PalmOS
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| Also Known As: | Palm-chan, Garnet |
|---|---|
| First appearance: | Os-tan Collections |
| OS Personified: | Palm OS 5.x and prior |
| OS Developer: | Palm Inc., ACCESS |
| First Released: | circa 1996 |
| Latest Stable Release: | Garnet 5.4.9 - circa 2006 |
PalmOS is the operating system for the well-known brand of classic handheld Palm pilots (soon to be superceded by the ACCESS Palm/Linux hybrids). PalmOS 1.0 was released in 1996, 3 years after the release of the comparatively unsuccessful Apple Newton. The palm pilot dominated the handheld market for several years since, untitl the emergence of the PocketPC and increasingly evolved variants of the Windows CE mobile platform. The PocketPC not only stole market share, but essentially displaced PalmOS-equipped devices from the mainstream PDA market. Although aggressive marketing and development by Microsoft was a contributing factor, the demise of the PalmOS was also caused by Palm Inc's inability to sufficiently modernize its OS, as well as a refocus in its strategy from software to hardware vendor. Palm Inc. now solely produces PDA and smartphone devices, while a separate company called ACCESS now owns and develops PalmOS (now Garnet OS), as well as its successor.
There are currently only two renditions of PalmOS-tan known to OS-tan Collections. The most frequently drawn variant features her as a diminutive genie roughly the size of Windows CE, or as a arabian-themed fairy when her genie powers are not invoked. She has light brown eyes, short silver hair topped with a Windows ME-style cowlick, and wears both a hair veil as well as a jewel on her forehead bearing the older teal Palm logo. Her arabic-style green dress is encrusted with jewels featuring logos commonly found on Palm PDA shortcut buttons; similarly, her blue armbraces feature a planner and scientific calculator commonly found in older versions of PalmOS. Like with Windows CE, PalmOS-tan also carries around a stylus as a magic wand of sorts, although this magic stylus also serves the dual purpose of invoking her genie powers.
When summoned (consciously or accidentally) by a user picking up her stylus, PalmOS-tan takes over the hand of the summoner until he or she is granted three wishes. This is a parody of Midori Days where the main character Midori also magically takes over the hand of her loved one, and who coincidentally has also been proposed as a humorous mock-up for a Palm-tan. Despite the inconvenient loss of a working hand to the summoner, PalmOS-tan is actually quite resourceful, intelligent and cool-headed, and can use limited magic on her own to facilitate her host's daily tasks. Ironically, it's only when a wish is cast that she becomes lazy, lethargic, reckless, and incompetent -- a disparaging reference to the failure of Palm Inc to deliver on their promises for the long delayed PalmOS 6.0.
Of particular note is that Windows CE-tan and PalmOS-tan are mortal enemies, and will battle eachother on site regardless of whether Palm-tan is in her independent fairy form, or stuck to an unfortunate and unwilling host.