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-- USB. So what? (http://discussion.visorcentral.com/vcforum/showthread.php?threadid=424)

Ya know, everyone keeps mentioning the USB cradle as a sometimes detriment to ownership of a Visor, cause not everyone has USB and/or Windows 95 doesn't fully support it.

Well, so what?

Personally, I can't think of any computers made in the last year or two that don't have USB, so we're talking older systems here. For those that don't, a simple $15 PCI card adds in USB support, and costs less than the $30 serial cradle, and provides more use (you can now use other USB devices as well).

The Visor is a new product, and as many new products do, they've used technology that is current. I don't remember complaints when PCI came out, or AGP, so why so much furor over USB? I use USB on my Windows 98 PC and it makes things much easier than standard serial ports and what not. I'm all for it!

I think people with win95a can't use USB at all. That and I heard (rumor) that 95b doesn't work. that leaves win98 or macOS. I have 98 SO...

I thoroughly agree. USB is WAY faster than serial, and you don't have to turn the computer off to plug things into it (not that I turn my computer off when I plug serial cables in). You plug the device in, and it works. Well, of course you have to have the drivers installed. Also, USB devices are cheaper than serial devices. USB will be THE thing in a year or two.

Though I agree that USB is the way to go, the fight I am having to endure with my company's IS Dept. is disgusting. Unless my hard drive crashes, or my manager approves the upgrade, I am dead in the water (and seriouly considering sabatoge). So the Visor Delux I have so anxiously awaited will become a $250 paperweight unless I can get my system at work upgraded (or shell out more money for a serial cradle).

All the PCs at my work run NT, so until they upgrade to Win2K when it's released (probably in 1901), it's a serial cradle for me.

All New macs support USB!!

Think Different

binkley,

the problem is that USB is not supported by any flavor of 95 or NT. 95B is supposed to support USB (dosen't really work), but the Visor requires 98 to function properly with the USB cradle.

so i could sync at work, i had to put 98 on the PC at my desk.

chris (sluggo)

I am not complaining about the fact they are using new technology. I think it is great, I see the criticism relating to the fact that USB is only good for Win 98 and Mac0S. I run NT and I am screwed here at work. I needed a second cradle anyway so I ordered the Serial cradle. At home I am going to have to upgrade to 98. It is kinda a drag, but that is price for new tech. A free serial in lieu if the USB might have been a nice option.

i have a dell desktop with windows 98.

does my pc have a usb port? i have no idea...

any info is appreciated!

SAINT,

Take a look at the following message thread:<UL TYPE=SQUARE><LI>Does my PC have a USB port?</UL>It should help in figuring this out on your system.

Sluggo -

I am not sure where you get your info but I am using Windows 95b and have several items (Intel video camera and a Kodak DC260 Digital camera) that use my USB port and I have not had a single problem with it. It downloads quickly and I have been able to "hot swap" with no problems.

ANYBODY -

Have any of the current Visor owners (those lucky folks) tried to sync with USB under Windows 95B???

Thanks for any info.

[This message has been edited by Skipper (edited 10-22-1999).]

...just one morething. If you have serial cradle (I have an IIIx) and a non-USB PC (even with Win 98) it can be troublesome to get a connection.

My 2 COM ports are occupied by mouse and internal modem. I gave up and only sync in the office.

USB will be MUCH easier.

I wonder why Handspring does not offer a Visor with a Serial cradle option instead of USB. For those who need serial the USB cradle will only collect dusk, and having to also purchase the serial cradle as an additional option seems to needlessly add cost.

Skipper, check Troubleshooting for Visor recipients' problems with USB syncing. And, Ivan, your USB will only collect dust until you get your next computer. If you don't have USB, your computer's probably three or more years old now. Hawkins says Handspring's research indicates that a very high percentage of Visor buyers will have USB on their computers. Those that don't are in the minority and Handspring accomodates them by making a serial cradle available. This solution obviously bothers you. But, as someone has posted, you can buy a USB card for less than the cost of a serial cradle. Then, your computer will have USB and your Visor will sync via USB; the best of all worlds. Don't blame Handspring. They give you the option of resolving this problem in whatever way works best for you.

The world does not revolve around Windows '98 PCs no matter what Microsoft Marketing says.

There are MANY computer users out there that either don't have the hardware or OS to support USB so their concerns are valid just as this fact should be a deterrent to ownership for them. And in many cases, it has nothing to do with them being out of date with technology (i.e. NT 4.0).

While I like USB and use it on the machines I can, when I can ... I don't agree with the notion that those without USB should just stay silent since their concern is quite valid. If you don't have USB, the Visor may not be the PDA for you.

------------------
Wes Salmon
PDA Buzz Guy
www.pdabuzz.com

DaBuzz:

I understand your points. My concerns also lie in the people saying Handspring should be offering it with a serial cradle instead of a USB cradle. I don't see people complaining when a new video card comes out and it only uses AGP and only has drivers for Windows. They just select a different video card if it doesn't meet their needs.

However, I think it is obvious that Handspring chose a format that would work very well on both Windows 98 machines and Macintosh machines that have been manufactured in the past couple of years, just as the video card maker chooses AGP due to its prevalence in new systems.

So I suppose my point is more or less than we don't expect other hardware manufacturers to offer multiple configurations, but we expect a PDA manufacturer to? Why? I think it is enough that Handspring is offering the serial cradle for sale. Perhaps the price is a bit high for such a device, but they are offering it. Hell, I don't know of a single printer manufacturer (and correct me if I'm wrong) who even includes a cable to hook it up to your PC, regardless of whether it's a Parallel, Serial, or USB printer.

Oh well. Thats my rant.

Skipper,

I got my Visor Tuesday & have been syncing at home (98 & USB... Boy USB is FAST!) I forgot to bring my cradle to work with me to test it out here (95b & USB on my box at work). I will try it out Monday & let everyone know.

For you NT 4.0 guys, DigitalPersona (make fingerprint readers) are releasing a USB driver for NT in the first part of November. I'm on of the beta testers for the new driver. It showed up at work today, but I was off so I won't get to test it till Monday. But my home machine and my laptop (work & home) are both Win2K (RC2) machines and I've used the USB on them and it works great (well, as well as 98 anyway). I can't wait to try the Visor cradle on them. We'll see what happens.

BC

And another thing, if the Visor never shows up, what does USB matter??

skipper,

i have a visor deluxe already (i've had mine for 2 weeks now) and i can tell you from personal experience that the Visor's USB cradle will not work with 95B. my office pc had 95b w/usb support installed and no matter what i did, the visor and the hotsync manager refused to connect. pressing the hotsync button on the cradle would not even activate the hotsync manager on the pc.

i now am running 98SE at work and have no problems.

sluggo



[This message has been edited by sluggo (edited 10-22-1999).]