VisorCentral.com - is memplug worth getting?

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VisorCentral.com (http://discussion.visorcentral.com/vcforum/index.php)
- Springboard Modules (http://discussion.visorcentral.com/vcforum/forumdisplay.php?forumid=10)
-- is memplug worth getting? (http://discussion.visorcentral.com/vcforum/showthread.php?threadid=15361)

Posted by Matthew Nichols on 05-28-2001 01:28 AM:

Anyone who is serious about forking over the cash for the MemPlug & a huge card should also spend the money for a SM/CF reader, they're as cheap as $30 (If not cheaper)

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Posted by Matthew Nichols on 05-28-2001 01:33 AM:

quote:
Originally posted by miradu2000
Does anyoen kow of an INTERNAL reader? that would fit in a 3.5 inch bay? I want 2 smartmedia sltos, and 2 cf slots, along with MMC/SD, and a memstick slot. I would pay $150 for it

I've never heard of such a reader that wasn't already in the computer (Sony offers computers with such slots). You could purchases a PCMCIA adapter for your computer and then you could have a variety of PCMCIA adapters (Doubt this is a better solution).

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Posted by j762538 on 05-28-2001 01:43 AM:

quote:
Originally posted by argent
PiDirect will not run programs directly from the memory card. That's not possible. The memory on the CF or SM card is not accessible from the Visor. PiDirect will have to do what AutoCF does, and copy individual records from the card when they're "locked" by the application. "Locking" a record is the equivalent of "reading" a block from a file on a conventional OS.
For efficiency, they will probably create a cache of a few hundred K, so that when you request a record in cache it will not be copied in again.
Since applications lock all the code records for a program when it's launched (otherwise they could move around as the program modifies databases), launching a program will effectively load the whole program in.
So, basically, the only time you'll be hitting the actual CF or SM card is when you read new database entries, or when you do a search on a large file.

So does that mean if I want to view a 2 meg map on the CF I need 2 meg on the Visor?

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Posted by PiDeveloper on 05-28-2001 02:22 AM:

- Deleted.

Posted by dvIceT on 05-28-2001 04:27 AM:

quote:
Originally posted by j762538

So does that mean if I want to view a 2 meg map on the CF I need 2 meg on the Visor?

I certainly hope not. That would take the teeth out of PiDirect. From what others have said, actual applications *may* have to be copied completely to handheld RAM, but databases can be read directly off the external memory card.

Anyone know why PiDeveloper deleted some of his posts?

Posted by headgamer on 05-28-2001 04:35 AM:

As far as loading the SM cards, you would have to do it one of three ways I can think of:

1) Sync to Visor then move to SM card
2) Buy an external card reader (I got a ZIo for $25 - it is wonderful and is no bigger really than the Memplug itself! http://www.microtechint.com).
3) Buy a floppy adapter - the SM card plugs into it and it goes right into the floppy drive. These are more expensive I believe.

Like someone said before - if you;re gonna buy the Memplug, a big SM card, an extra $25 for the Zio card reader is nothing....

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Posted by PiDeveloper on 05-28-2001 04:35 AM:

quote:
Originally posted by dvIceT

I certainly hope not. That would take the teeth out of PiDirect. From what others have said, actual applications *may* have to be copied completely to handheld RAM, but databases can be read directly off the external memory card.

Anyone know why PiDeveloper deleted some of his posts?

Since PiDirect is still in its development phase, I should not talk too much about it.

- PiDeveloper

Posted by argent on 05-28-2001 01:03 PM:

quote:
Originally posted by j762538

So does that mean if I want to view a 2 meg map on the CF I need 2 meg on the Visor?

I'm assuming that it works like AutoCF. Both recent replies by PiDeveloper have been deleted, so I don't know.

That depends on how the application accesses the data. I believe withthe current version of Mapopolis, the answer is "yes", because it locks all the records of the database to speed up access. Other applications that have a more linear view of their data, like TomeRaider, only lock records as needed and should allow you to access databases larger than RAM.

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Posted by yardie on 05-28-2001 02:45 PM:

PiDeveloper

quote:
Originally posted by argent

I'm assuming that it works like AutoCF. Both recent replies by PiDeveloper have been deleted, so I don't know.

That depends on how the application accesses the data. I believe withthe current version of Mapopolis, the answer is "yes", because it locks all the records of the database to speed up access. Other applications that have a more linear view of their data, like TomeRaider, only lock records as needed and should allow you to access databases larger than RAM.

PiDeveloper agreed with your earlier assessment about the cache thing. That was one of the messages that got deleted. He/She also said that he/she was able to run a 12 MB Tomeraider database on a Visor Prism with only 3 MB memory left.

So you are dead on with this one as well

Posted by argent on 05-28-2001 02:58 PM:

Re: PiDeveloper

quote:
Originally posted by yardie

PiDeveloper agreed with your earlier assessment about the cache thing. That was one of the messages that got deleted. He/She also said that he/she was able to run a 12 MB Tomeraider database on a Visor Prism with only 3 MB memory left.

So you are dead on with this one as well

Thanks for the update. I wouldn't have had any doubt about it, but after seeing the mess Sony made with the Memory Stick, and the half-assed compatibility Palm is providing in *their* API, I would have only been a little surprised and dismayed to learn that PI was following Sony and Palm in swapping apps and databases in rather than using paging as TRG did.

Did he/she say anything about compatibility with Palm's API?

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Posted by yardie on 05-28-2001 03:37 PM:

Re: Re: PiDeveloper

quote:
Originally posted by argent

Thanks for the update. I wouldn't have had any doubt about it, but after seeing the mess Sony made with the Memory Stick, and the half-assed compatibility Palm is providing in *their* API, I would have only been a little surprised and dismayed to learn that PI was following Sony and Palm in swapping apps and databases in rather than using paging as TRG did.

Did he/she say anything about compatibility with Palm's API?

He/She said nothing about supporting Palm's API. I suspect they are going to lay low from now on until June 15th. PiDeveloper probably got some flack for releasing too much information.

Posted by argent on 05-28-2001 04:36 PM:

Re: Re: Re: PiDeveloper

quote:
Originally posted by yardie

He/She said nothing about supporting Palm's API. I suspect they are going to lay low from now on until June 15th. PiDeveloper probably got some flack for releasing too much information.

If they said nothing but what you told me, they said nothing but what an educated man would guess... assuming they were implementing a competant enough design. It's good to have *that* confirmed though.

Anyway, I hope they didn't get too much flak for just confirming that they're competant.

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Posted by Gameboy70 on 05-28-2001 05:20 PM:

SmartMedia capacity

I keep reading that the SM MemPlug accommodates up to 128mb, but the largest SM card I can find is 64mb. Did I miss the part where the MemPlug can hold two cards?

Posted by miradu on 05-28-2001 06:06 PM:

Amazon has some 128 mb cards.

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-miradu

Posted by Beryl on 05-28-2001 11:41 PM:

quote:
Originally posted by Matthew Nichols
Anyone who is serious about forking over the cash for the MemPlug & a huge card should also spend the money for a SM/CF reader, they're as cheap as $30 (If not cheaper)

Excellent point, Matt. That is exactly what I just did -- just waiting for everything to arrive and the URL for the new software.

Posted by yardie on 05-29-2001 01:02 AM:

Re: SmartMedia capacity

quote:
Originally posted by Gameboy70
I keep reading that the SM MemPlug accommodates up to 128mb, but the largest SM card I can find is 64mb. Did I miss the part where the MemPlug can hold two cards?

I get the impression that 128 MB cards are very hard to find. Most places just carry the 64, 32 and 16 MB versions.

Posted by Matthew Nichols on 05-29-2001 01:22 AM:

Re: Re: SmartMedia capacity

quote:
Originally posted by yardie

I get the impression that 128 MB cards are very hard to find. Most places just carry the 64, 32 and 16 MB versions.

They're kinda new so thats understandable, most online stores have them though - I doubt you'll see many in retail though, its hard enough to find 64mb cards. MySimon came up with a list of 6 seperate online stores which sell them (Some cary more than 1 brand) and this list didn't include Buy.com, Amazon, or NewEgg.

Once again, it looks like NewEgg has the cheapest at $107 (or you could get 2 64mb for $94).

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Posted by bkbk on 05-30-2001 01:56 AM:

quote:
Originally posted by dvIceT
Boo! No self-aggrandizement!
(Today's "snappy vocab. word" #?.)

Eh ... I couldn't resist! I was lucky enough to stumble into some impeccable (today's "snappy vocab. word" #222) timing -- so I thought I'd take credit for it!

Hey, BTW everybody, I know it's not fashionable, but, esp. in the case of say, EM2 (where you're creating large data files on the run) ... it may be more prudent to carry say, 2 64Mb cards than 1 that's 128Mb (in a "Don't Put All Your Eggs In One Basket" kind of way).

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Posted by alexmathew on 05-30-2001 05:50 AM:

PIDirect only works on 3.5H and NOT 3.1?

I read this on another thread and just in time - I was about the order the Memplug for my VDX! If this is true, PIT should make this known instead of confusing consumers with rumors that may/may not be true. The Memplug website does not even have a mention of PIDirect except for the story from VC and this thread!
Bye
AM

Posted by gbgood on 05-30-2001 03:10 PM:

Just had an awful thought.

Does anyone know how BackupBuddy would handle the memplug data?

I undersand you can do a full backup of the 8mb to the memplug with piBackup. But what about the docs and pics that you store on the memplug? How do they get backed up?

What my main quest would be is BackupBuddy (or????) to backup all-8mb + memplug-to a b/u directory so that a full re-install could be accomplished if the unit w/memplug is lost? stolen? heaven forbid!! knock on wood!! throw salt over your shoulder!!

**The HS backup mod saved my friend when he left his Vdx on an airplane.

Does someone have a good plan B for safety?

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