Palm is already filled with former Apple employees, and now they have another one. Chuq Von Rospach, who worked at Apple for several years on various Unix projects, has been hired by Palm to be the Developer Community Manager, he announced on his blog today.

This will be an important job going forward as Palm is set to release its Pre smartphone sometime in the next few months, and it’s a device which has gotten a lot of buzz both from consumers and developers, thanks to a sleek piece of hardware and its new operating system. In fact, the level of buzz is reminiscent of another company: Apple. I asked Von Rospach about his thoughts on joining Palm, and the Apple connection.

“It wasn’t so much that there are ex-Apple people there, but that there are a bunch of really good and talented people there,” Von Rospach told me via email. “That Jon Rubenstein [the former senior vice president of Apple's iPod division and current executive chairman of the board at Palm] is heavily involved was one of the things that caught my eye — but the place is stuffed with lots of really sharp and competent and inventive people, some of whom used to work for Apple. And many worked other places, too, like Adobe and Macromedia, for instance.”

“The technology interested me, the people convinced me it was something I wanted to do,” he continued.

Von Rospach wrote a great retrospective about some of his time at Apple for The Guardian last month. His hiring comes at a time when speculation is building that Apple may turn its lawyers loose on Palm to go after some IP infringement. The thought is that Apple may hold key patents to multi-touch use on mobile devices, something which is a big part of the Palm Pre. Palm has said it owns many patents as well, and will also protect its IP — according to a Palm spokesperson who, yes, used to work for Apple.

Von Rospach will begin at Palm on Feb. 16.

Palm responds to Apple's veiled threat: "we have the tools necessary to defend ourselves"

from Engadget by Thomas Ricker

We've been waiting for this. Ever since Tim Cook made his non-specific, veiled threats in response to a direct question about how the Palm Pre "almost directly emulates the kind of touch interface" found on the iPhone, the entire tech community has waited for the next move. Now Lynn Fox, a Palm spokesperson has stepped into the fray. In a response given to Digital Daily and presumably crafted by a team of lawyers over the 2 days since the Apple analyst call, Lynn says the following: 

Palm has a long history of innovation that is reflected in our products and robust patent portfolio, and we have long been recognized for our fundamental patents in the mobile space. If faced with legal action, we are confident that we have the tools necessary to defend ourselves. 

The gauntlet is thrown. Now, will Apple risk the ire of a million new and middle-aged fanboys and crush Palm's Cinderella comeback by forcing the Pre into some state of unreleased legal limbo? Or will Rubinstein and Jobs quietly sort it out over a yoghurt parfait in some strip mall in The Valley? Oh boy, this is going to be good.

Statshot: More Than 10 Million Wiis Sold in 2008

from GigaOM by Om Malik

Despite my addiction to The Age of Empires (and the rest of the franchise), I’m not much of a gamer. Nevertheless, last year a friend of mine let me borrow hisNintendo Wii and after a couple of hours spent playing some of its simpler games, I was hooked. Apparently I’m not alone, for nearly 10.17 million Americans bought a Wii in 2008, according to The NPD Group, and there are more than15 million Wii consoles in U.S. homes. Also in 2008, another 9.95 million bought the Nintendo DS portable system.

What a sharp contrast to the continuing struggles of Sony and its PlayStation 3 game system. Nintendo’s focus on simplicity and experience has allowed it to expand well beyond the gamer crowd to capture nearly 55 percent of the next-generation console market. Apple has made similar strides in the non-corporate smartphone market with the iPhone. Now if Nintendo and Apple could just find a way to work together, instead of acting like the bitter rivals they’ve become.