The Register USA: Palm "Mulled Linux" For Next-Gen OS

"Palm Inc was considering Linux as the foundation of the next-generation PalmOS as recently as last spring, sources tell us. Palm eventually acquired Be Inc's development team last August, but internal discussions on the viability of a Linux-based handheld OS were taking place as recently as fifteen months ago. These were squashed by the lawyers, who concluded that Palm couldn't reconcile the GPL with the in house view of intellectual property.

"'Palm had a Not Invented Here syndrome in spades,' a former staffer tells us, and the company spent much of 2000 indecisiveness reigned over what should succeed PalmOS.

"Late in 1999 Palm and Symbian had agreed to base the next-generation PalmOS on Symbian's kernel, promising developers new APIs within months, but the discussions went nowhere. (Going open source doesn't necessarily compromise one's IP: as Mozilla demonstrates. And both Sharp and Samsung have marketed Linux-based PDAs/phones)..."

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