Registered: Nov 1999
Location: San Jose, CA USA
Posts: 6

Hi folks,
One thing that has me concerned about getting a Visor, is upgrading the OS, when the next version comes out. That is the only thing I haven't seen addressed, and the one thing that keeps me looking at a Palm V.
I concerned that the Visor will be orphaned, since it's not upgradable. Any comments or knowledge on this? Randy

Registered: Sep 1999
Location: San Francisco, CA
Posts: 431

randy dugger,

even though OS upgrades can't be made, patches to the OS can be made.

i think that there will not be much call for the new OS until color Palm OS devices are available. then we'll just have to buy devices

i don't have a problem replacing a $250 device every year and i should think that most technically-savvy people won't have a problem replacing these devices every 12 to 18 months either.

[Had to correct my note to remove the typo (Freudian slip?) of your last name.]

[This message has been edited by kalahari (edited 11-30-1999).]

Registered: Oct 1999
Location: College Station, TX
Posts: 143

I really don't understand this obsession with having the OS in flash RAM. This is the nth thread on this subject, where n must be a pretty large number.

I mean, if you have to install the OS upgrade as part of a Hotsync, it's not like it's going to go away when the Visor is turned off, or even when you change the batteries or do a soft reset. In the worst case, if you do a hard reset or leave the batteries out for a long time, you'd have to wait for the next hotsync to get it back.

So...why is this a "feature" that so many people seem to care about. I've never had to change the OS in my desktop machine by swapping a ROM!

Registered: Nov 1999
Location: St. Louis, MO USA
Posts: 12

Prolly cause early adopters are usually the kind of people who check for new drivers and bios's and things for their PC's on a regular basis...

It's just the idea of owning something that can't have the OS updated that sorta kinda bugs me...

Oh well, I like it too much to give it back

Registered: Nov 1999
Location: San Jose, CA USA
Posts: 6

Hi Huski,
I'm not really concerned whether it has a flash rom or not... I'm just concerned can it be upgraded when a new OS version comes out. If that's a software upload, then it's great.
I buy into a technology, so that means I want it to last as long as possible. Replacing a unit every year isn't a really valid strategy these days.
Thanks for your comments and ideas. Randy

Registered: Nov 1999
Location: Vancouver, Canada
Posts: 97

This topic has been discussed in previous threads...just do a search...

I agree with kalahari.

Randy, to answer your initial post, *you* *should* be concerned whether there is flashrom or not because the lack of one means that the os CANNOT be upgraded (if that is important to you); it can only be patched into ram.

IMHO however, this is not important to me and a lot of other users because the next os upgrade will probably support colour display, which will be useless on the current Visor anyway... even if it is os-upgradeable. In the 2 years that I've used a Palmpilot, there has only been *one* os upgrade from 3COM (and that was only recently because Handspring was coming out at that time with a similar code-optimized os on the Visor). Sure, there were 2 or 3 minor os patches along the way, but these loaded into ram anyway and take up only a few kb. What I'm trying to say is that developers of a significant os upgrade usually plan on supporting newer/more hardware in order to take advantage of the upgrade, so one will also need a concurrent upgrade in the hardware in order to use the upgrade in os. (Sorry for this messy sentence.. must be getting late!) Think about it this way: one wouldn't achieve anything by "upgrading" the os from Windows3.1 to Windows98 on an 8MB 486 computer. I'm not even sure whether it will load up If anyone can think of a better analogy, please join in...

Also when one buys into leading edge technologies, one should *expect* to become outdated after 6-12 months and must consider upgrading to newer models in order to "keep up". This is just simply due to the rapid pace of progress in technology, whether we're discussing handheld computers, stereo equipment, cars, etc...


[This message has been edited by visordoc (edited 12-01-1999).]

Registered: Oct 1999
Location: Cedar Knolls, NJ
Posts: 38

The Visor's OS can be upgraded, but not via conventional means. The memory board itself can be replaced, which has the OS loaded on it in addition to the user RAM.

So while the software can't be flashed, if Handspring decides to release an upgraded OS that supports more internal RAM, its possible, although not probable.

------------------
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Registered: Oct 1999
Location: College Station, TX
Posts: 143

visordoc,

OK, so the distinction you're making as I understand it is when I upgrade the OS on my Mac, I'm rewriting files on the hard disk...but not the stuff in the ROM. Thus, a patch and an upgrade on the Visor or Palm can be distinguished as being physically different. I can imagine this being a functional difference if the patches take up a large amount of normal RAM - as we've all seen with every version of both Windows and Mac OS's on our desktops.

On the other hand, it seems to me that patches of this kind usually provide the same functionality to the end user. In my limited experience, it seems like a lot of the time the OS people are mostly adding features that have already been provided by third parties...i.e. look for your favorite hacks to become part of future OS releases, just as DateBook3 became a preinstalled app on the Visor.

In the cases where patches don't provide the same functionality, it is often related to new hardware...this is what everyone is saying about why worry about color support for a b&w machine.

Registered: Mar 2000
Location: Pacifica, CA, USA
Posts: 1

quote:

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Originally posted by huski:
I really don't understand this obsession with having the OS in flash RAM. This is the nth thread on this subject, where n must be a pretty large number.

I mean, if you have to install the OS upgrade as part of a Hotsync, it's not like it's going to go away when the Visor is turned off, or even when you change the batteries or do a soft reset. In the worst case, if you do a hard reset or leave the batteries out for a long time, you'd have to wait for the next hotsync to get it back.

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