A new strategy for driving rapid innovation into the mobile computing industry will be outlined by David Nagel, president and chief executive officer of the Palm OS subsidiary of Palm, Inc. In his keynote address at the PalmSource conference, Nagel also will preview the Palm OS 5 operating system beta and highlight the latest licensee and developer innovations. In addition, the subsidiary announced its new name: PalmSource, Inc.

PalmSource, Inc. the Palm OS subsidiary of Palm, Inc., previewed the Palm OS 5 beta and announced that final delivery of the new operating system to Palm OS licensees is scheduled for early summer. Palm OS 5 will be the foundation to build a new class of devices that will help make mobile computing ubiquitous.

Key improvements in Palm OS 5 include: enhanced security to keep sensitive data private, Palm OS 5 offers strong 128-bit systemwide data-encryption services based on the standard RC4 encryption algorithm from RSA Security. In addition, end-to-end security is provided through Secure Socket Layer (SSL) services for email, Web browsing, and online transactions; multimedia, the ability to record sound and play CD-quality digital, and new selectable color themes will let users customize devices; and wireless, in addition to current support for WAN and Bluetooth, Palm OS 5 supports 802.11b for connections to wireless Local Area Networks.

NewsFactor Network reports that Palm and Apple have found themselves to be strange allies in the battle against the Microsoft. According to the article, Palm is using its PalmSource developer conference to show off version 5.0 of its operating system, which includes support for ARM-compliant processors. Also, the article says, Palm “is using the increased attention generated by the conference to re-engage with the Macintosh platform, with new developer tools and a slew of endorsed announcements from third-party manufacturers.”

At PalmSource Bachmann Software announced the release of FilePoint 2.1, extending the application’s ability to manage Palm OS files on the external memory cards of HandEra 330 devices, along with the Handspring compatible MemPlug expansion Springboard module. The company is also showcasing its soon-to-be-released FilePoint Desktop application, providing users with the ability to manage their Palm OS files from their desktop PCs.

PalmInfocenter reports on Palm OS 5, the star of PalmSource, and its support for ARM-based processors. According to the article, the OS has been demonstrated at the convention running on processors from Intel, Texas Instruments, Motorola, and Cyrus.

CNET News.com reports Palm told analysts Wednesday that initial sales of its Palm i705 wireless handhelds have been surprisingly strong, a good sign as the company focuses more on wireless devices and those aimed at large businesses.

If you’ve been curious about where the news has been these past few days, we’ve got the answer for you. Our internal email server took a dive (apparently Windows 2000 Server isn’t quite as rock solid as the marketing hype would have you believe), and we’ve been working hard getting things back into gear. If you’ve tried to send us an email and haven’t gotten a response, it’s not because we’re ignoring you. It’s likely the server ate it. Please resend anything you consider important for which you have not gotten an appropriate reply

GoAmerica, Inc. announced plans to support the new Palm i705 wireless handheld from Palm, Inc. The Palm i705 handheld features always-on “push” secure end-to-end email for corporate email accounts. GoAmerica’s Mobile Office solution will complement Palm’s latest offering by providing enterprises with the ability to access proprietary corporate data and applications on the new device.

VizMotion Inc. announced the availability of a beta version of the VizSync Address Book for Mac and PC. VizSync Address Book is designed to give users the ability to build an enterprise-wide system that can interface with Palm OS based handhelds. This can allow companies who are using FileMaker Pro database systems to make their solution mobile.

Copytalk announced that it will be the first third party to provide support for the push capabilities of Palm.Net wireless service, allowing email and other information dictated to Copytalk to be sent automatically to the new Palm i705 wireless handheld from Palm, Inc.