Fri Sep 12, 2008 7:53 am Message #81446
rudy_chow wrote:
> So what does this mean for DateBk6? I, for one, would hate to see development halt on that,
> at least not until some of the more requested-for features get implemented, i.e. nestled todos, etc.
Well we have to be realistic about where things are. Sales of Palm software are down anywhere from 70 to 90% over a decade ago talking to many Palm developers. Part of the problem is that the new Centro's are being sold to people who are often not even aware that third party software exists for the device. Some people have even suggested that Palm views third party software as just a bit of a pain since it increases their support load and are just as happy to see none of it installed.
DateBk6 is based on a code base that is now over a decade old and it's not practical to keep on patching and reworking a really old code base. Pimlical is an entirely new code based on a vastly better architecture for resolving all the kinds of issues that you are interested in. Ultimately, it should appear on Palm handhelds as well as many other handhelds and desktops - and that will benefit a much larger number of users. Much depends on what Palm does in 2009 with these new devices that have been promised for so long. If they never appear, or if they "bomb at the box office", that will probably be the end of Palm as anything other than a tiny niche player in the SmartPhone/PDA market.
I often remind people on this forum that power users account for less than 5% of Datebk users - they ARE a lot more important than that figure suggests because power users often influence a large number of other users, which is why I cater to this audience far in excess of what its numbers would otherwise indicate. But most of those power users are also moving on now to devices with fancier hardware and, while they may miss the apps they are used to, the truth is that BOTH hardware and software count in the decision making process.
Cheers!
CESD, Pimlico Software, Inc.