webOS Archive

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webOS Archive

I restored Palm's webOS App Catalog, SDK and online help system

webosarchive.com

#webos#palm pre#app catalog#web archive#mobile os history

439points
140comments
#74of 2,570 in 2022
Top 3%of 2022 by points

How HN took it

LovedMost comments that take a side are positive

41 positive, 10 neutral or asking, 2 mixed, 2 critical, out of 55 comments about the project. Thread score +0.69.

Idea: 11 for, 0 againstDesign: 10 for, 0 againstPerformance: 2 for, 2 againstDocs: 1 for, 0 against

The thread, comment by comment

Each row is a top-level comment and its replies, in HN's order. Select a cell to open that comment on HN.

positive neutral or mixed critical about another commenter or something else the maker

What HN said

What people liked

  • Nostalgia and appreciation for webOS as ahead of its time

    From 4 comments
    • Is it crazy that I still think webOS is the best mobile OS of all time? The pre and pixi were just... underpowered
      myvoiceismypass on HN
    • Not crazy in my opinion. So many of the things webOS did back in like 2008 the iPhone just recently implemented. It was way ahead of its time. I really wish it was still around.
      zeroego on HN
    • We're getting close to 13 years since webOS launched and we still don't have anything that comes close to the UI functionality it offered.
      hajile on HN
    • A lot of what's in today's mobile OSes came from webOS. Cards for multi-tasking. The full-screen gestures introduced with the iPhone X basically came exactly from webOS. Samsung…
      codepoet80 on HN
  • Thanks for preserving apps and community history

    From 3 comments
    • This is amazing, thank you. Seems like several others, my actual development career began on WebOS. In high school, I was intrigued by the idea of a web-based, multitasking…
      andrewmunsell on HN
    • Incredible! I'm a big fan this type of archival work. Great job!
      codyogden on HN
    • Thank you! This means a lot to me. I collect Palm and Pocket PC handhelds, and remember how it seemed every independent developer had their own website with fun little creations…
      hyperdimension on HN

Objections

  • Some apps and content are missing from the catalog

    From 1 comment
    • This makes me so, so happy! I put so much work into WebOS apps, and your site lists five of them. Sadly it's missing a few, like "My WebOS Apps", the developer dashboard app I…
      shaneos on HN
  • Copyright and privacy concerns about scraped developer data

    From 1 comment
    • I sure would like to know where this came from. Because I'm fairly certain it has to be some internal database, or someone scraped it and there were fields HP was providing in…
      StillBored on HN

Requests

  • Add missing apps via source or IPK submissions

    From 2 comments
    • If you have the source or IPK anywhere for your missing apps, I'd love to add to the archive! Drop me a line at curator@<website listed in article>
      codepoet80 on HN
    • If you still have the IPK (or source code) I'd love to add to the Museum! I'll message you over on Twitter.
      codepoet80 on HN
  • Provide a webOS emulator or setup guidance

    From 2 comments
    • The Palm Pre was always a phone I lusted after but never got to actually use. Is there a good emulator or way to experience what WebOS used to be like?
      Milner08 on HN
    • Is there a webOS emulator out there for Android devices, to complete the circle?
      brundolf on HN

Questions

  • How the catalog data and IPKs were gathered

    From 3 comments
    • I sure would like to know where this came from. Because I'm fairly certain it has to be some internal database, or someone scraped it and there were fields HP was providing in…
      StillBored on HN
    • I see an old Sudoku game I wrote in here and it brings back some great memories but now I'm also scared to look at my old code now. O_O Curious how did you back all this up?
      jianshen on HN
    • This is great!! Last week I took out my old Pre 2 and Pixi to show my kids. It brought up great memories. I can’t wait to spend the weekend going through this. How did you find…
      freshrap6 on HN

Alternatives named

  • LuneOS open source webOS reimplementation

    From 1 comment
    • There are still many remnants of Palm in LG's TV OS -- but like many smart TVs, they're getting cluttered with ads. There's an open source re-implementation of mobile webOS using…
      codepoet80 on HN

Category, keywords, summaries and labels on this page were made by AI (Thread Reader v2) and not checked by hand. Each point links to the comments it came from.

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