Palm Cancels Linux-based Foleo Project
In a message to customers Palm CEO Ed Colligan has declared the end of the short era of the Foleo Linux handheld before it really got started.
Palm announced the new device as recently as May 2007, and now Chief Executive Officer CEO Colligan has axed the Linux project. The product, dubbed the Mobile Companion, was planned as an extension to mobile communications devices, and mainly designed for email and office applications. According to Colligan, the device was close to market maturity.
In the course of the past few months, it had become clear that Palm needed to offer a single platform for all of its devices. "To that end, and after careful deliberation, I have decided to cancel the Foleo mobile companion product in its current configuration", Colligan writes in his enterprise blog, going on to conclude "we can not afford to make those improvements on a platform that is not central to our core focus." Development for the Windows Mobile Platform will continue in cooperation with Microsoft, however, Palm will be looking to focus on its proprietary Palm OS operating system platform.
Palm's CEO says that making the wrong decision has cost the company around US$ 10 m: "This is a lot of money, but it is a small price relative to the costs that would be required to support two platforms going forward.", says Colligan. He emphasizes the fact that both he and Palm founder Jeff Hawkins still believe in the Foleo's potential, but only as a development on the new Palm platform. Colligan has not disclosed a release date for a Foleo II and attaches higher priority to the core platform and Palm smart phones. Palm raised a storm of publicity by advertising its device at Linuxworld Expo in San Francisco in August, and announcing that Palm had opted for the Wind River Linux platform.
Issue 243/2021
Buy this issue as a PDF
News
-
Another New Linux Laptop has Arrived
Slimbook has released a monster of a Linux gaming laptop.
-
Mozilla VPN Now Available for Linux
The promised subscription-based VPN service from Mozilla is now available for the Linux platform.
-
Wayland and New App Menu Coming to KDE
The 2021 roadmap for the KDE desktop environment includes some exciting features and improvements.
-
Deepin 20.1 has Arrived
Debian-based Deepin 20.1 has been released with some interesting new features.
-
CloudLinux Commits Over 1 Million Dollars to CentOS Replacement
An open source, drop-in replacement for CentOS is on its way.
-
Linux Mint 20.1 Beta has Been Released
The first beta of Linux Mint, Ulyssa, is now available for downloading.
-
Manjaro Linux 20.2 has Been Unleashed
The latest iteration of Manjaro Linux has been released with a few interesting new features.
-
Patreon Project Looks to Bring Linux to Apple Silicon
Developer Hector Martin has created a patreon page to fund his work on developing a port of Linux for Apple Silicon Macs.
-
A New Chrome OS-Like Ubuntu Remix is Now Available
Ubuntu Web looks to be your Chrome OS alternative.
-
System76 Refreshes the Galago Pro Laptop
Linux hardware maker has revamped one of their most popular laptops.