Palm Pre Challenge: Twinterview with Jason Robitaille

There is a developer in the Palm community that is held in such a high regard that people wonder why he hasn’t been hired by Palm yet. His passion for developing patches and homebrew apps for the community without so much as a request for direct compensation has set him on a level with the elite developers that influence us all on a daily basis. I think we would be hard pressed to find someone who does not agree with the statement, “Jason Robitaille is a leader in the Palm developer community.”

Fortunately for us, Jason was able to take an hour out of his busy schedule to answer a few questions in a recent Twinterview. Below are the questions that I asked him (and a few from you, too) and the great answers he gave us in return. If you’re interested in learning more about what Jason does, follow him @JayCanuck or find him in the forums at PreCentral.net

This interview has been sponsored by TweetMe Twitter client for webOS. TweetMe is a premier Twitter client that takes the average webOS user experience to a whole new level. Beautiful graphics, solid user interface and layout and many great features to help be more social, this is one app that you absolutely need to check out. Click the banner for more info.

Jason, can you share some of the apps you’ve developed?

I’ve developed a wide range of software used my many. A lot were done for the end users who want deeper control of their devices, like WebOS Quick Install, Internalz, LED Torch, etc. And a lot were done as developer tools, like WebOS Theme Builder, Unified Diff Creator. Oh, and I can’t forget the several dozens of patches currently in the ipk feed. last I check I had created just over 50 patches.

Yea, you keep pretty busy it seems. But almost all of your work is on the totally free homebrew front, isn’t it?

Actually, all of my work current in the public is freeware homebrew. Some open source some closed, but all free. I hope to enter both the realm of paid apps and App Catalog apps in the near future though.

Pardon my being frank, but doesn’t that seem backwards? Why choose to build free apps and patches before getting into the App Catalog?

For one, I’m Canadian, so I’d need an American tax ID to sell software on the App Catalog. And a lot of my stuff, like Internalz, is simply not possible given the current webOS SDK, though hopefully that change soon. Plus I love giving back to the community who gave me so much support during the early days of WebOS Quick Install, back almost a year ago.

Well, we definitely appreciate all of your hard work. You’ve been working on webOS for at least a year — how did you get started?

It’s funny, back before the big CES debut of webOS and the Pre, I was on the verge of going to the iPhone (from my TX). Then CES came and I was blown away by the amazing work Palm had done. It was exactly what I was looking for!

Luckily, I got into the Early Access Program, and was able to familiarize myself with the OS before the device was released, which helped, as I have virually no Linux experience prior to the webOS.

What was (is) the most challenging thing about developing for webOS?

Hmm, bug testing/debugging is always one of the more difficult/annoying things to do, thankfully Palm’s Dev Relations team have been absolutely amazing and very communicative with devs on the many issues developers may encounter. If any are reading this, luv u all.

One follower asked this question: What helped you learn so much about webOS? How can a new developer get started with an app?

Well, I taught myself a lot thanks to Google searches on Linux commands and I highly recommend www.w3schools.com for HTML/CSS/JavaScript.

I also highly recommend new developers to look at the sample code Palm includes with the SDK, they can be a lifesaver and inspiration.

What projects are you working on right now?

Oh, wow, there’re lots of active projects. Easy SSH setup for wireless WOSQI (webOS Quick Install), full local backup app, Internalz 1.1 with “master mode”, a dropbox app, zip/rar app, comic book reader, Tim Hortons tracker, as well as updates to existing apps as future patches. I’m sure there’s other in-development projects I’m working on that I’m forgetting, but suffice to say there’s lots in the works :)

I’ve heard talk of you developing a patch for LED notifications in TweetMe – any word on how that’s coming along?

Heh, yea that’s coming along well, got a bit derailed lately by my social life, but back on track and that, plus other TweetMe patches  are in the works. I gotta say, I absolutely love TweetMe and deeply appreciate when app developers embrace the homebrew community, like TweetMe’s developer has.

A few people are wondering — with all of the work you do on webOS, has your ‘hobby’ been taking over your other work and social life?

I’d be lying if I said it hasn’t had an impact. Though in the end, it’s definitely been a positive one. In the beginning it was bad, spending way too much time coding, answering support emails, etc., but after a while I was able to adjust to the flow of things.

And as for “real work”, I’m currently a full-time student at the University of Manitoba and aren’t really employed in a regular job. But the way I see it, I’ve talked to, and learned things I never wouldn’t learned at a normal job. Two more years till I graduate, then things will probably change, heh.

Now, just to clarify (cause I know there’s been some confusion). You are not a part of WebOSInternals, right?

Nope, I’m certainly friends with WebOS Internals and our works have crossed similar subject areas, but we’re two separate entities.

What do you think are the most important changes/additions that Palm needs to make in order for webOS to take off?

Two fronts need to be approached: The hardware needs to be updated to state of the art. And the software needs updates with more APIs. Oh, and the third party PDK apps need to go fully live on the App Catalog. Thankfully, we already know all those software improvements are in the announced pipeline from Palm. Now we just need kickass hardware HP could provide.

Follower question: Is your Pre Overclocked? Do you recommend it to others?

My Pre is “overclocked” to 600MHz only. I’ve tried 720 and 800MHz, and recommend people try them and decide for themselves if they don’t mind the associated risks. Me, I need my Pre to last as long as it can, for current and future testing purposes. Unlike the average webOS user, I don’t follow the 12 month product cycle and need mine to last for testing :)

No development Pre? Also, how do you keep yourself organized with so many projects going on?

Actually, only a development device. The Pre/Pixi still aren’t sold in my province (Bell doesn’t sell to all provinces). It’s a no-contract donated device, and as such has no warranty, heh. And project organization, that can be difficult.

Project priority generally depends upon where user interest lies, as user-donations currently fund my development. Though sometime I just work on what I’m personally wanting to use with the webOS, as was the case with Internalz, heh.

Last question: If Palm was to offer you a job, would you take it? :D

In a heartbeat, I love Palm & webOS and have spent the last year helping where I could. If they offered a job, any job, I’d take it.  In the meantime, I’ll continue doing what I do.