Palm's promoted next-generation OS will run on Linux. It's taking so long though that people are pointing to its delayed release as another sign of Palm's demise. But as always, when something's perceived to be important by enough people, someone online will freely share their expertise and time.

That's the case with the efforts of a group of Independent programmers. Together, they have come up with an Open Source Linux-based mobile OS that can run on newer model Palm smartphones and PDAs like the LifeDrive, TX, and of course the Treo:

The most recent success has been with "Cocoboot" version 4, released on 18 July. A Palm bootloader, Cocoboot will start the boot process, halt Palm (garnet), and start loading Linux from your SD card.

You can download Cocoboot from Sourceforge. As always, such technically complicated changes will void warranties, and must only be attempted by the brave and knowledgeable. More details on MyTreo.net.