If youÕve ever met Jeff Hawkins youÕd know how affable and approachable he is. He can always spare a few minutes in his day to talk with adoring PalmPilot fans at conferences or with editors for an interview. 
	Some weeks ago newspapers and websites heralded the departure of Jeff Hawkins (PalmPilotÕs creator) and Donna Dubinsky (former president of the Palm division of 3Com). Within days I was inundated with email and phone calls wanting to know the inside scoop. In our National Enquirer-Hard Copy-Jerry Springer society, people want dirt. IÕm sorry to say there is none between 3Com and Jeff or Donna. 
	I learned this through a thirty minute interview with Jeff in mid-August. We discussed the success of the PalmPilot, his new company, and even his hobbies. I started by asking Jeff about PalmPilotÕs phenomenal success. He expressed that he isnÕt surprised by it. ÒIt just took the right product to kick-start the market.Ó I also asked about Windows CE and its relative lack of success thus far. Jeff said that the device has a host of things wrong with it in his estimation, but he wouldnÕt elaborate on specifics. He felt it would give Microsoft an unfair advantage. He did note, however, that CE is the desktop Windows operating system shoehorned into a handheld. With this type of setup there are bound to be numerous questions about how to use and configure the device. He believes this complexity tends to scare would-be purchasers away.  HereÕs the rest of our conversation.

PCM: Can you tell me a bit about leaving 3Com and the details surrounding that? 

Hawkins: There was zero acrimony in this departure. Our reasons for leaving are essentially that we like to start something new. We like the small company, starting something from the beginning again. ThereÕs a certain appeal to some people in creating something and taking a fresh approach to a problem. Especially myself, IÕm a product person. I like to focus in on projects and drive that. Donna, in a similar way, likes being her own boss and being the CEO; and this gives her a chance to do that again. We areÑI think you know, but IÕll remind you in case you donÕtÑintending to license the Palm OS and build products on the platform. So, we want to be successful and broaden the appeal of the platform.

PCM: IÕve been getting email and questions in person from a variety of people that all want to know the same thing: WhatÕs the dirt behind the two of you leaving? There has to be something. I donÕt subscribe to that belief, but IÕll let you answer. 

Hawkins: (laughing) There were some rumors, some crazy rumors, which absolutely have no truth to them. One that was going around in Europe was that 3Com wanted to license the Symbian environment and we didnÕt want them to. There were really crazy things that have come back to us, none of which is true. The team is a great team there. ItÕs executing well. Things are going great. This is a good time, if weÕre going to do something like this, to do it.

PCM: What kind of focus will your new company have? Consumer? Vertical? 

Hawkins: It will be more consumer than enterprise or vertical. WeÕre not going to go off and tackle vertical markets or focus on enterprise solutions, though there are a lot of opportunities there. WeÕre going to do products that have a broad consumer and retail appeal to them. I donÕt want to get into much detail. ThatÕs probably as much detail as IÕd like to get into other than saying: We think that the market that Palm has practically definedÑreally got going at leastÑis still in its early infancy. ItÕs just beginning in terms of its technology progression, in terms of market size, and so on. There is tremendous opportunity to build very large companies, I believe. WeÕre going to come out with some products that take a slightly different approach to certain things than we did at Palm, perhaps. Maybe some slightly different demographics in terms of the customer base. I tend to not want to focus on saying what the first products are, what weÕre going to. WeÕre excited about this. We think virtually everybodyÕs going to own one of these things one day and how do we build a company to get there and be different from what 3Com is doing.

PCM: Was part of the reason why the two of you left due to the fact that you couldnÕt develop the products you wanted at 3Com? I mean the formula theyÕre using has been wondrously successful.

Hawkins: That wasnÕt it at all. I could do whatever I wanted at 3Com. I mean I was in that kind of position. (laughing) There wasnÕt any disagreement about it. I think there are some products which naturally might best belong outside of 3Com. That would be my decision, not 3ComÕs decision. Prior to starting Palm, I was at another company called Grid Systems. And I could have done everything I did at Palm at Grid, but it didnÕt make sense to do it there. It was just the wrong business model and setup and so on. And to some small extent, 3Com might not be the right place to do the products that we want to do there, but there was not disagreement about that.

PCM: Do you think that 3Com is taking the Palm line of products in the right direction? 

Hawkins: The direction that theyÕre going to be taking for at least the next twelve to 18 months is the one that I defined. So, I would have to say, yes. (laughs) There are products on the way that, if they come to fruition as I think they will and assuming they complete them as they originally planned, will take them in the right direction. Yeah, I think theyÕre doing exactly the  right things.

PCM: How soon do you plan for or would like to see your product hit the market? 

Hawkins: Well, I donÕt want to reveal anything there. There is a natural sort of cycle to building computers and IÕve done a lot of them. Well, I mean IÕve done four major new computers in my life. They just canÕt be done too quickly. (laughs) Absolute minimum is a year in my opinion and the range is from twelve to 18 months.

PCM: Everyone knows about Jeff the entrepreneur and Jeff the guy behind the PalmPilot. But what about your free time? 

Hawkins: Well, I have several things I like to do in my spare time. IÕm a father of two daughters. I like spending time with them. IÕm pretty much a family person so I spend a lot of time with my family. We spend most weekends together doing things. IÕm a sailor and we go out in our sailboat most weekends. The other thing I do is play piano. IÕm not very good at it. IÕm self taught.

PCM: I know that defining work for you is a tough thing to do because a lot of what you do is think about new ideas. Do you take the time to strike a balance between your work and family?

Hawkins: I think I do a really good job of that. IÕm not sure everyone can do it. As you pointed out, I can work almost anytime, anywhere and to me itÕs like fun. You know sitting in bed at night doodling is work for me and I like it and I can do it at any point in time. I donÕt particularly like to be tied to a desk. If you actually see me work youÕd realize I almost create nothing. (PCM laughs). I donÕt write documents and I donÕt really do presentations. I generally work best with other people who are good at that stuff. I essentially design and conceptualize and then drive projects to certain definitions.

PCM: Jeff, thanks for your time.

Well, there it is. ItÕs the inside scoop on Jeff and DonnaÕs departure from 3Com and a bit about their new company. As Jeff and I finished chatting, he mentioned that he couldnÕt believe the current sales rate of the PalmPilot and Palm III. He wouldnÕt tell me that number, but he was obviously flabbergasted.
	Some may think that Jeff and DonnaÕs departure was a mistake, but I donÕt. If 3Com continues to make exceptional PalmPilots, and Jeff and DonnaÕs company can create complementary products, the rest of the handheld industry should take heed. Maybe someone other than Microsoft will have the opportunity to own 90%+ of a market. How great would it be to beat Microsoft at a game it traditionally plays best, and do it fairly? - 
 ÐScott Sbihli ssbihli@pencomputing.com