I got me a Palm Pilot!!!

[Baglady]

*Originally posted by Coldfire *
**

*Originally posted by Baglady *
As for your software crash, why did you have to reinstall everything? Standard rule of thumb is to make sure you have a full back-up before installing new software. It’s VERY easy to do since all you have to do is set your conduit manager such that you do a full back-up at the time you also install the new application. If the new app fails, you have a back-up you just made moments ago. Every single one of your pre-existing apps as well as things like addresses are then restored right on your Visor again.

OK, but HOW? I’m going through my standard Palm OS Desktop software, and see no such option, not even in the install module. The Visor HotSync app has no such settings either. Where do I need to change things? Is this a separate software patch? **

I had started writing a very long message for you, when something else I was doing caused my PC to crash. Oi vey! So… Take 2!

This information is also available in the Handspring Visor User Guide, which you can download as a PDF from http://www.handspring.com/support/ug_warranties.asp. You do not need to own a Visor to view this guide. The specific information you want is in the section called “Performing a Hard Reset” on page 220 in Appendix A.

I assume you are on a PC, and not a Mac. Email me if the procedure below does not work, and you have read the Handspring Visor User Guide referenced above.

If your Palm OS Desktop software is the one that came on your Visor CD, it is the Handspring FLAVORED Palm OS. It should be something like Palm OS 3.0.2H, with the “H” designation indicating the “Handspring” version of the Palm OS. Assuming your initial installation from the CD was successful, you should, in addition to your Palm Desktop, have something else called a Conduit Manager. The Conduit Manager icon looks like a yin/yang symbol, with one blue arrow and one red arrow coming into each other in a circle formation. If you do not see this icon on your Windows Toolbar, go to Start --> Find --> Files or Folders, and search for “conduit.”

TIP: While the Palm Desktop serves as a “mirror” for the basic applications on your Visor (such as your Addressbook), the Conduit Manager is the application that allows your Visor to synchronize the data between itself, and the Palm Desktop software. Without the Conduit Manager you cannot perform HotSync operations.

If you do not have the Conduit Manager installed on your PC, and you do not have your original Visor CD, go to http://www.handspring.com/support/softwareup.asp to download the latest version software. You must have your Visor’s serial number to download this.

1. Turn on your Conduit Manager. If it is not in your Windows Toolbar and you found it with the Find command, select the Conduit Manager from your Find window.

2. With the Conduit Manager selected and active, right-click on the icon. This brings up a menu selection.

3. From the menu, select “Custom.” The Custom screen appears.

4. The Custom screen has two boxes:
   a) The top box is a single line, and shows your name (or the name registered to your Handspring).
   b) The bottom box has several lines, including items such as To-Do List, Addressbook, etc.

[You can set a preferred default action for each conduit. Double-click on each item for which you want to change the settings. For example, if you want the Addressbook in both your Visor and PC to match, select the “Synchronize the files” option, then select “Make Default.”]

To restore your Visor after a hard reset, select the Desktop Overwrites Handheld option for all the conduits you have.

5. Place your Visor on the HotSync cradle.

6. Press the HotSync button on your cradle. The HotSync process starts.

When the Visor has completed the HotSync process, all of the applications you previously had loaded on it prior to its hard reset should now appear in the Visor.

[obfusciatrist]

*Originally posted by MannyL *
**Today I bought a Handspring Deluxe in Graphite. The Stylus with the Handspring is the best I have ever seen. You can unscrew the tip and there is a small piece of plastic that will fit the reset hole on the back. No longer will I hunt for paperclips if I have a crash **

You do realize that if you unscrew the other end there is a small phillip’s head screw driver in case you need to take your Visor apart?

[MadHatter]

And a palm pilot would be a …

[MannyL]

*Originally posted by obfusciatrist *
**

*Originally posted by MannyL *
**Today I bought a Handspring Deluxe in Graphite. The Stylus with the Handspring is the best I have ever seen. You can unscrew the tip and there is a small piece of plastic that will fit the reset hole on the back. No longer will I hunt for paperclips if I have a crash **

You do realize that if you unscrew the other end there is a small phillip’s head screw driver in case you need to take your Visor apart? **

Yes I noticed that and thought How nice I can fix my eyeglasses on the road now.

[Baglady]

*Originally posted by MadHatter *
**And a palm pilot would be a … **

Living so close to Silicon Valley in Northern California, and working for a software company makes me somewhat steeped in technological geekiness… and I end up making certain assumptions (such as, “All billboards advertise dot-com companies”).

“Palm” is the name of a handheld personal digital assistant (PDA). About the size of an index card and the thickness of a deck of cards, at its basic level a Palm handheld PDA keeps an address book, a calendar, a to-do list, and notes in electronic form. Primary method for data input is the use of a stylus instead of a keyboard. Palm’s original model of its handheld device was called the Pilot, and although Palm has long since stopped using the “Pilot” moniker, it’s still stuck. It’s a lot easier to call them “Palm Pilots” than “Palm PDAs,” “Palm handhelds” or “Palms.” Palm dropped the Pilot moniker when it was threatened with a lawsuit by the Pilot Pen folks, who were afraid people would get confuse. There is some irony in the fact that the Pilot Pen company now makes stylus pens for Palms…

Unlike other little electronic organizers (that might look like fancy calculators), the Palm’s main benefit is its ability to sync up with your PC so you can keep the same information (your schedule, addressbook, etc.) on both your Palm and your PC.

Palm is also the name of the company. A while back, it was bought by 3Com (which makes things like modems). Now, Palm is a subsidiary of 3Com.

Palm handhelds use their own operating system, called the Palm OS. Palm leases its OS to other companies, like TRGPro and Handspring. Palm, and Palm OS handhelds, make up around 80% of the handheld market, I believe.

The primary competitor of Palm is Microsoft and its new Pocket PC operating system. Microsoft leases the Pocket PC OS to other companies, like Casio.

Microsoft has fumbled a few times in getting its own handheld OS out of its gate (Gates? [groan]) because it keeps trying to make an OS that’s a miniaturized version of Windows. With Pocket PC, I’m told MS finally figured out that we don’t just want a small PC in our pockets (so to speak), but an EXTENSION of our computers. Previous iterations of its handheld OS include Windows CE, which sunk like a rock.

Palm handhelds and compatibles start at around $150.00. Prices go up with the amount of memory as well as niche technologies. The Palm V is a very small, sleek animal that looks very stylish in a corporate setting. The Palm VII has a built-in modem so you can surf and send email from your handheld [coverage of the wireless model is currently even more limited than cell phone coverage, though].

Most models use black and white screens, but some now use color. Prices go upwards of about $700, with the bulk of them priced in the $250 range.

Hope that answers your question!