Palm has let it be known that developers will now have early access to any future webOS updates so that they can maintain app compatibility in advance of OS updates that would have crippled apps in the past. This can be a huge headache for developers, costing them time and money. Other platforms already do this — take Apple, for instance. iPhone app developers get early access to software updates, before they reach the public, so that they can provide seamless compatibility for their customers. Kudos to Palm for getting this done!

source: pre central

Although we knew that games are in development for the Pre, it seems the webOS platform still has a long way to go until it is ready to support high-quality graphics and complex gameplay elements, such as the ones found in certain games for the iPhone (let alone the 3GS). The main reason for this, as iPhone dev Craig A. Hunter states, is the web-oriented environment provided by the current webOS SDK beta, which got available some days ago. Actually, the biggest problem is that as of now, developers do not have access to OpenGL, although the Pre supports it. In addition, the current 4 Hz sampling of raw accelerometer data seem to be pretty insufficient, compared to the required minimum of 20 Hz for accelerometer-controled apps.

Have no fear though, as PreCentral has got a Palm job listing unearthed, revealing that the company is seeking for a Game Frameworks Engineer that would help improve the platform’s gaming capabilities. With that said, we should also point out that Apple also didn’t have the breathtaking visual up and running right from the start.

source: here and here

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One of preDevCamp organizers, whurley, emailed me to help spread the word on this new community. Launched yesterday, preDevCamp is an organization where webOS developers will share ideas and help each other in order to make this operating system the best thing since sliced bread, once it launches.

http://predevcamp.org

         About

preDevCamp is an upcoming not-for-profit gathering to develop applications for Palm Pre using both the Mojo SDK and traditional web standards. The event is currently being planned in over 60 cities around the world.

Dates: 1 week after the US release of the Palm Pre
Venue: See individual city sites for venues and related updates.

Registration: A system has been put in place so that registrations are broken down by city. Please see your city to register.

The event inspired by BarCamp, SuperHappyDevHouse, and MacHack, and the original iPhoneDevCamp to develop applications (local and web based) for the Palm Pre using the Mojo development SDK.

Attendees will include mobile developers, web developers, UI designers, and testers, all working together over the weekend. Development projects will include both solo and team efforts. While some attendees will wish to work solo during the event, we encourage attendees to team up, based on expertise, to work in ad-hoc project development teams. All attendees should be prepared to work on a development project during the event.

Attendees will be able to:

* Create new applications for the Palm Pre.
* Migrate existing mobile and Linux based applications to the Palm Pre.
* Test and optimize applications for the Palm Pre.

The organizers of preDevCamp are @whurley, @giovanni, and @dancrumb.