30/06/2004 Interview with Jude Nelson- Palm OS Software Developer.
Hi Jude. Can you tell us a little bit about yourself and why you release 'free' Palm programs (which are easily good enough to sell:))
I am 16 years old, and I have been developing software since I was 12, primarily for Texas Instrument graphing calculators. Six months ago, I switched over to Palm OS. I release free Palm OS programs because people are in general happier about my software without a price tag (they tend to see the better parts of my programs and not be bothered as much by any parts of my programs that they find distasteful). Also, I release free software because I sympathize with the end-users (being one myself) in not being able to find decent games for their PDAs without a cost.
What was the first Palm game you made and which one are you most proud of?
The first Palm OS game I made was C-ROID. However, I am most proud of Pocket Pinball, because it is the only freeware pinball game for the Palm OS that I know of (and it gives the end-user the at least some semblence of the game without the money), and it is the program on which I spent the most time (in hours of coding).
What PDA do you use and why?
I use three PDAs for development (although I only own one). I use my Sony CLIE PEG-NX80V for developing my software (one of the few PDAs with a built-in thumb-board, which makes writing code much easier), and I use my brother's Sony CLIE PEG-SJ20 and my mother's Palm m505 for testing my software for cross-compatability.
What is your favourite Palm game by another developer and why?
My favorite game for Palm OS which I did not create is most definitely Warfare Incorporated, because it reminds me of my favorite PC game, StarCraft. Also, since you mentioned a comparison between my software and NI Palm Packs, I must admit that I also enjoy Naoki Ito's freeware games as well, as querky as some of them may seem to be :)
Are you able to tell us of your future Palm game developing plans?
I can tell you only the near future, because I code for the moment and do not make many long-term plans :). I'm currently working on a small 3D engine (no texturing--too slow :( ), which I plan to release as open-source. Also, I'm developing a table editor for Pocket Pinball, which will allow end-users, with a bit of practice, to produce their own pinball tables, so that the game will never be boring :). There are a few projects here and there that I started, but am not sure that I will finish, so I won't mention them here.
How long did Mars take from start to finish to make?
Mars was developed in my spare time, which was spread out over three and a half months. The game would have been released sooner, but I lost all of the graphic files in testing the 3D engine I mentioned earlier. Reconstructing those took some extra time. Also, I delayed releasing it because for a while it was too slow to run on anything but an OS5 device. Fortunately, this has been fixed :)
What's the best book you have ever read (can't all be PDA related questions:))
That would have to be "A Brief History of Time," by Stephen Hawking. I enjoy non-fiction literature.
What are you favourite 5 web sites (can be PDA or non-PDA related)
My favorite website is www.ticalc.org. I also like www.palmgear.com and www.freewarepalm.com, because their respective owners allow me to upload my games to their sites. Although I don't visit it often, I like www.technoplaza.net because of their C tutorial which I studied over a year ago. www.pda247.com, which I just found out about today, will probably also become one of my favorite sites.
What one feature would you like to see in a future PDA?
I think that there should be more PDAs with built-in hardware thumb-boards or mini keyboards. For me, using a small keyboard with my thumbs is much faster than Decuma or Graffiti 2, and you don't even need to get out the stylus!
Anything you would like to add?
For a while now some start-up companies, as well as global corporations, have been talking about creating true handheld PCs, complete with Windows XP and miniature PC periferals to accompany it (i.e. printers, mice, etc.). Personally, I must say that regardless of how exciting this may seem, using these machines will not be worth the money. I believe that PC-oriented operating systems don't belong in handhelds, simply because they were not designed to be portable in the first place. The reason I have a Palm OS device and not a Pocket PC is because Windows CE, although more portable and faster than the latest PC operating system, was and still is a pain to use. It's GUI is more suited for a desktop machine, not for a handheld. Already, Sony has stopped their CLIE line in favor of such a device, and frankly I'm very disappointed in their decision. Why would anyone who had a choice in their handheld choose Windows over Palm OS? Windows XP, regardless on what hardware it runs on, still loads at the pace of a PC, and responds, comparatively speaking, sluggishly, too sluggishly for it to be effectively used, except as an overpriced paperweight. Speed and memory are everything in a handheld, and there is no point in trading both for an operating system that wasn't even designed to leave a desk. In short, a full Windows (or Mac, for that matter) operating system was never meant to be portable, so why bother?
A brilliant interview from a brilliant developer. I for one am very much looking forward to Jude's future works and you can check out his current products here.