By Chris Scott Barr

It was pretty obvious from the start that Palm’s decision to make the Pre sync with iTunes was going to cause some issues. Well Apple pulled the plug by simply issuing an update that broke the feature, and Palm responded by complaining to the USB-IF. Not only did they reject Palm’s complaint, but found that the company had violated the USB-IF policies in trying to make their handset work with iTunes. You’d think that all of this would discourage them from trying anything further, right? Wrong.

The latest version of the WebOS software (1.2.1) “resolves an issue preventing media sync from working with latest version of iTunes (9.0.1).” To make things even better, you can now also sync pictures as well. If I owned a Pre, I would no doubt be happy to have this functionality. However, Palm is really pushing it. How about instead of focusing on making your phone work with the competition’s software, you make your own? That would be too much effort, no doubt. Your move Apple.

[ Palm ] VIA [ Mashable ]

By Chris Scott Barr

The battle between Palm and Apple over the Pre’s ability to sync with iTunes has been an interesting one. When it made its debut, the Pre was able to sync natively with Apple’s popular music application. However, the lastest versions of iTunes have since blocked this function. At this point Palm could either roll over and admit defeat, or find some way to force Apple to play nice with their phone. Can you guess which choice they made?

Not wanting to say “die,” the company went to the USB Implementers Forum (USB-IF) which owns the intellectual property of the Universal Serial Bus. They complained that Apple’s decision to block the Pre from using iTunes was violating the spirit of inter-connectivity that was the basis for USB. They even went so far as to describe the underhanded tactics they were forced to use in order to initially get the two to work together.

Unfortunately for Palm, the very tactics they used were in violation of the USB-IF’s policies. Essentially what they did was spoof the hardware ID on the Pre to make it show up as an Apple device. Needless to say, the group denied their claim, as Apple has every right to decide what devices can and cannot connect to iTunes. The real kicker is that now Palm is in hot water for spoofing the hardware ID. Methinks it would have been better to just let this one go, rather than pointing the finger.

[ USB-IF ] VIA [ EverythingUSB ]

By Chris Scott Barr

I think I must be in a programming mood or something, since this is my second post involving minor amounts of code. Anywho, if you’re one of those people who thinks their friends actually care where you are at any given time, then here’s a little something that you might be interested.

You’ll need SSH access and dynamic DNS on your Palm Pre (yes, this hack is for Pre owners only) for this to work. Then you’ll add a few lines of code into a new php file (along with a few other steps) and you’ll be automatically tweeting your location every hour (or whatever interval you choose).

Bear in mind, the simple act of using this hack will probably result in a loss of followers (and real-life friends if you have any). Why? Because not only are you constantly updating people with the pointless crap you do throughout the day (see example 1) now you’re sending out your exact location throughout the day. Trust me, if you actually want people to know where you are that bad, you’re not important enough for them to care.

[ PalmPreHacks ] VIA [ UberGizmo ]

Palm recently updated it’s operating system for the Pre to version 1.1. Most notable in the update is that it now re-enables syncing with iTunes 8.2.1. which had previously been deliberately broken by Apple. Pre owners are now able to transfer music, videos and photos directly from the popular software.

While it’s not immediately clear just what the changes consist of, it’s not a complete surprise that Palm was able to pull this off as many of its engineers used to work at Apple. It is believed they were familiar with iTunes hardware identification scheme so were able to once again fool the software into thinking the Pre is a native device.

The update also does a few other things and is available over the air.

VIA [ Electronista ]