A hands-on overview of the Access Linux Platform

The Access Linux Platform (ALP), the operating system slated to replace Palm's venerable Palm OS, was showcased at the recent LinuxWorld. It attracted the attention of developers and Linux enthusiasts alike, including Ryan Paul from Ars Technica, who managed to get his hands on the official SDK for a test drive. In a nutshell, the underlying core is built on the 2.6.14 Linux kernel with an open source middleware layer called Hiker. Native applications are built on GTK+, while at the same time supporting Java and an integrated Garnet emulator for legacy Palm applications. A widget framework based on the NetFront web browser caters to simpler applications that are based on HTML and JavaScript. In terms of what ALP offers users and developers, the verdict is that it falls somewhere between Google's Android and the OpenMoko project.

For more about the Access Linux Platform:
- check out the review from Ars Technica