Eight Random Things I Learned About the Palm Pre Today

I’m still running around Las Vegas for the Consumer Electronics Show, and this time I made time to pay Palm’s meeting room a visit to get a closer look at the company’s radically new Pre phone. It looked at least as good close up as at yesterday’s big press event: It’s strikingly smaller than the iPhone, and more elegant than you’d expect given the need to fit in the slide-out keyboard.

Since I’d seen and enjoyed yesterday’s demo and checked out Palm’s specs page, I mostly used my face time with Palm to ask about questions which neither addressed, as far as I could remember.

Here’s what I learrned:

–It doesn’t have iPhone-style visual voicemail.

–It doesn’t have voice dialing.

–It doesn’t have a voice recorder.

–There’s no compatibility with PalmOS apps, although Palm will work with developers to help them move to the new platform, and it’s not unthinkable that a third party might create an emulator for old apps.

–It provides on-phone access to Amazon’s MP3 download store for DRM-free music purchases.

–It’ll come with a new version of DataViz’s Documents to Go for Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and PDF work.

–Only the Web browser and the photo browser support landscape-mode display; the video player is landscape only.

–Like the iPhone, it has a proximity sensor that it uses to shut off the screen when you hold the phone to your ear to make a call.

Windows 7 Beta General Availability Delayed

Stretch your legs, go outside, and get fresh air–the Windows 7 beta is delayed until tomorrow. Windows team blogger Brandon LeBlanc has announced that Windows 7 is such a hot commodity that the company has to shore up its server infrastructure to meet the demand.

Developers who have MSDN or TechNet subscriptions can download Windows 7 Beta today; it will (in theory) become generally available tomorrow at 12 PM PT. Direct download links are live if you want to get the jump on all the people that will spend their Saturdays downloading a beta operating system, but installations without product keys are limited to 30-day trial periods.

As an aside, has anybody told Microsoft about BitTorrent yet? It seems to be a reliable way to distribute big files to lots of people.

If you want to upgrade to the Windows 7 beta from Windows XP, you are out of luck–it doesn’ offer an upgrade path. Upgrade installations are only supported for PCs that are running Windows Vista with Service Pack 1. The company has not yet announcing finalized upgrade paths for Windows 7, a spokesperson wrote in an e-mail. The beta is available in one edition that is roughly equivalent to Windows Vista Ultimate Edition.

It behooves Microsoft to provide an upgrade path from Windows XP Professional. Only about 10 percent of enterprises have deployed Windows Vista as their major OS, Information Technology Intelligence Corp’s principal analyst (and owner) Laura DiDio said yesterday. Windows 7 can’t arrive soon enough.

Windows 7: Download It if You Dare

[UPDATE 5/4/2009: If you came across this looking for the Windows 7 Release Candidate, check out this post.]

[UPDATE: So much for Ballmer's big announcement. Microsoft has pulled the public Windows 7 beta and says it'll try again tomorrow.]

As Steve Ballmer announced it would at his CES keynote on Wednesday, Microsoft has made a beta version of Windows 7 available for free download by anyone who wants it. Here it is. As Microsoft says, you shouldn’t install this on your primary PC, or at least not over your primary current Windows installation:  For one thing, the beta will time out on August 1st, requiring you to reinstall a copy of Windows over it. But if you’ve got a spare PC or spare disk partition, there’s no better way to satisfy your curiosity about W7 than to start using it.

If you do give it a whirl, I’d love to hear what you think (here’s my pretty favorable take on the earlier preview version). Once I get back from CES, I’ll try out the new beta and let you know how I think the OS is shaping up…

14 Questions About Palm’s Amazing Pre

 What a difference a demo makes. For the past few years, declaring Palm to be in decline, irrelevant, or just plain dead has been a national pastime among tech pundits. The unveiling of the upcoming Palm Pre smartphone and its WebOS operating system yesterday here at CES changes all that. It will still be a challenge for Palm to restore itself to a leadership role in the smartphone industry it created. But its demo yesterday was so impressive on so many fronts that I can’t imagine any rational observer insisting that Palm is Still Dead until the Pre has a chance to prove itself.

Palm’s demo of the Pre was deep enough to answer plenty of questions about the device and its OS. But I’m left with plenty of others. Some of them may have answers right now (I’m going to pay a visit to Palm here at CES and try to get them). Some will only be answered in the months and years to come.

If you’ve got solid information or smart guesses on any of this stuff, I’d love to hear them….

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The T-Grid: Palm Pre vs. Apple iPhone 3G

Yesterday night, we didn’t know much of anything about Palm’s new phone based on its next-generation platform for sure. And then Palm unveiled it today at CES–and while there are stray bits and pieces of information that may still be missing–including the price–we now know an awful lot about the phone, even though it’s still months from release. Ultimately, I think this phone is going to be judged primarily on its user interface, which looked damn impressive in today’s demo. But it’s worth recording the specs, facts, and figures we know so far, and comparing them to Apple’s iPhone 3G is irresistible.

Quick summary: The Pre has tons of features in common with the iPhone, but it also has a formidable list of items the iPhone lacks, including a real keyboard, copy and paste, tethering, and a camera with 50% more megapixels. After the jump, a T-Grid comparison.

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Palm’s Spectacular Hail Mary: Pre Smartphone and WebOS Operating System

I’m going to have lots more to say about the demo of Palm’s upcoming Pre smartphone and WebOS that just ended here at CES in Las Vegas in a bit–but for now I’ll just link you to Ryan Block’s coverage at GDGT and share some photos I took. The device looks very impressive and the OS looks exceptional, and neither is an iPhone knockoff. It’s very dangerous to get too excited about a product based on a demo–and Palm is only saying the Pre will ship in the first half of this year (on Sprint). But this is by far the most impressive Palm demo I’ve seen since I first saw the original PalmPilot in 1995. If the Pre lives up to its unveiling today, it’s not hard to imagine being a huge hit and the beginning of a mobile platform that matters as much as the original Palm OS did in its day.

Photos after the jump…

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Obama Fighting the Anti-BlackBerry Forces

President-elect Obama is still fighting to keep his BlackBerry, the addictive electronic device that has helped him keep in constant contact with friends and advisers from his Senatorial days right through the campaign, the New York Times’ Jeff Zeleny reports. Saying “they’re going to have to pry it out of my hands,” Obama is arguing that it would keep him up-to-date on what is going on outside of the presidential bubble. I’ve argued previously here that I think Mr. Obama should keep his BlackBerry, and its worth repeating. Here’s hoping that our 44th president wins this battle…

A Little Less Lenovo

The crummy state of the economy continues to bring crummy news for the tech industry: Lenovo announced today that it’s letting 11 percent of its workforce go as part of a broad restructuring. It’s also reducing executive compensation by 30 to 50 percent (sorry, guys!).

Buried in its press release is one tidbit that might be a plus for Lenovo customers: It’s relocating its customer-support call center from Toronto to Morrisville, North Carolina, the company’s main North American site. If this involves Toronto staff losing their jobs, it’s regrettable for the folks who are impacted. But I’m a big believer that tech support staffers provide the best help when they work most closely with the rest of a company’s team. And it’s good to see that Lenovo isn’t reacting to economic pressures by relocating tech support to another country where language issues could stand in the way of solid tech support.

Where Does Macworld Expo Go From Here?

With Apple pulling out of Macworld Expo after this year, that has become the big question for IDG — the event’s sponsor. Steve Jobs’ presence at the show was what made the show a worthwhile stop on the tech trade show circuit, and without that Macworld loses a lot of its draw.

One of the first things it can do now since it is free of Apple is possibly move the show back east. Once upon a time there used to be two events: the main show in January, and then another smaller event in Boston during the summer.

In a town hall event at the close of the show, that was mentioned. What got even bigger applause was the suggestion that IDG may consider bringing the show back to New York City — the original East coast location.

IDG is calling the Apple-less Macworld 2010 the beginning of an “evolution,” which will focus on the things that make the Mac ecosystem tick rather than what Steve is announcing on stage.

This could actually benefit exhibitors. They would no longer be overshadowed by Apple, and would be able to get much more face time with the media. I don’t see how that could be a bad thing, unless the tech media decides en masse to stop going to the event.

Exhibitors and instructors seem to still be giving the show a shot: about 60 exhibitors are already signed up for the 2010 show, and almost all instructors will be returning as well.

The next several months will be critical to the survival of Macworld. If they cannot secure enough exhibitors by this summer, I can almost guarantee that Macworld 2010 will be the last.

A Vaio For Your Pocket

I haven’t run into a Sony Vaio P notebook here at CES in Las Vegas yet, but judging from Gizmodo’s hands-on report and photos, it’s going to be worth the effort to track it down for some hands-on time. The P is a 1.4-pound pocketable machine that has an 8-inch screen and runs Windows Vista, and while it’s far from the first attempt to cram Windows into such a tiny device–micro-Windows pioneer OQO debuted a new version of its system with an OLED screen today–I like its looks. The keyboard looks like it’s trying to reduce a standard notebook-sized design into a smaller space, which is appealing approach; most of the really, really li’l Windows machines I’ve seen have been undone by oddball keyboards. And the Vaio has a ThinkPad-style pointing nub, which makes sense on a gadget this small and eliminates the need to reserve real estate for a touchpad.

The Vaio P is due to ship in February and starts at $900, making it pricier than a netbook…but maybe a bit cheaper than you’d have guessed a gimzo like this from Sony would have been in years past.

OLPC Slashes Staff, Refocuses Mission

Just weeks after administering its “Give One, Get One” holiday season drive, the One Laptop Per Child (OLPC) foundation has cut its staff by 50 percent to downsize its operational costs. But the news is not entirely grim: OLPC has announced several new technology initiatives.

In a blog posting, founder Nicholas Negroponte explained that as a non profit, OLPC is bearing the brunt of the worldwide economic downturn. It has reduced its team down to 32 people, and the remaining personnel have reduced compensation. With luck the person that produced the foundation’s creepy John Lennon ad wasn’t spared the pink slip.

Negroponte reaffirmed the organization’s commitment to its mission of providing children in developing countries with laptops. To that end it will embark on several new technology initiatives. Those include:

1. Development of Generation 2.0 of the XO laptop
2. A no-cost connectivity program
3. A million digital books
4. Passing on the development of the Sugar Operating System to the community.
5. Creating a $0 laptop to be distributed in the least developed countries.

The foundation will also change its deployment strategy, targeting Afghanistan and Northwestern Pakistan, the Middle East, and sub-Saharan Africa. Further, it is restructuring its Latin America operations into a separate support unit.

500,000 children have already received laptops, according to OLPC. Computer literacy plays a role in economic development, and the foundation’s work should continue. Let’s all hope it rides out the downturn.

Halo Fanatics Rejoice! Two Titles Due in 2009

As part of the new “SteveNote,” Microsoft Entertainment and Devices Chief Robbie Bach announced that it plans to squeeze some more money out of what is arguably one of the top video game franchises — Halo. Two titles will be released during the year — Halo Wars and Halo ODST. The first is a strategy game, while ODST is a standalone expansion to Halo 3 (and was formerly named Halo 3: Recon). A few more details on these new titles can be found in this Seattle P-I blog entry.

Ballmer: Windows 7 Beta is Out

Steve Ballmer has made it official: the public beta of Windows 7 has begun. On Friday, the beta will be available worldwide at the Windows 7 web site, and at his keynote at CES Wednesday night he urged everybody to download it. TechNet, MSDN, and TechBeta customers will get access starting tonight. So if you’re lucky enough to have access to those, run — don’t walk — to Microsoft’s website before their servers crash under whats probably going to be a tidal wave of curious techies…

Is the World Ready For Sealed Notebook Batteries? Are You?

When Apple used yesterday’s Macworld Expo keynote to confirm rumors that the new 17-inch MacBook Pro would have a sealed battery, it laid the news on the audience gingerly. The keynote included a rather lengthy video in which Apple engineers discussed the new laptop’s sophisticated battery. In between sound bites on its impressive chemistry, long life, and green characteristics, they explained that battery compartments, doors, and latches take up a lot of room, and that you can put a bigger battery into a notebook if you just seal it in.

The new MacBook Pro is the second Apple notebook with a sealed battery (last year’s MacBook Air being the first). It also joins all iPods and the iPhone. It seems entirely possible that Apple will eventually sell no products with removable batteries, starting whenever it replaces the current 13- and 15-inch MacBook designs.

While Apple’s video didn’t explicitly confront the obvious objections to a notebook design with a battery that can’t be removed, its reasoning is obvious. The primary reasons you’d want to remove a laptop’s battery are to swap in a new one for longer cord-free productivity, and because batteries lose their ability to be fully recharged over time. The company says that the 17-inch MacBook Pro runs for an impressive “up to” 8 hours on a charge, and that it can be fully recharged 1000 times, versus a few hundred times for most laptops. Therefore, historic reservations about sealed batteries are no longer an issue. Right?

Well, maybe. I’m instinctively cautious about the idea of a battery I can’t remove. (I had toted a second one with me when I liveblogged yesterday’s keynote, just in case.) But Apple’s claims about the new battery leave me willing to at least consider the notion of a sealed notebook. (I want, of course, to read what kind of battery life folks other than Apple say the new MacBook Pro has–I’ve never owned any notebook from any manufacturer that consistently came anywhere near the promised “up to” amount of life.)

That’s just me. I’m curious whether Apple’s move will have any influence on the rest of the industry. Offhand, I know of no other company that sells sealed laptops. (HP sells optional batteries based on technology from Boston Power that also promises 1000 recharges, but they’re traditional replaceable models.) One suspects that most other manufacturers will be a lot more cautious–Apple is simply bolder about making seemingly sacrilegious design decisions that other computer companies. Often for good, sometimes for worse. And I’ll bet most IT department staffers within big companies would recoil at the idea of laptops with fixed batteries.

Of course, if the new 17-inch MacBook Pro is a smash hit, all bets are off, and we might see sealed designs catch on really quickly. For now, though, I’m still thinking that a meaningful percentage of people who might otherwise be enthusiastic about a 17-inch Mac notebook will be intimidated, at least, by Apple’s decision.

How about you?

Report: Microsoft Details Windows 7 Upgrade Program

According to TechARP.com, Microsoft has gone ahead and begun to offer details of its upgrade program for those who buy Vista machines before Windows 7 releases late this year to its partners. In some cases customers may be eligible for a free upgrade.

Those who purchase a Vista machine between July 1 and a yet to be determined date would be eligible for a free upgrade to Windows 7. Users of Vista Home Premium, Business, and Ultimate would be eligible for the program.

This particular program is aimed at individual consumers — multi-license purchasers would not qualify under this program. Microsoft said those customers should use the “appropriate” volume licensing program for their upgrade path (there’s no mention of a free/discounted upgrade offer for those folks as of yet).

Upgrade paths would go as follows:

• Vista Home Premium -> Windows 7 Home Premium
• Vista Business -> Windows 7 Professional
• Vista Ultimate -> Windows 7 Ultimate

Microsoft’s OEM partners would be shipped copies of the OS, and it would be their responsibility to ship them to the customer. However, customers would have to wait until Win 7 officially releases, obviously.

So how much can we trust Tech ARP? These folks do have a good track record: they have been able to nail down RTM dates in the past, including the release of Vista SP1. We shall see if they are right again.

Crayon Physics Deluxe: Drawing Up Something New

Endless possibility is not a notion easily conveyed in video games. Sandbox titles like Grand Theft Auto seem limitless at first, but that illusion disappears once you discover their boundaries. Perhaps that’s why the free-drawing puzzles of Crayon Physics Deluxe are so alluring.

A YouTube demo of the game boasts roughly 2 million views to date, but even without the Tablet PC and stylus seen in that presentation, Crayon Physics Deluxe feels like an exercise in freedom.

The premise is simple: lead a small, red ball — etched in crayon, as the title suggests — to a star that’s strategically placed elsewhere on the screen. This is accomplished with a crayon of your own, which you can use to stencil just about anything. Create a ramp and give the ball a nudge, and it’ll go rolling down. Expand on this by rendering a seesaw and drop a hand-drawn box on the other end to send your ball flying. By the end of the game, you’ll be etching pulleys, hammers, backboards and even vehicles.

Level selection is much like the semi-linear world maps of Super Mario Bros. 3, with branching paths that allow you to skip certain levels and come back to them later (and you can draw on them, as seen below). There’s no plot to tie the 80 challenges together, just a straightforward presentation of one level after the next. In a way, this is a fault, as it robs the Crayon Physics Deluxe of the personality you often see in indie games. Parents, however, might find an opportunity for imagination in the empty spaces, fitting perfectly with the game’s whimsical art and music.

Crayon Physics Deluxe masterfully achieves the illusion of having no limits. With the exception of an occasional tutorial level, it often seems that you could solve each puzzle in a handful of ways. In reality though, it’s hard to say, because you’re never really sure if the game’s designer, Petri Purho, anticipated the solution you chose.

For example, some puzzles I solved the elegant way. It was clear that my drawings were exactly what Purho intended, taking advantage of all the level’s obstacles and objects and reaching the star with pinpoint accuracy.

I also resorted to cruder solutions. Several times, I trapped the ball in a narrow corridor and drew platforms under it, causing them to clip with the bottom side of the ball and force it upwards. In another instance, out of frustration, I started scribbling over a big, clunky monster, only to see that I was actually moving it in the right direction.

By the end of the game, it seemed that I could bypass puzzles entirely by building my own walls and constructing pulleys and seesaws as I deemed fit. Because this rigid strategy worked wonders toward the game’s end, I felt that perhaps Crayon Physics Deluxe’s boundaries weren’t so limitless after all.

But I find it hard to believe that Purho didn’t anticipate this kind of trickery. There was, after all, a level that made pulleys nearly impossible, after I had relied on them for so long. At the same time, every solution that isn’t totally seamless feels like you’re gaming the system.

Still, Crayon Physics Deluxe fails to carry the illusion of freedom as far as it can go. If you’re having fantasies of drawing up massive Rube Goldberg devices, forget it. It’s extremely rare for a solution to require more than a couple steps, partly because each level is confined to the area of your screen. The rare levels that are more elaborate are so satisfying to complete that it makes you wish for more of them.

In any case, don’t let my musings on endless possibility give you the wrong impression; Crayon Physics Deluxe is a must-play. It’s the kind of game I get excited about, because the concept is just so much cooler than the stuff we see every day in gaming. That’s why the YouTube video was so popular, and it’s why you should grab your own stylus, mouse or trackball and try the game yourself.