Palm OS, an operating system for a number of mobile devices that preceded cell phones, is largely forgotten today. Or at least, that’s what [Aaron Ardiri] thought.
That all changed when he was contacted by a developer about some Palm OS software he had written decades ago. He soon realized that there was an entire community of enthusiasts enthusiastically exploring a platform that he had assumed was a forgotten layer in the layers of early mobile computing history.
This led [Aaron] to dust off and publish his substantial personal archive of development tools, source code, documentation and more, all related to his years of working with Palm OS in the early days of mobile computing.
When it comes to the importance of preserving computing history, we can’t put it any better than [Aaron] himself so we simply quote him here:
Preservation isn’t just about keeping old files. Source code, tools, and documentation provide a record of how engineers solved problems under the constraints of their time. They also preserve knowledge that is easily lost when companies disappear and platforms are discontinued.
In many ways, Palm OS devices like the PalmPilot have very little in common with modern mobile computing platforms. They have to do more with less, and development has reflected that. If you’re curious about what these devices were like, here’s a great tour that includes a browser-based emulator.