Infoworld has a nice article about the differences between Apple and Palm’s hacker communities. Palm was able to post a polite request to not hack tethering for the Pre…and they responded in the way Palm needed/wanted.
The writer opines that “Palm’s hands-off approach may be a reaction to the frenzy and enthusiasm surrounding attempts to hack the original iPhone”. Perhaps, though probably not. This writer is thinking, in typical style, much too short-term. Consider, instead, Palm’s long history with the development community. In the pre-Pre, Treo days, Palm was good about letting anyone develop. And they did a good job in encouraging those relationships. It makes sense to me that this work, all those years ago, is now paying off in good-will.
This is a lesson that the business community needs to latch on to. Work on developing good relations NOW with your primary stakeholders. Then, when you need help, are challenged in some way, you have a bank of trust. When you only show “love” to a group when you want or need something, cynicism is the result (duh).
