According to Dieter over at
PreCentral, real, honest-to-goodness usable apps are starting to "trickle out" for the Pre / webOS. Apparently utilizing a loophole in the operating system which allows unsigned apps to be sideloaded through email, homebrewers have taken to the interwebs with small utilities like the tip calculator (pictured above). This comes just a day after a group of DIY'ers figured out a workable solution for getting software onto the phone
without rooting, so obviously Pre hacking is moving along at a healthy clip. These are -- of course -- very early applications, so don't expect perfection, and there seems to be some concern that Palm might want to patch up this hole, as it leaves the phone vulnerable to less altruistic endeavors. While the latter point is reasonable to consider, we do have a piece of advice for the folks at the front of this movement: don't wait and worry on how Palm will react to this stuff. It's important to push platforms like webOS, and the Pre needs all the love it can get on the development side right now.
Read - Right now: Install a Homebrew App without Hacking
Read - Homebrew Apps Tricking Out, but be careful
posted June 23rd 2009 11:31AM
Doom was ported a couple of weeks ago, only you can't run it in the interface, you have to root the pre and run it on the framebuffer which kills the interface.
Check the math.
Looks like everything entered with decimals is rounded into integers, so sometimes you can be a dollar off, I suppose.
up next: preFart, prePint and preMoo.
73 divided by 3 is not 25. This homebrew seems to forget there's also a currency called cents.
There shouldn't be. Counting change is more hassle than it's worth. People usually save time by rounding their tips up to the next whole bill.
From the programmers site:
It only does whole numbers, because if you insist that your tip be accurate to the penny you are a cheapskate weirdo. Here in the Colonies, we use paper money, not coins. If your bill is $44.22, just enter $45. Don't go all Scrooge McAsperger's on us, ok?
@krische: Or Frugal McDougall, more appropriately...
I am very happy to hear that every good company phone maker is going to get Adobe Flash yet the iPhone which is considered a good browsing device turns now into a piece of shit.
Good going Pre. Turn the iPhone into piece of shit.
From the developer: It only does whole numbers, because if you insist that your tip be accurate to the penny you are a cheapskate weirdo. Here in the Colonies, we use paper money, not coins. If your bill is $44.22, just enter $45. Don't go all Scrooge McAsperger's on us, ok?
They need to add a line for Health Insurance...
Interesting.....I usually just use calcnexus
Can't wait for more apps
If you cant figure out simple math in your head, then you should go back to pre-school.
pun intended?
You know?
I usually just give triple the sales tax as a tip rounding up which usually ends up to be 19-20%
@ pavlindrom = win
Here in chicago it's only double the sales tax :(
Interesting, though as the article stated isn't this something that Palm will want to patch? It seems like a way that could be seriously exploited.
The sad part about it is that people need a tip calculator. It is really that hard to do simple percentages?? By the time you even open your phone and click the app you should know what the answer is.
Plus the Math on this app is HORRIBLE!! The creator must be the one that needs an app like this, but he shouldn't be the one creating it, lol
So it's a cool app.BUT it dont add up...
If the total bill is $73.00 why is the cell app saying for 3 people it will be $25.00 each.?The app is adding on an extra 2 bux ....Not a big deal but still.........
have you ever been out with friends and tried collecting $24.33 from each? Wouldn't it be easier to collect 25 from each and make life easy? I think that's the point of the app. Plus its not the actual app that's exciting but the ease of side loading.
EVERY CALCULATOR IS A TIP CALCULATOR!!!
shhhhhhhhh
don't release the secret equation!!!
So then why did i just spend so much money on this nifty Wizard?!
Well, bully for the Pre? And what exactly does "Pre" stand for? My guess is "pre-empted".
these tip calculators only figure out the best case scenario where the bill is just divided evenly among each guest. Having a tip calculator that considers each persons tab might be useful cause there's always that douche bag that only gets a small salad
iphonerulez has Pre-envy that's why it's always trolling around
57+5+12 = 74
Just noticed that too. lol.
The source code is provided on the site. It is a very simple program, something that could easily have been written by a first year programming student.
"There's no 7 on my Tip Calculator!!" "I'm RUINED!"
- Seinfeld
the good, the bad, and the ugly.
The Good: ability to sidestep Palm and Sprint and put whatever you want on the phone.
The Bad: there are already dozens of viruses out there affecting Palm users. I had one on my Treo650. Now, I know WebOS is totally different than Garnet, but it does emulate old Garnet systems. Putting some file someone emails around on your daily phone can be dangerous.
The Ugly: Sorry, but this particular app is fugly. Maybe add some color. And a decimal. It is a calculator.
There needs to be some sort of system for regulating apps. I think Apple has gone overboard on the regulations, but there has to be a happy medium between "we approve everything" and "anything goes".
Makes me sorta miss the days of buying my Palm apps from Comp USA on SD cards. I know those were safe and stable.
I said "sorta"...
-- there has to be a happy medium between "we approve everything" and "anything goes"
Apple approves 98% of all applications. They probably do exactly what you suggest but refuse to admit.
Posted about both of the current, usable apps. I was able to download them a few nights ago, but now I am unable to do so. Is anyone else having problem with this? If so, please post and let me know, trying to see if it's just me and my Pre or if other users are experiencing this problem as well. "Pimp My Sounds" notification sound manager - http://preinsiders.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=12&t=20 and Tip Calculator - http://preinsiders.com/home/2009/06/23/howto-install-tip-calculator-homebrew-app-no-rootinghacking-required/
Would appreciate users giving an update on whether or not emailing the .ipk works for them or not. Thanks!
They removed the pimp my pre app till they fix the bugs and release a new version.
These tip apps are bullshit. Use the camera to get an image of the receipt. Do some OCR. Separate the line items into large buttons that each person can select to determine their share. Determine tax from receipt, tip from user input. Done. Usefull when Jack orders a steak and $35 of mojitos while Jill who orders a fruit salad and a water.
If you're fancy, let the pre user select each item and associate it with a contact on his phone and send txt messages with restuarant info, date, total etc for record keeping.
Tip calculator? I only eat homebrew :D
Oh tip calculators...
Can no one count by 5s anymore?
Is the Pre the Iphone Killer?
Is the Pre the Iphone Killer?
http://www.youcanquotethis.com/archives/902
when i first saw the headline i thought it said HEBREW apps coming to palm pre. oy, such a deal.