Snow Leopard, the next generation of Apple's OS X operating system, is ushering out a lot of old technology. It's the first version of OS X that won't run on a PowerPC processor, and now Apple has announced that it will no longer sync with Palm OS devices.

While this might look like a slap in the face to Palm after Apple blocked the Palm Pre from sneakily syncing with iTunes earlier this summer, it's probably unrelated and unsurprising.

Palm OS is being phased out, and the Pre doesn't run it - it uses WebOS - so this is hardly a move by Apple to hurt an iPhone competitor. In fact, Apple had to write a Palm syncing feature into its own iSync software because Palm stopped updating its sync app for the Mac.

If you're still using a Palm Centro or Treo, you might have to look for some third-party sync options, but this doesn't affect Pre users.

The point of this post is to provide a handy list of software for Palm OS devices because many free apps are now hard-to-find. Commercial apps aren't, but I'm a cheap, cheap man. Follow along as I save you a bundle on hardware and software that'll put a powerful gadget in your pocket.

I wound up with a Palm T|X from my little brother who bought himself an iPhone (and the subsequent snobbery that comes with). It's been years since I used a Palm regularly, and the last one I tried was a WristPDA but was so hopelessly out-of-date that I abandoned it for a real watch (you know, that won't short out in the rain). My first PDA was, in fact, a PalmPilot Pro and was branded from 3Com. Those were the days, when Palm and Apple's Newton stood and chuckled at the nascent Windows CE platform. My how times have changed. The Newton is long buried (but not exactly dead), and Palm is largely in freefall. Why they spun out their OS years ago is beyond me, and it certainly hasn't helped their software situation any. Where Palm apps of every stripe once flowed freely there is now but a trickle, and every day that trickle gets slighter while developers move on to more robust platforms.

Still, what amazes me is how great Palm hardware is, and how you can really do quite a bit with it-- if you know where to look. So I've distilled my own adventures in Palm down to one handy little guide, full of useful apps and tips to get you started. You can find a decent deal on ebay for nearly any modern color Palm too. Don't be afraid to buy a unit with dead battery and buy a replacement battery. Do be afraid to buy something monochrome and without Bluetooth. I find the T|X is a sweet spot-- no laggy hard drive like the LifeDrive, an SD slot, Bluetooth and WiFi, and the ability to go fullscreen and landscape. If you crave tiny, check out the smaller Tungstens that slide open. Currently you can get an opened T|X on ebay for less than $150.

When acquiring this little guy I had three primary needs:
1) PDF Reader
2) Image browser
3) Quick note capture with alarms

See what works and doesn't, plus all the cool extra things I found after the jump.

In the world of smart phones, it seems like good old Microsoft is seeing some fast growth rates. The current numbers, according to Microsoft's Mobile and Embedded Devices division, were at 6 million last year, with hopes that they can double usage for this year. The biggest taker in the market is currently Nokia, who runs Symbian on their smart phones allowing for software that runs email, mobile TV, and games. The leading device in the smart phone arena is of course, the Blackberry, whose usage also hits the 6 million mark. Microsoft has a lot to contend with considering Blackberry plans to double its users every single year. I think there is certainly room for all four major players [including Palm] in the marketplace, but it really does make it that much harder to decide which devices to purchase and run software off.

What do you think, who has your vote? Blackberry, Windows Mobile, Palm OS, or Symbian?

The newest version of the Leonard Maltin Movie Guide has been released by LandWare. If you are ever in the video store and want some guidance to pick out something good you can use this guide. This new version has the complete listings of both of the 2007 Movie Guide and the Classic Movie Guide by Leonard Maltin.

LandWare makes this product not just for the Smartphone platform, but also the Pocket PC, as well as their original platform of the Palm OS. This year's update now includes support for the Motorola Q, which is why this caught my eye. Just the other day I was watching "The Great Escape" and had a question about one of the actors in the film and my old "Video Hound" book never made it out of a box (or was lost tossed) during move back early this year. As I was watching the baby, I could not leave the room to use the other computer, so if I had this on my Q it would have been great. I just downloaded the trial version and will be checking it out this weekend.

Check out screen shots after the break.

[Via Qusers.com]