apps, there’s a chance that Classic can live on as a proper SDK app in the Catalog instead of depending on special, dedicated code in the webOS ROM.

Source: MotionApps; Thanks to ToddK in the forums, SilvrDrgn, and RafRol for the tip!

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Got a Palm Pixi but still need to run some old school Palm OS apps? Right now, there’s no way to go about it while your Pre-toting friends can fire up Classic and get the action going. Never fear, for MotionApps hears your pain and is in the process of cooking up a version of Classic that will work on the Pixi and even make use of the device’s smaller screen.

Currently, Classic on the Pre shows up with a classic Palm OS D-pad and device buttons meant to emulate the physical controls on the older PDAs and Treo smartphones. These controls are dropped below the 320×320 Palm OS screen, using the remaining 160 pixels on the Pre’s screen. The Pixi, however, has a shorter display and only 80 extra pixels below the Palm OS screen, which means that any controls would have to be squished. Or they could be done webOS-style for maximum space utilization, as MotionApps posted on their Facebook page. It’s a pretty darned slick solution to what could have been a nasty problem.

[via: Palm Infocenter]

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We would have thought that with the App Catalog now out of beta and the app limit no longer in play that there would now be an explosion of apps as Rubinstein keeps promising. But it seems that our expectations were a bit off, as yesterday was another light day in the App Catalog. The list of newness follows.

New Apps:

• Bible Reader Dictionary, $1.99, by webOZ Mobile Apps: Look up nearly 4000 biblical terms and names.
• BOFH Excuse Generator, $1.43, by GoML Software: Random excuse generator with ‘ad-lib’-style options.
• Mem Card Game, $0.99, by NeoLink Net: It’s a memory tiles game with a twist – there are some tiles you just don’t want to flip.
• Quick Contacts Lite, Free, by Silver Spoon Software: Quick and easy photo dialing, free version limited to 9 contacts and fewer number options.
• Spanner Banner, $0.99, by Dijit: Check out the tunes of Jamaican reggae artist Spanner Banner.

Updated Apps:

• Classic, Free

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We know that there are some of you out there that have a Palm OS app that you can’t do without. The folks at Palm and MotionApps also knew that, so they created the Palm OS emulator Classic so that you could still run Agendus and Epocrates and other Palm OS apps on your webOS device. But where oh where to get the apps? How about PreCentral? Yep, that’ll do. We’re pleased to be able to announce that PreCentral has partnered with MobiHand to create the PreCentral Classic App Store where you can browse and buy your favorite Palm OS apps and download them straight into Classic.

More than 150 apps are available from the PreCentral Classic App Store, several of them free. There are apps for the business and finance crowds, dozens of games, reference apps, and even apps for personal healthcare. Check it out at http://software.precentral.net 

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Bad news for those of you who need to edit and create Microsoft Office documents while on the go and were hoping for a native webOS solution before years end. DataViz, developer of the popular Documents To Go suite of software (and the company responsible for Doc View in webOS) have confirmed on their website what we were speculating about last month: that they won’t be releasing the webOS version of their software until "early 2010":

As Palm’s document solution of choice for over 10 years, DataViz is happy to tell you that we currently plan to release Documents To Go for webOS in early 2010, allowing you to edit and create Microsoft® Word, Excel® and PowerPoint® files on your Pre!

Their website had previously stated "later this year" for a release date.  Not all hope is lost for those who still need that functionality, however.  While this solution may not be as elegant as a native webOS app, remember that you can still use the PalmOS version of the document editing software in Classic to tide you over until Docs To Go is finally released sometime next year. 

This makes webOS the only major smartphone platform currently not supported by Documents to Go, which can’t be a good thing if you’re a small, struggling smartphone maker trying to gain traction in the corporate market.

Thanks to mwchambers7 for sending this in!

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Your Pre syncs just fine with Google and it’s nice to have all your contacts up in the cloud. But you also find yourself using Classic and needing some way to get to those same contacts. Since webOS is apparently stingy and doesn’t want to share its stuff with Classic, you could say that you’re up a digital creek without a paddle.

Fear not, for Classic 2.0 came with the ability to quickly install a slew of free and trial Palm OS applications. Amongst those apps is GooSync, which will synchronize your Google Contacts and Google Calendar to your Palm OS device, or in this case the Palm OS emulator on your webOS device.

While the GooSync that ships inside Classic is a free seven day trial version, the full version with support for multiple calendars, automatic syncing, contact groups, tasks (lets see webOS do that!), and more. Both GooSync Lite and Premium are subscription-based services, with Lite available for £5.99/year and Premium running £19.95 for 1 year, £34.95 for 2 years, and a lifetime subscription at £39.95. Hopefully you won’t need to spring for a lifetime subscription, as waiting two years for an app to transition to webOS or for a suitable webOS replacement would be kinda sad.

Thanks to brum for the heads up!

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Disappointed that you haven’t been able to try the recently released Classic 2.0 PalmOS emulator that brings with it enhancements like full HotSync and Bluetooth support, because you’ve already evaluated an earlier version? 

You can now put that disappointment rest. MotionApps has announced the availability of a new 10 day trial of Classic 2.0 for anyone to try, whether you have an expired trial of a previous version or not.

You can grab the latest iteration of Classic from the App Catalog.

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Alongside all those new apps that landed on Monday was an update to the Palm OS emulator known as Classic, which brought the app to version 2.0. The update brings a whole host of features to the table, including the earlier previewed bluetooth and WiFi HotSync capabilities. Classic now also can run in full screen mode (i.e. full 320×480 Palm OS magic), can quickly bring up the old Palm OS soft keyboard, handles resets better, and even sports improved power management.

But that’s not all – MotionApps has seen fit to include a bundle of Palm OS apps that you can install into Classic by just hitting the Install Free Apps button in the menu. Included are 30 Palm OS apps ranging from Aces Texas Hold’em to FileZ and from Palm VNC to GTS World Racing. A full list of the apps can be found on MotionApps’ website, though it is worth noting that while all are “free,” some of that free-ness comes in the form of time-limited trials.

Correction: "full screen mode" in Classic lets the program run in a way that ignores on-screen webOS notifications, not full screen Palm OS.

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