The following is a brief review of the Zumodrive cloud file storage/sync app for the Palm Pre smart phone. Background: Zumodrive is a cross-platform cloud-based file storage, synchronization and sharing service which provides up to 2GB of free file hosting and a tiered subscription model for larger volumes of file storage. Zumodrive may be accessed through the Web browser but also  has client apps for Windows, Linux, Mac OS X, iPhone, WebOS (Palm Pre and Pixi) and Android. Once you install the client software in Windows, Linux, or Mac OS X, Zumodrive will appear as a drive in your desktop file explorer. You can then drag and drop or save files into it. These files will appear in your online Zumodrive and any other computer with the client software installed. If you edit those files, for example a Word document or Excel spreadsheet, those changes will cascade through all the instances of your Zumodrive so that you always have the most up-to-date file version. Zumodrive also keeps version history so that you can revert to a previous file version. It also has a built-in Trash folder, so in case you accidentally delete a file you can recover it.

The desktop Zumodrive client software also allows folder linking. This useful feature lets you select a folder on your computer, for example Documents, and link it to your Zumodrive. From that point onward, all changes which occur in the linked folder will also cascade through your Zumodrive and into any other computers attached to your Zumodrive. It all happens in the background without requiring you to think about it. You can also share files and folders publicly or privately with edit or read-only privileges.

I recently installed the Zumodrive client app on my Palm Pre. Cloud-based file storage is a natural fit for this always-on, Web-connected device. There are several reasons why you would want to connect your smart phone to a cloud-based virtual disk. Hand-held devices are easy to damage or lose, so having your files hosted off-device is a good form of insurance. Hand-held devices also have limited storage capacity. My Pre has just under 8GB of available memory. Zumodrive can expand that memory dramatically, while also making the same files available to any number of other connected devices.

However, the Palm Pre client app currently has some significant limitations as compared to the desktop software. The Pre client is read-only; you can't upload or edit files with it. This limitation is unfortunate because it would really be nice to be able to take a photo or video with the Pre and then save it into the Zumodrive. It would be nice to be able to record a voice memo and save it to the Zumodrive. Perhaps a future iteration will include this functionality. If you use the app you should by all means request support for any features you would like to see.

As a read-only app, Zumodrive for Palm Pre works well. Music files play through the Pre's streaming media player. Photos are displayed in thumbnail grids or individually. A finger swipe will advance to the next photo in the folder. Major document formats such as PDF or .doc are handed over to the respective viewing apps on the Pre. These are all useful features, but one is left wishing for more. I certainly hope to see more features as time goes on.

Cloud file storage is both a competitive and rapidly developing market. Zumodrive is a decent offering which supports a lot of OS platforms and appears intent on delivering continuous service improvement. They will definitely need to deliver value if they want to survive the competition and consolidation in this market. I give the free service high marks, but the subscription pricing is higher than some competitors and the service lacks features such as in-browser document editing which are offered by competitors. Zumodrive is worth a try, but if you don't like it then you should look at other offerings for the sake of comparison. No one service is perfect, so it comes down to a matter of personal preference. In my case, I will need to see the subscription pricing go down substantially before I commit to Zumodrive. But I admit that I would say the same thing about most of the other cloud storage vendors as well!

If you don't know about LastPass, you are in for a treat. LastPass is a Web-based password management system which allows you to securely synchronize your passwords, form-filling info, and notes across computers and Web browsers. 

LastPass can be used as an add-on to Firefox (install through Tools>Add-ons), IE or Safari. When used with these browsers, it can save and auto-fill your login credentials on secure web sites. It can also generate random, alphanumeric strong passwords so that you don't re-use the same passwords over and over. One of the best security practices is to use a unique strong password for every login. However, in practice that can become a real burden to manage. LastPass solves that problem.

Now there is a beta version of LastPass for the Palm Pre. It will synchronize all your LastPass data to your Pre. But in contrast to other apps I have tried, LastPass will actually take you to the login page when you select a login. It does not yet have the ability to auto-fill, however it will allow you to copy your user name and password to the clipboard so you can paste it into the appropriate field. This is a very handy feature.

Keep in mind, this is a beta build, which means there could be bugs. In my testing, it works well enough to be useful. I already use LastPass for Firefox, so having hundreds of unique logins available in my Pre is a definite time-saver. There are apps for the other major smartphone platforms too, so even if you don't have the Pre, you should have a look at LastPass.

Hit the link below to download the .ipk file for the Pre. You will need a homebrew installer such as WebOSQuickInstall to install it. Check out my earlier post for more info about that procedure.

 LastPass - User Manual

Palm Pre owners can now enjoy 1st-person shooter Quake. Version 1.2.0 brings enhanced on-screen controls to supplement the rather clumsy hardware keyboard controls. This game is pretty entertaining, and the graphics are not bad. You can install Quake using Preware or WebOSQuickInstall. WebOS has the potential to be a pretty solid gaming platform... Especially if Palm were to release a device with some gaming-oriented hardware buttons on it.

-- Sent from my Palm Pre

       

Click here to download:

Quake_1.2.0_for_Palm_Pre_tagsP.zip (743 KB)

As great as the Palm Pre out-of-box functionality is, there is still considerable room for improvement. I have written previously about Preware, an advanced Over-the-Air installer which lets you choose from hundreds of homebrew apps for the Palm Pre. However, until recently there was no easy way to address the functional shortcomings of the Pre's built-in apps. That has now changed with the arrival of the Patches feed. The Patches feed provides dozens of useful modifications for the native Pre apps. To enable Patches, you must first install the latest update to the Package Manager Service. Then you will see the Patches feed next time you run Preware.

Some of the many useful Patches include: landscape Email rotation, landscape PDF viewer rotation, adding the date next to the time display, ability to forward text messages, ability to download files from links in the Web browser, change default Calendar view, and many more. Click on the thumbnails to view screen shots.

I've talked before about the 3rd-party Web comment aggregation service Disqus and how I like the way it implements the concept of a Web identity. However, the newest version, Disqus 3, has broken compatibility with the Palm Pre. I can log in, but the comment "submit" button doesn't work. This is really too bad, as my Pre is often the primary way I access some of my favorite Web sites like Mashable, which features Disqus 3. Now I'm locked out from participating in the discussion, and that frustrates me. Furthermore, more and more websites are upgrading to Disqus 3 every day.

Now, I realize that Palm Pre users are a small segment of the Web audience. But I think that we are more likely than the average Web user to actually engage in dialog on Web sites that we visit. Now our voice is being silenced, and I am uncomfortable with that. It marginalizes us at a time when adoption is critical for the success of the WebOS platform.

If you are a Palm Pre user like me, I urge you to sign into Posterous with your Twitter account, then comment below. Each comment will be tweeted, providing some measure of feedback to Disqus. Thanks!

I have been using the Palm Pre since July 4th. Out-of-the-box functionality was terrific, especially the integration between Google/Google Apps Contacts and Facebook Contacts. Additionally, I have installed many 3rd-party apps, both homebrew and from the official App Catalog. I can do a lot of stuff with my Pre that used to require a desktop or laptop computer.

Yesterday, I installed the Terminal homebrew app. For those who don't know, the Palm Pre WebOS runs on top of a Linux kernel. Terminal allows you to access the Linux command line. This allows you to login as root (analogous to Administrator in Windows terminology) and from there, you can download and install various packages (programs) from Linux repositories. WebOs Internals even has a tutorial which explains how to install Debian Linux (basically a full-blown desktop OS) on your Pre. This leads to some interesting possibilities.

My first computer was a hand-me-down Gateway running Windows95 on 128MB of RAM. I believe it had a 2GB hard disk. It had a huge, heavy tower and CRT monitor. That computer opened up a whole new world of information for me. The Palm Pre has 256MB of RAM, a faster processor, and 8GB of flash disk memory. The Pre fits in my pocket. It is in fact a more powerful computer than my old Gateway.

My first brand-new computer was a Dell Inspiron 600m running WindowsXP Pro on 512MB of RAM with a 60GB hard disk. This laptop was compact and light enough to transport, but mostly I kept it in my home office. It was just too much hassle to drag around, especially when you factor in the absurdly large power brick, cables and other accessories. Not to mention trying to find and use a printer when away from home!

My current "primary PC" is the Fujitsu Lifebook U810. It's a tiny, convertible netbook with tablet functionality. It's about the size of a paperback book. It runs Vista Pro on 1GB of RAM with a 40 GB hard disk. Initially, I thought that this device would prove to be the ideal portable computer. I was wrong.

First, there's the issue of battery life. It won't last all day on a single charge. The power brick is absurdly cumbersome in comparison to the size of the device, rather negating the advantage of portability. Second, the keyboard is so small as to be less than fully functional. It works, but not well. Third, the tablet functionality just doesn't cut the mustard and the included stylus is pathetically useless. Fourth, the high-resolution screen, while sharp and brilliant, is too small to be easily usable. Everything displays well, but it's just so tiny that the eyestrain is intense. Fifth, it only has one USB port. Finally, the processor is simply underpowered for Vista. It's very. Very. Slow.

The Fujitsu does have a cradle, which provides you with several more USB ports. Guess what? My ultraportable Fujistsu U810 stays in the cradle. All the time. I use a 22" external monitor and a Microsoft Comfort Curve keyboard to make the thing usable. It is, in effect, a very underpowered desktop computer. Ideal? Hell no, but I paid for it and now I will use it until it is fully depreciated (or until the disk fills up, which will probably happen sooner).

The Palm Pre, by contrast, goes with me wherever I go. With a 2600mAh extended battery from Seidio, it lasts all day on one charge. I can do most of my routine computing tasks with it. As time goes on, I expect even more functionality to become available. However, there are some hindrances. Similarly to the Fujitsu U810, the Pre's tiny keyboard is only useful for short tweets or emails. The Pre's tiny screen limits the amount of information I can view.

Now take another look at my Fujitsu in its cradle above. Big external monitor. Large external keyboard. Charging cable plugged in. Extra ports. See where I'm going with this?

The Pre (and all other phones) should have this capability too. Then you could run, say, the Linux version of Firefox while connected to the cradle. Would that be cool? I think it would!

Imagine if the Palm Pre Touchstone inductive charger also had extra USB ports and an HDMI display port. Would that be cool? I think it would!

Imagine now, if instead of public kiosk computers with crippled functionality, we had large displays with keyboards, docking stations and inductive charging for our phones. You could peer the display with the phone over bluetooth or wifi. Use the phone's touchscreen as a mousepad. Would that be cool? I think it would!

If the interface were standardized across platforms, everyone would benefit. Laptops would be obsolete. You could spend more money on a really nice display which would last over the lifetime of many individual devices. If you like this idea, please comment below.

Today I have discovered a very exciting homebrew app for the Palm Pre - in fact, I think this one is the most significant I have yet found. It's called Preware and it was developed by the WebOS Internals group. Preware is an OTA app installer and manager, but that's not all. The really exciting thing is that Preware can install advanced homebrew apps, like the on screen keyboard and the File Manager Service, which previously required complicated rooting procedures.

Additionally, Preware also lists apps from multiple repositories! And you can even add new repositories! How cool is that? But wait, there's more. Preware also checks all your installed apps and lets you know (with a little green arrow icon) which ones have available updates. Now you don't have to waste time going to each app's home page to see if there's a new version out. Sweet!

Preware must initially be installed using WebOS Quick Install. Follow the directions on the page linked below. It's really a very simple and easy install procedure. (Tip: why not copy WebOS Quick Install into your Pre using Drive Mode. Then you will have a copy with you to place on any computer wherever you go.)

Application:Preware

 

 

Recently there has been a lot of buzz about several iPhone apps that include support for Posterous. Well, Palm Pre users can now join the party with the arrival of Spaz v0.5.10. Spaz is a Twitter (also identi.ca, Laconi.ca and custom microblog platforms) client with support for photo hosting on Posterous.

You can download Spaz for free using the Pre's built-in App Catalog. At some future version point Spaz may become a paid app but will probably only cost about $2.

Spaz is an Open Source app, which I appreciate. Also, the support of other microblog services is a nice touch for those who are leery of the infamous Twitter Fail Whale.

If Spaz ever adds background polling for @mentions and DMs, I will probably switch from Tweed which is my current favorite Twitter client for the Pre.