Former Palm executive rejoins Apple

Longtime software developer Steve Sakoman, a former Palm and Be executive, has rejoined Apple Computer as a vice president.

Sakoman, who recently left his post as chief product officer at Palm software unit PalmSource, will report to Apple Senior Vice President Avie Tevanian, an Apple representative confirmed Tuesday. Sakoman, who most recently helped lead development of the Palm operating system, worked on the Newton handheld project, among other things during his previous stint at Apple.

"A lot of great people are coming to Apple for the opportunity to do innovative work like we are doing with Mac OS X and some of our other core technologies," Apple said in a statement.

Sakoman joined Palm in 2001 when the handheld maker acquired the technology and much of the engineering staff of Be, the operating system company that Apple nearly acquired some years back before ultimately purchasing Next Software, a move that returned Steve Jobs to the company he founded.

"Steve Sakoman has the respect of everyone at PalmSource," Palm said in a statement last month. "We are sorry that he has decided to pursue new opportunities, and we wish him good luck."

Sakoman's departure comes amid rough times for Palm, which recently cut staff and warned on Monday that sales for the just-ended quarter will fall short of expectations.