Author: Jason Robitaille

While looking over webOS 1.3.5.1 files for my Really Silent Ringer Switch Mute patch, I happened to notice something I must have missed many times before.  The file, /usr/lib/luna/system/luna-systemui/app/controllers/bar-assistant.js is used for many many patches, but tucked away in this javascript file, in the audioInit function, is this Mojo service call:

this.audioVoiceDialingNotificationSession = new Mojo.Service.Request(‘palm://com.palm.audio/voiceDialing’, {
        method: ‘status’,
        parameters: {"subscribe":true},
        onSuccess: this.handleVoiceDialingAudioNotifications.bind(this)});

The way the audio (volume, mute, etc.) is currently managed by service calls to com.palm.audio with separate subsections for the different areas of audio (system sounds, phone audio, media audio, ringtone audio, etc.). Evidently this seems to indicate a voiceDialing subsection has been set up, although isn’t currently used (obviously).

That’s not all. As our very own Jonathan Ezor has pointed out to me, more voice dialing references can be found in the ALSA configuration file at /etc/asound.conf and in a few files in /etc/audio/b/.

A bit much information for the average user, but the point is this: Palm has had voice dialing in mind for a while now. Obviously they’re a small company and need to direct their focus as best as possible. CES showed us what they’ve been working on for some time now. While it’s extremely doubtful voice dialing will make it for webOS 1.4, it’s pretty obvious it’s on their mind and they do intend to add it at some time in the future.

When Palm announced the Pre Plus and Pixi Plus were going to be exclusives to Verizon, a large number of Sprint users were utterly frustrated. While that’s understandable, it’s worth pointing out American users have, overall, had a much better webOS experience than the rest of the world.

As they say, every so often, it’s best to air the frustrations. Done not to put down, but rather put things in perspective and raise issues some might not know about.

So with that in mind, let’s take a little trip around the world.

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Interested in Homebrew apps or patching? The single best way to start is with WebOS Quick Install. A few days later than expected, WebOS Quick Install v3.0 has been released (well, technically 3.01, but who’s counting)! This update brings along with it many user-requested enhancements and several long-overdue updates. Here are the more important items from the change log:

– added support for AUPT
– added update checker
– fixed issue where patch settings were saved to a wrong directory
– added patch updating on Online Repository tab
– fixed "This is a webOS application." nametags in Device Management
– added dynamic webOSDoctor downloader
– fixed issue preventing webOSDoctor jar detection

First and foremost the big change brought with v3.0 is that patch updating in WebOS Quick Install has been overhauled to conform to the current AUPT format. If an update is available, it’ll show as such on the Online Repositiory tab of the Tweaks section. Best yet, with AUPT, you won’t need to uninstall patches prior to webOS updates.

Also notable is that WebOS Quick Install now periodically checks for updates, so you won’t need to keep checking the forum thread for version changes. In addition, the webOSDoctor downloader has been updated so it’ll always download the current webOSDoctor for your devices.

The full change log, download link, and the rest of the details can be found in the official PreCentral forums thread.

VisualBoyAdvance for webOS has come a long way since it was started on January 14th. For those unaware, VisualBoyAdvance (VBA) is an opensource Gameboy, Gameboy Colour and Gameboy Advance emulator available for numerous operating systems. DtzWill, with the aid of people at WebOS-Internals, has sucessfully ported and enhanced it for webOS. It’s up and available now in Preware

If you’re interested in trying it out, be sure to read though the wiki page thoroughly. The wiki lists all the current keybinds you’ll ever need. And if you don’t like the default keybinds, you can customize them in-program as you see fit.

Currently, all Gameboy/Gameboy Colour games work 100%, though Gameboy Advance games still have some speed issues. Generally, turning off sound (orange+z) will improve framerate. Also, it’s recommended to enable auto-save (orange+a) so if you close VBA or VBA crashes (unlikely) you’ll be able to go right back from where you left off.

Best of all, the recently-released version 1.1.1 introduces full skinning support! Shipped with the VBA packages includes 4 skins to choose from, but more skins are being created and posted in the VBA PreCentral thread. Here are 2 examples of skins:

Sleek, stylish, and very functional. Try VisualBoyAvance out for yourself. You won’t regret it.  Please note, however, neither PreCentral nor WebOS-Internals support piracy of illegal roms; do not post roms or links to rom websites in the PreCentral forums.

Thanks to everyone who send this in
Thanks to Zsoc for the first skin ‘screenshot’

It’s no secret that the Verizon Palm Pre Plus and Palm Pixi Plus will be able to use a special Mobile Hotspot application. The application will essentially turn the phone into a MiFi, supporting connections from up to 5 wi-fi devices at once.  Wouldn’t it be great to have that on non-Verizon device? With a little homebrewed love, it’s possible, but honestly at this stage we recommend the vast majority of users wait on the sidelines to see how things shake out.

Read on for the details.

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Before you ask, no, those screenshots aren’t photoshopped. DOOM has returned to the webOS center stage and bringing along with it many future possibilities.

Many will remember how back in June we covered the story of how it was possible to, with a bit work, get DOOM working on the Pre. Well, the webOS has come a long way since then. In webOS 1.3.5, we all learned of the existence of base OpenGL ES files, but it turns out much more was added.

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