So the number of apps in the App Catalog at the time of this writing is 125. Unfortunately, if you’re like us, the most you’ve been able to install before receiving that pesky message is between 25 and 35. So far there have been many a hackers that have tried to fix this problem, but to be honest, most of them suck (meaning they don’t work).
So you might be wondering why you have 5.7GB of free space on your Pre and yet you cannot install another app. Surely apps are not that big, they just take up a few kilobytes of space. Well you’re right, it has nothing to do with your device memory but rather with what Palm has implemented on the device as a safety precaution which has turned out into a headache for everyone.
Basically Palm has built webOS to install apps in a hidden partition, thus the location doesn’t show up during USB mode. The reason the partition is hidden is to prevent users from being able to illegally copy apps from one device to another. However this is not the major problem. The problem resides in the fact that the partition is a set size and is not dynamic, meaning once all the allocated space is filled up, you will not be able to increase the size. So you either live with the apps you have or delete old ones and download new ones.
There are more then a few ways to fix this problem, most of them involving messing getting dirty with webOS Linux code. We’re not gonna go into full details here, but if you want you can check PreCentral for some solutions.
But what we really need is an official fix from the guys at Palm that will deal with this issue. Seeing that the App Catalog has taken off full steam ahead it is about time that they loosen up memory so we can start enjoying what webOS was really built for…apps.
So far many have not seen the use for that little pearl button on the Pre. Personally I admire it but as it stands, it doesn’t do anything, not even blink when I get a notification such as a new voicemail, text message or IM. Well thanks to this hack that can be changed.
Just be prepared to do some real serious hacking to get this to work as it involves messing with core files. So far we’re hearing its super easy (although neither of us here at Palm Arena have tried the hack on our Pre’s), but you’re welcome to try it. Check out the full details at the link below.
It’s not like this is a surprise since every major smartphone OS has the feature, but just for the record, Palm has updated the privacy policy of their App Catalog and it now includes that dreaded “kill switch.” Basically the update says the following:
“Palm reserves the right, at its sole discretion and at any time, to add, remove, disable access to, block, or modify the App Catalog, and to add, remove, disable access to, block, or modify remotely any Applications previously downloaded to your device from the App Catalog.”
From a legal standpoint this is a wise move, just in case Palm misses an app that contains malicious code that could compromise the privacy of those who install it, they could remotely disable the app.
The silver lining of this is Palm notes that the “kill switch” will work for apps download VIA the App Catalog. Thus we can conclude that Palm has no intentions of moderating the homebrew or hacking world of webOS.
I’ll be honest with you, the Pre’s IM client sucks balls. Big time, I’m like who the hell uses AIM and Google talk (other then my girlfriend and an annoying friend). Most of my contacts reside between Yahoo and more so Live Messenger. At any rate you might remember that a few weeks ago when the Pixi was officially announced we were told Yahoo Messenger would be making its way to webOS.
Well we’re also hearing from the homebrew community that getting the other major IM clients such as Live Messenger, ICQ and others won’t be that hard dew to an opensource library in the Linux code called libpurple. Its all pretty technical stuff, but one guy(Greg Roll) from down under has managed to port said IM clients to webOS, albeit with a few glitches. While its still in baby stages this is very promising because it means in a very short time, myself and countless others will have our Windows Live and ICQ contacts on the Pre. Check out the READ link below for more details.
We’ve been wanting video recording on our Pre since day one, especially seeing how the iPhone got it back in June. Unfortunately Palm is either not interested or busy making bringing their App Catalog out of beta. That said, there have been discussion for quite sometime seeing if the feature could be hacked.
Well just today we’re getting this video from a person who has appearantly done the impossible and hacked the Pre to record video. Check out the video below. So far the resolution is only 320×480 at 30fps but we’re hearing the Pre can support up to 720×480 at 30fps. Want the full details? Check them out at the link below.
We all know how annoying it is to have to slide out that QWERTY keyboard to enter a few lines of text, and although the physical keyboard is a lot better then that of one particular phone, it would be awesome to have an onscreen option for those times when you only need to input a few words.
Well it seems like the dreams of having an onscreen keyboard are closer then ever as the boys over at webOS Internals have put together an alpha build such a software mod that would allow a QWERTY keyboard in both portrait and landscape mode.
Check out all the details HERE. And hopefully this will become available in the near future.
Install Homebrew apps VIA Desktop application for Mac and Windows
We know Palm is dragging their feet in getting those loooong awaited apps to the app store. But in the meantime, the Pre community has beenbusy creating apps of their own that can be installed on the Pre without the need to root the device. But doing the action has gotten a whole lot easier thanks to Jason Robitaille of the PreCentral Forums who has created a desktop app that carries out the process in a few quick steps and is aptly named webOS Quick Install.
All is required is for you to put the device into developer mode and then follow the steps. And as stated in in the title of this post, it runs on both the Mac® and Windows® OS. So no excuses. In any case we say, do it at your own risk. Check out the link below for the full details.
Its not like we are 100% surprised that this has happened since it has been done on multiple other devices. But anyways its refreshing to see that Sprint is not the only one who can run a Palm Pre (as much as we like Sprint’s and Palm’s romance).
That said, clenser from the PreCentral forums has actually hacked the Pre and has it running on the Pre. Check out HERE for the details and below is the video proof.
While the webOS update 1.0.4 did fix some vulnerabilities, it did lock up the loop hole that allowed dedicated Pre fans to install homebrew apps without rooting their Pre. Well the hack is back and you can thank the Pre gods that you won’t need to learn all that nasty coding that some of us actually have to do. So head over to the read link for the full details on what type of homebrew apps are currently available and check out the other link for the full instructions. Hope it works out for you, and as usual we say hack at your own risk. We will not be held responsible for your n00bishness.
Want to have all the dirty tricks so you can use your Pre as a pro? Well check out the download below for a PDF chuck full of over 200 Pre gestures, tips and tricks. And if you like it share it, with your friends.
