WebOS Survival Kit
The year is 2013. It's a post-webOS world.
HP has sold off the webOS group, and the buyer has stripped it for the patents, and shut down all the infrastructure needed to support webOS devices.
The HP App Catalog and the Palm Profile servers can no longer be reached.
The @palm and @webOSdev twitter accounts no longer respond. The developer forums are a barren wasteland.
Some people take the easy way out, and simply move to another platform.
Others learn how to survive, using ... The webOS Survival Kit
Follow @webosinternals
Get a Twitter account and follow @webosinternals. Think of it as your Early Warning System and Short-Wave Radio. When the disaster arrives, watch for further instructions.
Other key homebrew developers to follow include: @JayCanuck @TheRealSconix
Install Preware Homebrew Documentation
In a post-webOS world, you will need to have Preware installed on your device. The HP App Catalog will no longer be available to you, so you need to get the documentation you need to install Preware now.
The Preware Homebrew Documentation app will guide you through the details of many of the following steps already with step-by-step installation instructions.
Install Preware
Use the instructions in the Preware Homebrew Documentation app to do this. Do not delay, you need to have Preware installed now, not after HP and webOS are gone.
If you have any problems running WebOS Quick Install (especially if you are on a Windows computer), install the WOSQI Homebrew Guide app and follow the troubleshooting guide in there.
Do not rest until you have Preware installed and working. It is your key to app distribution and installation in a post-webOS world.
Download the webOS Doctor
Make sure you have the correct webOS Doctor for your device downloaded from the HP servers and available locally on your host computer.
Visit our webOS Doctor Versions page and download the correct webOS Doctor version now.
In a post-webOS world, the doctors will not be available from HP servers, so make sure you have your own copy archived now.
Get Command-Line Ready
To perform some key survival measures, you will need to have a way to access the Linux command line on your device.
The latest Novacom drivers can be found on http://opensource.palm.com/packages.html at the bottom of the page. In a post-webOS world, that page will no longer be accessible. Download the drivers for your current and future host computer platforms before they disappear.
Install the drivers and test that your host computer recognises your webOS device when you plug it in.
Work out how to use novaterm or the WOSQI command line interface (which is a GUI wrapper around a novacom connection) to access the Linux command line on your device.
The WOSQI Homebrew Guide contains a visual how-to on how to get access to the command line on your device from a host computer.
Install Xecutah to access the command line from on your device itself.
Many post-webOS survival techniques may require command line interactions. Get ready for this now. Learn some Basic Linux Use techniques before it is too late.
Move Everything To Google
The data in your HP webOS Account (formerly Palm Profile) will not be available to you in a post-webOS world.
Move it all to Google now. Don't leave any contacts or calendar entries or notes in your webOS profile.
Install Save/Restore
Go into Preware. Search for "Save/Restore" and install the app. Save your application settings.
If you depend on an application which is not supported by Save/Restore, then visit the Save/Restore thread on PreCentral and put up a bounty for developers to add support for that app.
Make sure you copy the saverestore directory contents from your webOS device to your host computer (or online storage account) regularly.
Save Your Tokens
Install the "Show Properties" app from Preware, and email yourself a full token list. Don't worry about what it all means right now, just do it. With the token list and the webOS Doctor you can resurrect your device from just about any calamity.
Contribute Your Tips
Subscribe to the corresponding forum thread in the WebOS Internals forum and post any other tips for inclusion in The webOS Survival Kit there or edit this wiki page directly.
Subscribe To The Forums
There are a number of webOS forums with lots of other users who can help you in this time of need.
PreCentral, webOSRoundup and WebOS World are some of the leading information sources.
Don't Panic
WebOS Internals has your back. Don't Panic.
You will be able to use your webOS device for as long as you please, even if all support and infrastructure from HP disappears overnight.
