Sort it out, Palm 

I read today that there is an Eclipse plugin to develop Palm Pilot software. Having just reinstalled Eclipse on my Linux box, I thought it'd be pretty cool to have a Palm library on there.

I want to code some software for my Palm TX. There is an enormous lack of usable introductions, downloads or anything else. I've just joined some very corporate looking website called 'Access' in the hope that it'll offer me the option of downloading an Eclipse plugin to code Palm Pilot software. No such luck.

How exactly do these goons expect anyone to innovate when it's taken me three hours to figure out how to get hold of the developer kit?

Then I log in, and it tells me that to get the developer kit I need to log in. Duh huh. Perhaps I'm using a different definition of the phrase 'log in' - one that has more to do with entering a username and password in to a login form than, oh, calling upon the Cellular Phone Genie to come down and bless my path in to the website.

Now I go to Palm.com/us/developers and it's advertising something called the "PluggedIn program", which is totally different from the Access company stuff. And then there's something about Windows Mobile. And if I click on the "palm os program", it takes me to the Access website which doesn't actually contain the bloody developer kit.

Some of the pages on the 'Access' company website want me to give them full details of my application in order and what tools I want to use. I don't know what my application is going to be yet or what tools I'm going to use to build them - that's limited by my imagination and the power of the tools, surely?

I've now submitted some form off to 'Access' in order to show something or other. I've signed up to their website, browsed away, and 40 minutes later I still have no developer kit.

Palm as a company has gone through so many different revisions and reformations and slice-ups. As a result, I have a device in my pocket that says Palm on it, but there doesn't seem to be a clear way to actually make software for it. I mean, I know it must be tough - just put up a web page with a link to a big PDF document explaining everything that one needs to know to develop for the platform, and have links to the relevant downloads for sample code and other dev tools.

Please, somebody, just do what I want. Just point me to the file I need to add to my Eclipse setup in order to start coding. And point me to some usable documentation. How hard is that to actually do?

If you want to attract developers, make it simple. No 'sign-ups' and no 'developer networks'. Just put your stuff up on a decently designed website and make available all the usual tools of interaction that might be relevant - a blog, a wiki, mailing lists, fora etc. Developers are there to build software to make your platform more valuable to the users, not to jump through hoop after hoop after hoop.

Perhaps what we need in addition to Doc Searl's Vendor Relationship Management is Developer Relationship Manager. It'd be a piece of software that you'd go to and just say "I want to develop code to run on my Palm Pilot. It'll probably go online, use some APIs and it'll need to crunch XML. Go forth and sort out all the admin for me and send me an email when I can actually start coding". If anyone at these companies had any brains between their ears, Developer Relationship Manager would be unnecessary - as, mind you, VRM would be.

Update: I think I've figured it out. I did a search for the page I wanted, then I clicked through to the Google Cache version, then started navigating from the Google Cache. If one has joined the Access site, you can go here, and then click through some EULAs and then you might eventually get the code.

I've managed to find the ZIP file, which they say is Windows only. WTF? Eclipse is cross-platform Java, no? I seriously want to bang my head on the desk.