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Handhelds Hardware

PalmOS 3.3 Released 107

Posted by Hemos from the upgrade-your-os dept.
MatriXOracle writes "PalmOS 3.3 is now available for download for users of the Palm V, Palm III/IIIx, IBM WorkPad c3/30X/20X, and older Palms with the 2MB upgrade card. Palm IIIe users can't upgrade, due to the lack of a flashable ROM on those systems, and Palm VII users will have to wait for an upgrade compatible with those devices to become available. New features include a doubling of the maximum HotSync speed, HoySync-over-IR, Euro support, and network logon enhancements. "
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PalmOS 3.3 Released More

PalmOS 3.3 Released

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  • There is a discussion of how to do this under Linux over at Palmstation [palmstation.com].

    You are right... pilot-xfer is a great tool (although the version I have cored when trying to sync a full 8 MB TRG upgraded IIIx).

    Bill Kilgallon
  • I haven't seen this problem with my Palm V. Maybe I have a more recent version of the firmware... If this is the case you can probably expect 3.3 to fix your problem. (In other words, I'd try the upgrade if I were you)

    Surely this hasn't been happening to my Palm V without my notice... I do use it for something other than games occasionally... ;-)
  • With pilot-xfer(1), type pilot-xfer -i filename where filename is the name of the file to be installed. It works with multiple files and wildcards, too. So, you can just list a bunch of filenames separated by spaces after the "-i" argument and go to town. I'm not sure how to do it with gpilotd. However, if it's anything like the pilot applications in KDE, you simply choose the applications that you want to install with the installer application (below Memos and Scheduler). There's a simple file browser, you just click after selecting like you would anything else. Hopefully, this helps.
  • My IIIx updated flawlessly from Win98. I was a bit slow though, about 6 minutes for the actual OS upgrade, but at least another 10 minutes to backup and restore all my data and programs. You must make sure to disable all "hacks" and some other software like Launcher III before you start the update. Does anyone know if they fixed the "battery drain while in cradle" bug in this release? I know the battery drain can be fixed by physical means, but I was wondering if a soft fix was there yet.
  • That sounds like the message I've seen when the physical connection is bad and a data transfer fails unexpectedly.

    I'm not surprised it died if it lost its connection while updating the flash. This is always dangerous, especially if done remotely (e.g. over the cradle link). I assume they had to do it this way - if they could have transferred the whole firmware image to local memory and flashed from there it would have been much safer... Maybe the image is too large.
  • Previously PalmOS would have only let you use a modem to connect to network; now IR and direct serial are possible..
    Can someone please tell me what this means? I know I can hotsync through the cradle, and I've been able to dial-up to my company's network through an IR enabled phone (8810), but does the above mean that there are other ways to connect to the company's network - if so, what? Should I try a null modem connected to the cradle? Could I buy an IrDA network adapter? Can I access the network through a host PC and its network adapter? What are my options? (I'd like to develop some intranet pages for the Palm, or perhaps for WAP, but I don't want to have to dial-in to connect...)

    TIA,

  • Well, I have NT at my office, but I'm not an adminstrator on the machine and the IT folx won't install the Palm Desktop, so I'm SOL.
  • Actually, GNOME has a really cool pilot package.
    Software can now sync with the pilot as long as they provide a CORBA interface. They've already done it with gnomecal and gnomecard.

    sri
  • Will this update also be available on the Visor's? I have been putting off buying one untill the add-on packs come out, but it look like there are a LOT of nice features in 3.3..
  • My Palm III seems a lot more responsive, especially running Avantgo with this update. Don't ask me why.

    The hotsynch runs at the same speed for me under NT, maybe even slower, as it seems to take a long time to "finish up" the tail end of the process.

  • hey, ok, in the light of a new day, it wasn't funny. but it wasn't off-topic! I said HotSynque Vites was "Euro support for faster you-know-what" to explain the stupid joke, but the "you-know-what" was not a reference to ...sex? who knows what you thought it was, it was a reference to that being the only word in that joke that did not require explanation: synque==sync. I feared that some Philistine might not know that vites means fast in French, and might need help with "synque" as a Euro spelling.

    Dumb joke? so sue me. but it was on topic, particularly because the rest of the post was making a real point. [sigh]You probably don't know what zaftig means either, so allow me to apologize for being too sophistcated.

  • Check out datebk3. It takes care of B and C, maybe D.
  • You might try using the hack "Time Pal", available from various Palm download sites, including this one on ZD Net: ZD Net Palm Downloads [zdnet.com]. It keeps your Pilot on the same time as the PC you are syncing from. The time may be off, but it's off together... (No, I am not the author, nor a ZD Net person. Just a Pilot freak sharing a solution). LJ
  • i don't think that's how you install roms.

    --

  • We're getting there, just wait until there is a nice Bluetooth add-on for Palm, or better, the Visor.

    I have a Symbol SPT-1740 [symbol.com] -- Basically, a Palm III with integrated barcode scanner and Spectrum24 wireless LAN. It came (a month ago) with PalmOS 3.32 already installed. Not having had a lot of prior experience with the Palm, I didn't even know that Hotsync at 115200 or Direct IR was anything special. The network Hotsync over the air is pretty spiffy.

    Now if I could just get my company to buy me a Spectrum24 access point to use at home...

    Anyone have a good way to add Slashdot as an AvantGo channel? I'd love to get the full text of the articles and comments (at a high threshhold), but if even if I customize my settings for "Slashdot Lite", AvantGo spends too much memory grabbing the administrative pages (FAQ, code, etc.) before grabbing the content. Is there a "Slashdot Lite--" that's just the articles without the administrative links?

  • Hrm.. Perhaps a reason NOT to buy one..

    I wonder if this is why they released 3.3 so soon after Visor came out?
  • note that datebk3 is what ships on the visor...
    I believe they licensed it from Pimlico.
  • Upgrade now!

    I confirm that Patience is dead.... must check for updates.
  • Can someone briefly explain why it's not possible to replace the OS residing in RAM on the Visor and Palm IIIe?

    It seems like Handspring was pretty innovative with the Springboard idea, but if you can't upgrade the OS, maybe they're not that bright.

    Would it be possible to have a Springboard OS upgrader?

  • That's some stupid shit to say, since the Visor just came out. Why don't you give Palm Computing [palm.com] the opportunity to bring their prices down, since this is their first PalmOS competitor? Is that okay with you, Mr. Anonymous Fuckstick?

  • Actually, I think you can go back...

    As of yesterday afternoon late, they did have instructions on re-flashing and going back to the previous OS. I didn't use them, as I was happy with the upgrade, but I do remember they were there.

    As I recall, they were smart enough to build the flash loader into real rom (not the flash rom), so you cannot render your beloved palm unbootable (unlike many pre pentium II motherboards).

    Bill Kilgallon
  • Palm also provides an optional connection to Macintosh systems. Handspring Visors sync via a USB cradle which will work in any Win9x or recent-model Macintosh environment. For the Palms with serial cradles, a suite of very useful utilities called pilot-link has been created for Linux and ported to OS/2.

    To be fair, bear in mind that the Palm series of "connected organizers" has been traditionally targeted toward the business crowd. That's why
    * you see such extravagant leather cases for it;
    * conduits to programs like Outlook are available;
    * and, of course, it's designed for Windows and Mac first.

  • Have you seen the Ethernet cradle? (Score:3)

    by Mike Buddha ( 10734 ) on Tuesday October 19, 1999 @11:51AM (#1600894)
    Not only that, but they're also making an Ethernet Cradle [palm.com], so that you can sync and connect directly over a network. Cool.

    Now, if they'd only release a Hotsync manager that would run as an NT service, life would be grand. They are releasing the Palm Sync Server [palm.com], but that costs US$20K(!). Yowch.
  • Yes.

    According to what I've seen from 3Com, you'll be able to use the new HotSync Manager with both Palms. However, once you've upgraded your III, only it will be able to take advantage of the higher transfer rates. Your IIIe is not flash-upgradeable, but it will still connect and synchronize its databases.
  • Um, it's in flash - it doesn't take up any memory.

    And even if it did take up memory - maybe it's say 200 bytes? How much could it be already.

  • I called them up as well, didn't talk to the supervisor, but the person said that there may be a Linux version in the future, because one of his documents said that "it's available for Windows and Machintosh only, at this time", but I doubt that they will have a Linux version ready.

    That's a pisser because I have no Windows at work and have rebooting my home machine.

    /Simon
  • There are several other devices running Palm OS, including a phone by Qualcomm, the WorkPad by IBM, and the Visor

    I think those are pretty much the same devices - the WorkPad is just a relabeled Pilot, and the Phone is pretty much just a borg-like combination of the pilot and a phone... I think the Visor is the only device that is significantly different, hardware-wise.

    Or I could be wrong. :)

  • Once you've upgraded the OS, there's no turning back.

    This page [palm.com] says otherwise. Still, it's good to check compatibility before re-flashing anything.

    p.s. A quick tip if you want to download the file without clicking through all the official pages - the actual URL ends up as http://palm.www.conxion.com/PalmOS330_ENG_PalmIIIx .exe (modify filename accordingly for other versions).
  • isn't that just with the devel debug roms?

    --

  • Re:Visor? (Score:3)

    by mattdm ( 1931 ) on Tuesday October 19, 1999 @03:26PM (#1600902) Homepage
    this is one of the disadvantages with the visor -- it's not flash upgradable.

    --

  • So this new PalmOS will include networking? Or so it says,...

    Yes, Virginia, it does include networking. I have it on my Palm as we speak.

    Does this mean that later versions can be upgraded without a Desktop computer? According to the page, you need a desktop computer to upgrade the ROM. I'd like to see a self-sustaining Palmtop (computer), and not a overclocked digital rolex.

    Two things:

    1)No, you need to sync your Palm before you upgrade the ROM, else, you'll lose all your data. One of the great strengths of the Palm OS is the nearly seamless desktop integration. If you don't want that, buy a WinCE machine, but I couldn't recommend that, as a former owner of a WinCE machine.

    2)Palm was designed from the ground up to be a high-powered, overclocked digital Rolodex. That's what it is and that's what it endeavors to be. It's a lot handier than you'd think at first glance. I've owned Newtons, WinCE machines, various and sundry digital organizers, laptops and Palm Pilots, and I tell you from experience, the Palm is the only one I continue to use on a regular basis, the exact same way I used it when I first bought it. All the other sat at home after a few months.


  • I have the same problem. Every week or two, my Palm seems to get set a week back exactly (so it's not just a battery drain or something). So far it hasn't been enough of a problem for me to call 3Com about it, but I checked their site and there's no mention of the problem.

    I hope this patch fixes it, but I doubt it since it's not mentioned in the release notes. I'm going to check in a few days after I wait and see what issues get reported by people installing the update.

    I wish I'd gotten a Visor too, but I got my Palm V a little too early.
  • jpilot.linuxbox.com

    Do a query in freshmeat.net for "pilot"

    Windows is NOT a MUST in today's world!!!!!

  • Decent linux palm desktop= jpilot - just like the windows one. search freshmeat.

    I disagree that everyone needs to have windows. Granted, I did install windows in vmware, and I can use vnc to bring up a windows desktop from a lab machines, but honestly, I just don't ever find a need or use for windows anymore.

    - I've got gnome/enlightenment/xscreensaver for all my eye candy.
    - I've got staroffice, wvHtml, xlHtml for decoding msOffice-encrypyed information.
    - I write just about everything in vi using plain text, or netscape's html editor, or via a web-app
    - I write a script to do anything that I need to do more than 5 times.
    - opensource unix apps, perl, and shell scripts just keep increasing my productivity. Now I can pretty much prototype an app fast than I can find a commercial solution
    - I sync my pilot on linux and solaris using jpilot
    - I bought a playstation for playing games
    - I've got xmame if I ever missed wasting my cpu cycles on playing games.
    - nobody where I work shares files using CIFS much anymore 'cause it's about as reliable as the list of servers you get when you click on 'network neighborhood' ... everyone uses ftp or http, but I do have samba if I need to share stuff with windows-stricken coworkers.


    Hey, I'm a unix sysadmin, and I figured that if *I* can't live without windows then maybe nobody can. When I shut off my last windows box, there were a few difficult times, but it's been surprisingly easy to not go back, and I'm a lot more productive.

    It's not for everyone yet though. I'm not sure whether I'm ready to move my dad to linux -- he has a hard enough time with windows, but he's the one that's asking about linux 'cause win95 hangs and crashes so often.
  • Well, I tried out the upgrade last night. Is it just my imagination, or did the OS get a little zippier? Switching between applications and the launcher seems to happen more quickly. At any rate, I have encountered a serious problem with this upgrade. I use MoneyManager (have been for about 5 months, actually), and have a huge db of financial transactions. When HotSync attempted to restore everything to my Palm III, it would not restore this DB! My Palm hangs with a "Fatal Exception" each time this happens. Has anyone seen this behavior? Anyone know how to get around it? Several other of my DB's will not sync back into the Palm, either.
  • How does one go about doing this? I had a set of directions for v3.0 that didn;t work. Any help or pointers you can provide would be great.
  • my housemate just tried to upgrade the os on his palm IIIx and managed to completely destroy the little thing. poor little pilot. last i saw him he was on the phone w/ 3-com trying to get a new palm pilot...
  • Sure. The OS doesn't reside in RAM, but rather on a ROM. In (most of) the newer palm models, the ROM is flash upgradable by the enduser. Older [palm][pilots] and the IIIe and the Visors don't have this capability -- undoubtably a cost-cutting measure.

    I don't know if the springboards can upgrade the OS; my guess is probably not, as you'd really not want to do it that way.

    Note that any version of PalmOS can get OS upgrade patches. It's just this whole-ROM-replacement thing that only works on some.

    --

  • Can the new OS be installed in the Visor's RAM area instead, since there is no flash memory? I believe a Handspring site said this might be possible, but nothing about it in this announcement. Since Palm IIIe users can't upgrade, I'm not too hopeful...

  • So this new PalmOS will include networking? Or so it says,...

    Does this mean that later versions can be upgraded without a Desktop computer? According to the page, you need a desktop computer to upgrade the ROM. I'd like to see a self-sustaining Palmtop (computer), and not a overclocked digital rolex.

  • Re:Linux version of upgrade? (Score:1)

    by Anonymous Coward
    > Yeach! Another Windows self extracting binary.
    > Is there a Linux version of the PalmOS update
    > out there?

    Unfortunately, the installer seems to replace the standard hotsync utility while installing (to perform a full backup, and to force a sync of their special flash preparation program, and then do some stuff that talks to the flash program), so the chances of just being able to unzip it and sync are pretty low.

    Looks like the choices are petition for a Linux version, or borrowing a Windows or Macintosh machine. :P
  • Yeach! Another Windows self extracting binary. Is there a Linux version of the PalmOS update out there?

  • Worth the download... (Score:3)

    by Rombuu ( 22914 ) on Tuesday October 19, 1999 @10:36AM (#1600920)
    I threw this on my Palm V yesterday, and it is definiely worth the download if you do any Synching of your data. I was able to half my synch time with this new version of the OS. Can't wait to try out synching over IR to my laptop sometime.....

    Take the time to read the instructions though folks, it takes about 6 minutes to install 3.3 and your screen freaks out during this time....
  • New features include a doubling of the maximum HotSync speed...

    Now I can install Solitare faster then ever before! :)

    But seriously...I love my Palm, I use it much more often then I ever used my Franklin Planner. And I can play games with it! Wait...that sounded vaguely dirty...
    :)
  • Does this work with other clones (for example the Symbol PPT 1500, and ppt 1800) it seems it should since they are largely palm III's with some extra doodads (ie, more ram, scanner, ethernet )
  • Well Palm is owned by 3Com, right? I doubt very much that we'll be seeing 3Com disappear anytime soon. They just need to get a little more competetive in their sales. I would be much happier buying from them - The PalmPilot is such an incredibly usable tool. It's really been one step ahead of the game, compared to other Palmtop systems.

    -----------

    "You can't shake the Devil's hand and say you're only kidding."

  • Well, this article [wired.com] from Wired talks about Palm's new synchronization cradle and server software which will allow you to plug a cradle directly into an Ethernet network and sync remotely. It's designed for businesses who want to issue Palms to their employees to synchronize with corporate databases/calendar systems/email systems/etc.

    But that probably isn't the question you're asking. What you have to keep in mind is that the Palm was really designed as a desktop adjunct, _not_ as a self-sustaining portable computer. The reason is that most people who use Palms have desktop PCs, and don't need a self-sustaining palmtop.

    This is distinct from the story of the Newton, which was designed to be a self-contained, self-sustaining "palmtop" computer. This meant that the Newton developers had to worry about natively supporting different printer drivers, network protocols, etc. from day one, which dramatically increased the complexity of the system. With Palm, you originally had nothing but a serial interface (although they've since added TCP/IP over serial), and you didn't have to worry about printing or other data transfer because that all takes place on the PC. This makes for a very simple OS and UI.

  • It looks like they have finally added the option to set up a TCP/IP connection using the standard cradle. Previously PalmOS would have only let you use a modem to connect to network; now IR and direct serial are possible..We're getting there, just wait until there is a nice Bluetooth [bluetooth.org] add-on for Palm, or better, the Visor.

    I bet a lot of Slashdot users(who were too lazy to set up a PPP server on their home Linux boxes just to connect their Palms to the Internet) will be installing this upgrade and fulfilling their filthiest, hidden fantasies of using PalmVNC [berkeley.edu] to use their Linux boxes or surfing the Web on the Palm from an ADSL connection..I, for one, will be trying them...
  • I don't know what happened to the article, but I know it is still visible at http://slashdot.org/articles/99/1 0/19/1230228.shtml [slashdot.org]...

    i dunno why /. articles disappear... but it does seem to happen on a regular basis... sunspots, maybe?

  • A bluetooth springboard for the Visor will be released before the end of the year by JP Systems.

    if (nt == unstable) { switchTo.linux() }
  • I have a Pro with a pager card (OS 3.0.2.x) and saw a warning on the site about updated not being compatible with this... Any ideas?

    /Simon
  • works ok in linux with kpilot stuff.
  • I think those are pretty much the same devices - the WorkPad is just a relabeled Pilot, and the Phone is pretty much just a borg-like combination of the pilot and a phone... I think the Visor is the only device that is significantly different, hardware-wise.

    The Visor is signifigantly the same as well. Same CPU, and the "CPU" includes the LCD controler, memory controler, serial, IR...

    Even the "big diffrence" is hardware-wise just a bunch of pins that go to the CPU bus! (plus a few power lines and the Mic line). Well that and USB for sync'ing. (oh, nad no FLASH, so no OS3.3, but Handspring's version of PalmOS has the euro symbol, and some of the other 3.3 features -- it may be patachable to 3.3 in the RAM)

    That happens to be enough to make me want to upgrade to it (maybe mine will show this week even), but I did want to point out that even the Visor is pretty damm similar to the olde Palms hardware wise.

  • Er, PalmOS has supported TCP/IP networking since version 2, on the PalmPilot Pro model. I have run PPP on a PalmPro connected to my Linux box. It was kinda neat, but the screen size makes it not very good for most network applications I can think of.
  • Why would you call Palm to cancel a visor? They're not the same company, unless they're in bed much closer than I thought. Do you mean you cancelled your visor in order to get a PalmV? Or cancelled a PalmV in order to get a visor?

  • Didn't work for me (Score:3)

    by KuRL ( 13889 ) on Tuesday October 19, 1999 @12:39PM (#1600938) Homepage
    This completely screwed up my Palm V.

    I downloaded it and ran the installer. My screen started to look odd, but the program said that this was normal. Fine.

    I move on to the next step, and it tells me that it's "lost contact" with my Palm, and I should hit "retry." I do so about 9 times, finally choosing to reset the installation. Wrong answer, I guess. My Palm's OS is completely screwed. It's (my Palm, not the OS) sitting here in the cradle, with that weird screen, not responding to ANYTHING. That's right, no soft resets, hard resets, backlights, NOTHING. Thank god I just did a full backup or else I would have been pretty upset. I got the good people at Palm's customer support to send me one Next Day, and waive the replacement fee (thanks Robert!).

    Let this serve as a warning. Do a FULL backup before this installation.

  • maybe you missed my next post :) I made a mistake s/palm/handspring (for some odd reason someone decided to moderate that down).

    I still havent been able to cancel my order. It's been over 4 weeks since I set the order. They kept on sending me from one manager to the other. The last one claimed that he didnt have access to orders made through the web. Am really dissapointed.

    --
  • pilot-xfer -i filename works on .prd and .prc files, uploading them into the RAM. This, the OS upgrade, is a ROM flash. pilot-xfer won't work. ROM flashing utilities do exist for unix, however, as the poster previous to you has mentioned.
  • I asked Palm support about upgrading to OS 3.3 using Linux, seeing the upgrade on their site seems to be Win or Mac-specific. Here is their entire reply:

    Dear 3Com Customer,

    Thank you for contacting Palm Computing(R) Online Support.

    I understand you are having a problem with upgrading your Palm's OS.

    I see that you are running Linux. I myself know that Linux is better then
    windows, most likely the reason you use the operating system. There are some
    set backs. The upgrade for the OS will not work because it's not readable by
    your OS. Sorry for the inconvenience. Is there a way to upgrade the OS
    without Windows or Mac? To my knowledge, No.

    Have we resolved your issue to your satisfaction today? If the response we
    have provided you does not meet with your satisfaction, please reply to this
    message with an explanation as to why.

    Please post all replies under this message.

    Thank You,

    Leo K.
    ~879
    Palm Computing(R) Online Support

    #:RES;1
  • Ever seen the Matrix?
  • Call For a Campaign: Linux/bin for Palm Upgrade
    ------------------------------------------------

    From the day I purchased Palm, I have used it
    with Linux ONLY. And I intend to do so...

    We must campaign to get a upgrade.bin for Linux!

    Let us *all* write nice,decent, short mails
    to support@ explaining that we intend to use and do use Palm with Linux. And hence we request
    an palm OS upgrade for Linux platform!

    I have written such a mail. I am awaiting their
    reply. I implore all of you to do this.

    May the slash-dot FORCE be with you.

    - ak
    ps: this problem would not arise if palm os were
    open/free source. I am even more convinced now,
    of RMS's foresight.

  • Frotz just resets. No more Zork! Sob.

    Also Patience has stopped working completely.

    Apart from that the upgrade went flawlessly. Didn't lose any data. Didn't lose any apps. The only thing I care about that stopped working was Frotz.

    Oh, and the new version of Hardball is now way too fast to play and causes a crash when it exits. This was the 3.3 version included in the upgrade.

    Also this might be my imagination, but it seems as if my Palm III is faster now. I could be dreaming, but it seems as if the ToDoList app is faster when bringing up ToDos. Similarly, the Applications app seems to be faster when switching between groups.

    Has anyone else noticed a speedup? Is this perhaps just due to the defragment my Palm got when it did the upgrade (full reset and resync)? Maybe I'm just delusional?

    I'm happy with the upgrade. I've lost a few apps, but the 2x speedup on HotSync more than compensates for that. And the IR HotSync looks like fun.

  • Check out "ReDo" for the repeating task functionality. It's great.

  • I have upgraded the firmware on my wireless GSM adapter this way, you hotsync a 250k application. Run the app, it verifies the version numbers etc with the hardware device and then flashes it through the serial port. I've done it several times and it's always worked fine. I wonder why they don't do the 3.3 upgrade this way?
  • Does anyone know if the new hotsync manager will work with a Pilot running PalmOS 3.0? (I've got a III and a IIIe...)

  • Re:Linux version of upgrade? (Score:3)

    by Nathaniel ( 2984 ) on Tuesday October 19, 1999 @11:11AM (#1600952)
    Looks like the choices are petition for a Linux version, or borrowing a Windows or Macintosh machine.

    That would seem to be a difficult battle.

    I just called the Product Information and Sales line. After I explained my question and the fact that Linux is an operating system, and waited while someone went to ask to the supervisor, I was informed that Linux is not a supported platform and 3com currently has no intentions of supporting Linux.

    Once I managed to get the supervisor on the phone, she was able to tell me that the PalmOS 3.3 version is not yet available, and she had looked at the web site earlier today. Pointing out that I had already downloaded the MS-Windows and Macintosh versions 20 minutes ago was insufficent to persuade her. She explained that those are upgrades to the desktops, not the PalmOS, and the 3.3 upgrade to the PalmOS would be available soon, "once they finish making it".

    Go figure.

  • No, it can't. HandSpring did not put the OS on a flashable area of the device. Thus, there are no full upgrades to the OS. The only possiblity of OS enhancements would be like what Palm did for PalmOS 3.1.1. It was an update, not an upgrade. It exists on the device like an application and yes, it could be deleted just like an application.

  • Well, of course, 3Com has announced that they're spinning off Palm as a separate subsidiary, complete with its own IPO next year sometime. So that may affect the dynamic a bit.

    But to get at the meat of this post: Palm seems to be [wired.com] starting to move more in the direction of the business market (see also this article [cnet.com]), while Handspring definitely seems to be targetting the home/personal user market with the possibility of MP3/GPS/other interesting Springboard modules.

    I think there's plenty of room for different sorts of palmtop devices running PalmOS, and in the future probably some version(s) of Linux, perhaps even PalmOS running on the Linux kernel, as this interview [wired.com] seems to indicate is possible (it says that the PalmOS is designed to run on top of different kernels, specifically in this case the Symbian EPOC32 kernel in the context of the new agreement with Nokia).

  • I hope that Bluetooth's products are better then the idiot they found to design thier web page... Aparently I don't just need a particular browser to view thier page, it has to be the right level, and for a particular OS.

    Someone needs to brush up on HTML standards, and grab a clue! :)

  • How do I upgrade my ROM with gpilotd or pilot-xfer?

    I don't have windows, and have been extremely happy with both gpilotd and pilot-xfer, FWIW.

  • Palmguru Review (Score:4)

    by KuRL ( 13889 ) on Tuesday October 19, 1999 @12:52PM (#1600959) Homepage
    For what it's worth, there's a review of this at http://www.scsr.nevada.edu/~j imm/reviews/review101999.html.

    It basically gives a rundown of the new features, nothing special.

  • Hell, I'm suprised that they acknowleged the fact that Macintosh exists.

    "The number of suckers born each minute doubles every 18 months."

  • Bug in Palm update (Score:1)

    by Anonymous Coward
    Greeeat - i run the updater for my IIIx/Mac and it gets to the last stage then can't restore my data from the Mac to the Palm.

    Ring tech support and they say 'there's a bug, it shouldn't have been released'.

    Well it was and i downloaded and ran it. should i charge them for my time?
  • What akwards-bassed thinking. We live in a connected world, man, where everything is interconnected, baby. You can take you and your antisocial little dream palmtop out in the woods, man.

    That and you could actually try a Palm and see how it is so much more than an overclocked digital rolodex.
  • Do you actually have a symbol ppt1500 or 1800, or are you just trying to sound cool?

  • Nope (Score:2)

    by Erich ( 151 )
    The page that a poster suggested said that it can't work with 3COM rom files because the 3COM rom files are missing the first 32K.
  • My Palm V, like many others I know, suffer date losses every few days and have to have the correct day reset. I asked Palm about this and they are aware but have no solution for it yet (they told me to hard-reset, but using the prefs app is much less drastic).

    I was thinking of throwing my V in the trash (what good is an organiser that can't keep the date?) and getting a Visor. But if this patch fixes it, I'll keep it.
  • I've upgraded my Palm V and now it doesn't know how to turn itself off (by physical button or the power off icon in LauncherIII) while the Hackmaster PalmVFix is active.

    If you see this problem turn off this hack and you should be back to normal. (Maybe HackMaster needs to be updated?)
  • The pager card uses a non-compatible flash type.
    (I owned one and returned it within 1 week of finding that out.) TRG was no help, didn't plan on supporting it, and Motorola & Pagemart pretty much agreed that they couldn't be bothered to support flash at all. They did say they'd release a flash upgrade IF a flash upgrade ever came out, but don't hold yer breath. Pager info is in the flashrom, and if you can change that, you can eavesdrop on other pager.... so they have no incentive to make it easy to do so.
  • Seeing that Visor uses the Palm OS, it seems unlikely that Palm will go the way of Amiga if the Visor is more successful that the Palm hardware. Palm is trying to build a viable OS that is used by many hardware platforms. There are several other devices running Palm OS, including a phone by Qualcomm, the WorkPad by IBM, and the Visor. Hell, MindSpring was probably encouraged by 3com to bring this product to market.
  • From the FAQ Page [palm.com]:

    Please note that this upgrade is not designed for the following:

    Palm VII(TM) organizer Register for future upgrade notification.
    Palm IIIe(TM) organizer Model does not contain flash ROM.
    HandSpring(TM) Visors Models do not contain flash ROM.
    Pager Cards Click for more information.
    Symbol® handhelds
    Qualcomm pdQ(TM) smartphone
    The Palm Vx(TM) organizer is already running Palm OS® software v3.3 and thus an upgrade is not necessary.

  • Upgrading now... (Score:3)

    by the_tsi ( 19767 ) on Tuesday October 19, 1999 @11:35AM (#1600971)
    I'm watching my palm screen and I can see a while bunch of people in suits and this lady in a red dress. Deja vu.

    Whoa.

    -Chris
  • Palm is being spun off my 3COM shortly. The IIIe can be bought at Frys for $179 US which isn't so far off the mark.

  • Before you upgrade! (Score:4)

    by mulan ( 84969 ) on Tuesday October 19, 1999 @11:35AM (#1600974) Homepage
    Before you upgrade your Palm to PalmOS 3.3, be sure to check here [pimpoint.com] and the websites of your software vendors to make sure that what's working today, will be working tomorrow and the next day (particularly TRG apps) ... Many vendors that make the more popular and enterprise level apps have updated their software because of problems created by the new OS. Then, there are vendors that aren't effected by this change.

    Regardless, double check. Once you've upgraded the OS, there's no turning back.

  • Does your Pro have an upgradeable Flash ROM like the III? If not, then you probably won't be able to use this upgrade/update.

    Sorry.

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