Re: [coldsync-hackers] removable media support

[Andrew Arensburger <arensb+CShackers@ooblick.com>]

On Mon, Jan 21, 2002 at 07:17:23PM -0600, Jeff Rush wrote:
> "David A. Desrosiers" wrote:
> >         Remember, Coldsync and pilot-link and JPilot and Evolution all sync
> > with the Palm devices, and all are currently directly in their path as
> > competition for their software dominance of the Palm handheld space.
> 
> I don't understand this -- how can those packages be _in their path_
> when
> *they don't make products for Linux !?!?!*

	Once upon a time, Palm's idea was to make money by selling
PDAs (hardware). Then they noticed that PalmOS didn't suck[1] and
decided to make money by licensing it to other companies.
	Now, apparently, they've decided that they can also make money
off of HotSync itself. Maybe they're actively trying to corner the
conduit market (SDK sales and whatnot).
	This is just a guess, but presumably they see the non-Windows
market as being too small to bother with. Hence, they don't care what
you think. At the same time, they can't just give the OSS community
the details of the HotSync protocol and tell them to run along and
build their little toys, without telling their competitors (at a
guess, this might include Microsoft, Sony, Sun, AOL, and a host of
others).
	As I understand it (IANAL), the DMCA does allow you to
reverse-engineer HotSync for purposes of building a compatible
application, but by not telling anyone how it works, Palm gives itself
time to develop the next version, while everyone else is trying to
catch up.

[1] Actually, all OSes suck. But PalmOS doesn't suck as much as it
might.

> I've heard this before, and
> I believe it but I don't understand it.

	You may want to look at their balance sheet and see where
they're getting their money from. IIRC there's never been much of a
profit to be made from hardware, and licensing PalmOS to other
companies hasn't brought in as much money as they'd hoped.
	Yes, this sucks, but companies don't exist to create great
products. They exist to make money.

-- 
Andrew Arensburger                      This message *does* represent the
arensb@ooblick.com                      views of ooblick.com
	 An ounce of prevention is worth its weight in gold.

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