VisorCentral.com (http://discussion.visorcentral.com/vcforum/index.php)
- Springboard Modules (http://discussion.visorcentral.com/vcforum/forumdisplay.php?forumid=10)
-- Reality Check - Springboard Modules are a bust (http://discussion.visorcentral.com/vcforum/showthread.php?threadid=8470)

I wouldn't be surprised if the Xircom network adapter would be able to ping other devices, solving your problem. As a system Adminstrator, I would love to hvae one of those, it would save the hassle of bringing a jordana with a NIC everywhere I go.
BEN

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Originally posted by Toby

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Originally posted by edhensley
Well in under 15 minutes I've found a cable test for 50 to 65.

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What exactly does it "test"?

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A multi-network cable tester with tone generator for 67.

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What types of "networks"?

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Try the internet its a wonderfull tool.

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Try being less patronizing. It's much more conducive to communication.

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A simple ping program and few bells and there you go.

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Sounds like a great business venture. When do you start production?

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MPC working on MCSE

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Originally posted by gleatherman
OK. Let's admit it.. the springboard module concept is a bust. It's been a year and lots of vapor-modules have been announced but very, very few have shipped.

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May just be like me, forgot my first username and password, or he could have just been reading posts. Doesnt change what he states. SB's currently are a good idea but in practice its a bust.

I was one of the first to try and order last year in Oct and had to suffer through Handsprings growth and I do like the PDA but it hasn't lived up to the hype of being a multipurpose PDA. SB press releases are fast and used as a marketing tool but nothing is made and sold.

Oh sure you can make your own. Anyone remember the heath Kits of long ago?

Only 6 pack you can get is the cold type not the cool type. The phone SB is way over priced. GPS is lost and can't find its way to any visor. Bluetooth is fast becoming falsetooth.

The one item that has come through is the modems. But I had a Sharp Zarus that had an integrated modem 4 years ago.

I just wonder how fast MS will adapt and devour the handpsring. They do love the weak so much.

__________________
MPC working on MCSE

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Originally posted by edhensley
CTK-MNCT-RJT is a companion to any network professional. It combines the function of a simple to use cable tester with a built-in tone generator. The CTK-MNCT-RJT can enhance the technician�s ability to quickly locate and verify the status of a commonly used voice and data cable. The test function includes: loop-back, continuity, open, shorts, miss-wire and pin-to-pin configuration. The CTK-MNCT-RJT is capable of generating a low emission frequency "tone". When coupled with a compatible tone tracer, can allow a technician to quickly isolate and locate the cable being tested. Everything comes packaged in a convenient carrying pouch (require a 9V battery to operate.)

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Originally posted by Toby
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Have you actually ever used one of these things? Cutting and pasting the marketing info from one of their resellers only goes so far in making a point. It also wouldn't be much of any use to make a springboard that did what that thing does, since it has no intelligence to interface with. Those things are on a comparable technology level with those LED voltage testers with alligator clips.

Something like a Microtest Microscanner, OTOH, could actually be useful to me. Of course, if/whenever Xircom's ethernet module is released, good software could make it a killer app as well.

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MPC working on MCSE

Xircom

BTW the Xircom's springport wont be available till the winter of 2001.

http://www.xircom.com/cda/page/1,1298,0-0-1_1-704,00.html

Care to bet on that windows devices and palms will have it before handspring?

Point still the same. Poor # of SB's that are actually worth the paper they are printed on.

One thing I'd love to see....

One of the things I use for my work is a line analyzer.
Its a small box that connects a serial line at either side, so you can see the high/low pins and jumper them. It also connects to a laptop so that I can see the actual data running through the line. A springboard that would do that would mean not having to carry a small suitcase size box around with me when I travel, a godsend.

Back to the original post on whether or not the SB concept floats, or is sinking. This site seems to attract alot of outspoken people who tend to go far in one direction or another (this is the greatest thing since sex, or conversely, this thing sucks worse then a supercharged Oreck).
The SB's out are useful to some, worthless to others. I personally don't think that the real market for the Visor consists of people who have owned PDA's before. I think it consists of people like myself who were on the fence about owning one, and was swayed into buying a Visor by some perceived value that the Visor claimed as it's own.
I bought a Visor (actually two) because I liked that they had built-in expandibilty, they were more bang for the buck straight out of the box, and most importantly- that they were the new product developed by the original designers of the Palm Pilot.
I find all the hoopla over the announced SB's as interesting. I don't get worked up about them 'cause nothing exists until it hits the market. Think of the announced SB's as Detroit concept cars and the ones actually available as the cars on your local dealers lots. The PT Cruiser seemed neat in magazines, but up close and personal it was cheap and poorly made. The Nissan Frontier Crew Cab didn't excite me at all when I read about it, but I developed a need for a pick up- add that to the fact that I have three sons and any vehicle I buy has to seat two adults and those boys- and bingo!- it's suddenly something that makes sense. To me.
The SB concept works, it just hasn't been fully utilized. That will come. More and more small developers will come out with "boring" useful SB's. Larger companies will announce "breakthrough" applications that are overblown and overpriced. I think that the SB concept with it's free market approach to licensing matches the PalmOS approach. It will not "tank" this year or next. It won't reach it's full potential by then either. It will build slowly and surely, and as more people get involved, clever users will come with ideas for SB's that Handspring never imagined.

People of integrity expect to be believed, and when they're not, they let time prove them right.

BobbyMike

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Originally posted by edhensley
Well since I've been in this business for over 15 years and actually earning a living at I think I know I'm doing.

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The reason for the cut the and paste, didn't want to waste my time.

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Because most would understand that tester aren't that expensive and most problems you see in the field tend to be quick to solve with cheaper testers.

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A 15k fluke is over kill for most applications.

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But like you point out Xircom's SB when it comes out will be worth it, if its not over priced or limited by a poorly written app.

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Originally posted by edhensley
BTW the Xircom's springport wont be available till the winter of 2001.

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Care to bet on that windows devices and palms will have it before handspring?

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Point still the same. Poor # of SB's that are actually worth the paper they are printed on.

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Originally posted by Lacutis
Its a small box that connects a serial line at either side, so you can see the high/low pins and jumper them.

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Not that the rest of your post wasn't worthwhile, but one thing you mentioned seems to strike at the heart of the issue...

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Originally posted by BobbyMike
I find all the hoopla over the announced SB's as interesting. I don't get worked up about them 'cause nothing exists until it hits the market.

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Originally posted by edhensley
May just be like me, forgot my first username and password, or he could have just been reading posts. Doesnt change what he states. SB's currently are a good idea but in practice its a bust.

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Here's my two cents. I purchased the VisorDX shortly after it was announced (and lived through their original customer service hell). The main reason I bought the thing was that I needed 8mb of memory, and my only other options at the time (the PalmVx, some Windows CE devices) were either a lot more expensive or poorly thought out.

Springboards were a nice possibility, but not the sole reason to purchase the Visor, at least at the time I made the decision.

Sure, I've been disappointed at the slow pace of springboard release, and the relatively high prices of the ones that are out or announced. However, they are starting to come out now, and some of them are useful.

I have the InnoPak 2v, which is a nice little module - extra memory for games and ebooks, plus a vibrating alarm. I've got the eyemodule, which is an overpriced toy with limited usefulness, but still kind of cool. I've got the Xircom Springport 56k modem, which works fine, and I've got the Backup module, which provides some peace of mind. In short, I've now got a PDA with quite a range of functionality.

Could I get the same combined functionality from a different PDA? Probably. Does that mean the Visor or the Springboard concept is a bust. No.

Toby,
I think the 'hoopla' is interesting because of how people are responding. I bought my Visor, along with a 8MB module and a back-up module, last year. When I lost my first Visor, the back-up module fulfilled its promise by giving me a way to enter all my contact info and programs into my new Visor with no hassle. The only other accessory I've bought, my Stowaway, is not Visor specific. For my use the Visor is perfect. I would have never bought a Palm unit (not flexible enough) or a Wince/PocketPC unit (too expensive/ not robust enough/ battery run time too short).
I feel that the real PDA market for is not in early adopters, it's in new users. It is much too early too determine whether or not the concept flies or not for the general public. Handspring is not an internet company, it's a manufactuer. The sheer number of announced SB's shows that the concept is exciting to companies other than Handspring. The fact that other PDA manufacturers are developing similar platforms also points to it's viability in the market. Premature announcements of products is not new. What seems to be new is the ability for people to get together like this and talk about their complaints, etc. If you/me could only talk about this to the people we saw day to day, or write to the editors of our favorite magazine, most of us couldn't sustain a such vigorous animosity/inerest. The immediate now-now-now nature of the Net is bleeding into the REAL world for people and we want to be satisfied now-now-now. The big choleric part of me wants to say "Grow up you impatient, whiny babies!" the little tiny honest part of me says "I know how you feel, I WANT IT ALL NOW TOO!" and both parts want to be right.

BobbyMike

"Would you buy a car from this man?"

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Originally posted by BobbyMike
Toby,
I think the 'hoopla' is interesting because of how people are responding.

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I bought my Visor, along with a 8MB module and a back-up module, last year. When I lost my first Visor, the back-up module fulfilled its promise by giving me a way to enter all my contact info and programs into my new Visor with no hassle.

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The only other accessory I've bought, my Stowaway, is not Visor specific. For my use the Visor is perfect.

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I would have never bought a Palm unit (not flexible enough) or a Wince/PocketPC unit (too expensive/ not robust enough/ battery run time too short).

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{...} The immediate now-now-now nature of the Net is bleeding into the REAL world for people and we want to be satisfied now-now-now. The big choleric part of me wants to say "Grow up you impatient, whiny babies!" the little tiny honest part of me says "I know how you feel, I WANT IT ALL NOW TOO!" and both parts want to be right.

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Originally posted by BobbyMike
The only other accessory I've bought, my Stowaway, is not Visor specific.

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Originally posted by Charo

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Originally posted by BobbyMike
The only other accessory I've bought, my Stowaway, is not Visor specific.

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The Visor model of the Stowaway will only work with Visors. Not Palms, etc.

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__________________
Life's just a blast, just it's moving really fast, and you'd <BR>better stay on top or life'll kick you in the ass -Limp Bizkit

Yes, Parb33, that is exactly what I meant. Thanks for clarifying.
BobbyMike
"I'm not an idiot, I just play one on the Internet."

Cool Springboard Designs

OK, here's what I would see to be an easy springboard design and sell.

1. Network/Packet Sniffer:
I mean, how hard would it be to pop an Ethernet jack on the back of a Springboard and develop a basic sniffer with IP troubleshooting tools built into it?

2. Cradleless USB/Ethernet Connectivity:
Would be AWESOME for around the office (802.11 is not there yet). I'm sure Microsoft would be the first onboard with the Pocket PC platform that would allow showing full-sized Powerpoint presentations from a PDA, of course, someone would have to develop the software for the Palm OS.

3. Microdrives:
Yes, they use up too much power and yes, they can crash somewhat easily. But having a couple of Gig in your pocket? C'mon, that would be killer. All it would take then would be a basic audio decoder and you would have HOURS of MP3 time and video.

What should Visor do to help this?

1. Built-In Wireless Connectivity:
I know the Bluetooth boards are coming out, but dammit, this should be something that's being developed as a BUILT IN feature of the newer units. Hell, with the promise (and it's still just the promise) of what Bluetooth could do, there is absolutely NO reason why this should not be a built in standard feature (even if it would jack the price up $20 per unit).

2. Built-In Headphone Jack:
Voice/Video are the two things that can take this PDA from being a has-been toy to a functional unit.

How much would it cost to develop this? Probably thousands of dollars. This is why the idea of a seperate company developing an affordable Springboard module on it's own will be nearly impossible. Unless someone can do the R&D on their own, then roll it to a factory for quality testing, production, and shipping there will NEVER be a company that can produce the Springboards at the price that we (the consumer) are looking for.

I agree, no Springboard should EVER cost more than $100. That's why I am planning on buying SprintPCS for now and using one of the modem cables to connect to the net at 14.4 and not spending $250 bucks on a VisorPhone.

/rant

Brian

Re: Cool Springboard Designs

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Originally posted by bwohlgemuth
1. Network/Packet Sniffer:
I mean, how hard would it be to pop an Ethernet jack on the back of a Springboard and develop a basic sniffer with IP troubleshooting tools built into it?

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