4 ms·

Palm's history is a convoluted mess. I use them as a case study when teaching my creativity course. I made an annotated diagram of their rise and fall to show m

by Daub 6y ago

Palm's history is a convoluted mess. I use them as a case study when teaching my creativity course. I made an annotated diagram of their rise and fall to show my students... https://www.dropbox.com/s/5fy6wczeh5sugeg/palm_timeline.png?dl=0 https://www.dropbox.com/s/5fy6wczeh5sugeg/palm_timeline.png?...

bayindirh 6y ago
That's a great summary and refresher, thank you.
zokier 6y ago
I feel HP TouchPad could have deserved the final point, being the last webOS device from the Palm lineage, and also gaining bit of a cult following after the firesale. It would make interesting case study in itself. > On August 18, 2011, 49 days after the TouchPad was launched in the United States, HP announced that it would discontinue all current devices running webOS. Remaining TouchPad stock received substantial price reductions, and quickly sold out
- madeofpalk 6y ago
  There were some really cool design/UI ideas in the works for webOS on tablets. Shame it never came to fruition https://www.theverge.com/2014/1/2/5264580/the-lost-secrets-of-webos https://www.theverge.com/2014/1/2/5264580/the-lost-secrets-o...
  - hajile 6y ago
    The mochi designs look like what iOS and Android started toward a half decade later. The designs exist on GitHub somewhere. I wonder if anyone has ever attempted to implement them as a front end design language?
  - Daub 6y ago
    As the article mistakes... Web OS was the classic example of a skunk works project. A very small amount of people working in near isolation, and answerable only to senior managers. To any company in trouble, and in need of innovation, this is the perfect strategy. Inevitable Wikipedia link... https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Skunk_Works https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Skunk_Works
- Daub 6y ago
  Yes I remember this. If I ever taught the course again I would add it. Perhaps also correct the typos :) Jeffrey Hawkins, the inventor of the palm, has a bit of a cult following almost designers. Far more respected that Johny ‘Dieter Rams’ Ives. His prototyping process was unique. (Now widely copied). Check out his wooden (!) Palm prototypes... https://www.computerhistory.org/revolution/mobile-computing/18/321/1648 https://www.computerhistory.org/revolution/mobile-computing/...
chasil 6y ago
The HP Touchpad Wiki links to this lengthy article on the history of WebOS under Palm, and it's fall under Leo Apotheker. https://www.theverge.com/2012/6/5/3062611/palm-webos-hp-inside-story-pre-postmortem https://www.theverge.com/2012/6/5/3062611/palm-webos-hp-insi...
- Daub 6y ago
  I think the rot set in the moment they partners with larger companies in order to make their products. Nowadays, with Kickstarter and cheap Chinese manufacturing, they could have gone it alone, and not have had to compromise on their vision.

by Daub 6y ago

bayindirh 6y ago

That's a great summary and refresher, thank you.

zokier 6y ago

I feel HP TouchPad could have deserved the final point, being the last webOS device from the Palm lineage, and also gaining bit of a cult following after the firesale. It would make interesting case study in itself. > On August 18, 2011, 49 days after the TouchPad was launched in the United States, HP announced that it would discontinue all current devices running webOS. Remaining TouchPad stock received substantial price reductions, and quickly sold out

madeofpalk 6y ago
There were some really cool design/UI ideas in the works for webOS on tablets. Shame it never came to fruition https://www.theverge.com/2014/1/2/5264580/the-lost-secrets-of-webos https://www.theverge.com/2014/1/2/5264580/the-lost-secrets-o...
- hajile 6y ago
  The mochi designs look like what iOS and Android started toward a half decade later. The designs exist on GitHub somewhere. I wonder if anyone has ever attempted to implement them as a front end design language?
- Daub 6y ago
  As the article mistakes... Web OS was the classic example of a skunk works project. A very small amount of people working in near isolation, and answerable only to senior managers. To any company in trouble, and in need of innovation, this is the perfect strategy. Inevitable Wikipedia link... https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Skunk_Works https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Skunk_Works
Daub 6y ago
Yes I remember this. If I ever taught the course again I would add it. Perhaps also correct the typos :) Jeffrey Hawkins, the inventor of the palm, has a bit of a cult following almost designers. Far more respected that Johny ‘Dieter Rams’ Ives. His prototyping process was unique. (Now widely copied). Check out his wooden (!) Palm prototypes... https://www.computerhistory.org/revolution/mobile-computing/18/321/1648 https://www.computerhistory.org/revolution/mobile-computing/...

chasil 6y ago

The HP Touchpad Wiki links to this lengthy article on the history of WebOS under Palm, and it's fall under Leo Apotheker. https://www.theverge.com/2012/6/5/3062611/palm-webos-hp-inside-story-pre-postmortem https://www.theverge.com/2012/6/5/3062611/palm-webos-hp-insi...

Daub 6y ago
I think the rot set in the moment they partners with larger companies in order to make their products. Nowadays, with Kickstarter and cheap Chinese manufacturing, they could have gone it alone, and not have had to compromise on their vision.