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-- OS Upgrades - How (http://discussion.visorcentral.com/vcforum/showthread.php?threadid=1614)

The PalmPilots have the ability to upgrade the OS. Does anyone know if the Visor has this feature also?

Meeters,

The OS on the Visor (all models) is not upgradeable. However, you will still have ability to patch (I think), but just not completely replace the OS. Hope this helps.

Hawk

I apologize in advance to everyone who's seen me post on this particular topic. BUT, it seems that everytime someone asks about OS upgrades, the quick answer is simply, "No."

SO, for the tenth time or so, YES, the Visor OS can be "upgraded" in the sense that small patches can be applied (simply HotSunk) to the Visor to correct for minor OS bugs. This means you can go from OS 3.1 to OS 3.1.1 or even 3.1.3! (ooooooh!)

However, going from OS 3.1 to OS 4.0 is highly unlikely.

And it is at THIS point that I'll again say that if OS 4.0 is released, it is VERY likely that the hardware you currently have (Visor or Palm alike) will be unable to accept the OS. Most likely, two things will have changed: the actual processor AND/OR the screen (either in resolution and/or color). If the processor changes, you'll need a new machine. If the new OS supports higher screen resolution or color, you'll STILL need a new machine.

Speaking of color... let's think about this. What's missing from OS 3.1? USB support and color. Visor took care of USB and doesn't have use for color (of course, neither do current Palms). What other "big" steps can the OS take that would be of significant benefit to current Palm/Visor users? Really, more memory and color are the two big ones that come to mind. Both of which require new hardware in the form of a new processor or a new screen, respectively.

Although, granted, a good JavaVM in ROM might be nice for some folks...

- Chazzz Fishburn

BTW, the new Palm Vx has OS 3.3 - but it probably runs only on that hardware from what I hear so far.

Thanks, What I meant by "upgrades" was the ability to apply patches and minor fixes.

oouuuhh, mistake.

OS 3.3 can be installed to IIIx series according to http://www.pimpoint.com/

(I can't see any revolutionary changes)

It said:

Palm OS 3.3 is included with the Palm Vx and soon will be available for users of the Palm III, Palm IIIx, Palm V, the 2MB Upgrade Card and WorkPad C3. The OS 3.3 update will utilize the flash ROM that is on these units. This update will enable features that Palm users have been waiting for a long time.

The Euro
The Euro is supported in OS 3.3. A new graffiti stroke has been added for the Euro. To enter it, use the symbol shift stroke (diagonal line from left to right) then draw an "E".

Infrared HotSyncing
OS 3.3 now supports Infrared HotSyncing. You may HotSync or beam data with any device that is IrCOMM/IrDA compliant.

New HotSync Manager
The Modem panel has been removed. Includes a drop-down menu for selecting the connection type.

New Network HotSync

Connection box now added.
PC users will need Windows 9x or NT4 and Mac users will need MacOS 7.5.3 or greater in order to use the Palm OS 3.3 flash utility. Palm OS 3.3 will be released in download form very soon. Be sure to visit PIMpoint regularly for further updates.

I think it's better that there is no OS upgrades other than for the small patches for the Visor PDAs. The reason being is very simple. If 3COM is pissed off that HandSpring is stealing too much of their Palm market share, they would post a new OS upgrade that might break support for this Visor PDA. Remember the way Windows would always upgrade their OS from 3.1-=> 3.10-=> 3.11 just to spite OS/2 and break support for the OS or other applications that were in direct competition with MS applications ?? Well, in this case, since you cannot upgrade this OS from 3.x to 4.x, you cannot actually mess with the customer base that is built-up, therefore requiring less/no patching.

So, whoever is creating/designing/producing these Springboard modules, should have no problems ensuring that their products work without any worries of future OS upgradability to patch for. So, I think that it is very smart for HandSpring to control the affects from this point.

3Com would essentially shoot itself in the foot if it did anything to impair Handspring. 3Com should WANT Handpsring to succeed, as every Visor that goes out the door puts a bit of cash in 3Com's pocket - let's not forget who's OS this *really* is.

Above is right. On top of that, every Visor which is sold widens the PalmOS user basis - which in return is again good for Palm.

The lowering of Palm prices is not because of the Visor - it's a general trend and long long overdue. Look at Intels or AMDs prices......

Visor (or whatever comes next) is also good for the developement of PDAs in general. The future will be even brighter.

I read in another post that if you do a " hard reset" you will loose all the information stored in your Visor(except rom). Does that mean that if you have a patch to the operating system you will have to reinstall it too?

Would I be able to carry a backup of the patch in the memory module and install it from the module to the Visor? Should I get the backup module instead? It seems to me that the memory module would be more flexible even if you use it for backup...

By the way... Why is the memory module more expensive? It seems to me that the plug and play for an automatic backup plus the same amount of memory would make the backup module more expensive.

I have never used a palm os device before... Is the hard reset really something I should be concerned or not?

Thank you for any information...

[This message has been edited by uekid (edited 10-19-1999).]

As I understand it, patches are placed in RAM, and need to be re-installed after a hard reset if you want to continue using the patch.

Joe V. - Simi Valley, CA

I wouldn't spend too much time worrying about having a patch around if you need to hard reset. With most of the backup tools, the patch will be replaced when you restore.