The Internet Archive now offers a PalmPilot emulator to immerse yourself in the past

The Palm OS emulator is now at the Internet Archive. A great opportunity to (re)discover this device, the ancestor of our smartphones.

Fifteen years after the release of the first iPhone, it’s easy to see the impact of innovators like Palm on the democratization of smartphones. By the time HP unceremoniously closed the company in 2011, Palm had been battling for years to take its place among the already dominant Apple and Google. But ask anyone who was lucky enough to have a Palm personal assistant in the late 1990s or early 2000s and they will tell you how much they thought about this device and its software that made the vision possible for a business. And today it’s easier than ever to find out what made Palm OS so special.

Palm OS emulator now at the Internet Archive

Indeed, archivist Jason Scott has uploaded a database of Palm OS applications to the Internet Archive. In total, there are about 560 programs that need to be (re)opened, including the games DopeWars and SpaceTrader. And even if you don’t have Palm nostalgia, if you have a few minutes or hours ahead of you, you can see how much has changed since Palm OS was the dominant player in the market.

For example, there is an entire section dedicated to shareware. I wonder how the developers found it appropriate to pay for the software. Do you want to use the full version of StockCalc? The $15 was to be mailed to DDT Investments in Plaistow, New Hampshire.

A great opportunity to (re)discover this device, the ancestor of our smartphones.

In an interview with The Verge, Jason Scott stated that it took him about six months to get the CloudpilotEmu emulator to work with the Internet Archive. And there’s still work to be done. Some applications, for example, do not have their own description and their own metadata. Jason Scott also hopes to be able to write detailed instructions for each program. In any case, with the exception of buying an old Palm on eBay, this is the best way to experience this device like no other, because Cloudpilot allows you to navigate the entire Palm OS. You can even run the database from your phone, and Palm Graffiti’s handwriting recognition system is fully supported.

If you want to help Jason Scott, you can contact him on Twitter or Discord.

Hey, so don’t tell anyone, but I’m announcing PalmPilot emulation on the Internet Archive for the holidays, probably next week. All currently working elements need descriptions, so it’s not quite ready yet. Don’t tell anyone, okay? https://t.co/ye9z4iTPsx pic.twitter.com/0SNRVJw0Kp

— Jason Scott (@textfiles) November 24, 2022