What went wrong with PALM?

Ok, I love PALM devices. They just work and I've built up a pile of cool programs I love to carry with me. that said, my life is changing, and I need to have better and better mobile access to my data and the Internet. To that end I got a LifeDrive for a great clearance price expecting to do both in spades.

Well, some of it worked. If I'm close to a WiFi point I can do amazing things with RD and EzRemote (http://www.pdaeveryday.com/). Also connecting to file servers is a snap with WiFile Pro 2.12 (http://www.handshigh.com/html/wifile.html). However, Internet connectivity is really, really poor.

Blazer (the built in browser), crashes the LD all the time after long use. It also does not work very well for many sites. I can't seem to buy Netfront, Xiino seems stalled, and Opra Mini isn't really native. I'm hoping for Universe 3.0 to be released and solve all my problems, but I'm not holding my breath. I'd love to see someone port Minimo to the PALM.

Also, I chaff at the fact I have to purchase an IM client. There are so many great open source clients for Mac or PC, why not on the PALM? I've very worried PALM Source's decision to go with Linux may have tanked this once mighty OS. (I must be having a sad night)