Thinking of retro operating systems, I had a bizarre realization the other day: out of all of the original PDA operating systems, Windows CE is the only one still evolving! If you think about it, the original PDA operating systems were these:


Apple's NewtonOS
Palm's PalmOS
Sharp's Synergy OS
Sony's MagicCap OS
Microsoft's Windows CE


Now Apple, Sony and Sharp came out of the PDA market and killed off their operating systems. Now I know that the Newton community still keeps the Newton current, but there is only so much enthusiasts can do with what they are given as building blocks. Palm is pulling a Commodore on us and keeps messing with the release dates and updates to the PalmOS. For all intents and purposes the PalmOS is dead.


Now Windows CE is really the only one that has endured! Sure the first versions were awful, but ten years later, it doesn't stink as much, and some people like it! (well some people like S&M too but anyway).


I find it interesting that Microsoft and Windows CE is the 'old school' that won the "PDA OS wars" and Apple and Google are the new guys entering the market.