Registered: Dec 2000
Location:
Posts: 152

First, we are specifically excluded from beta tests of MemPlug software. Then a fellow VC poster claims to have a friend who is beta-testing AutoCF-type software for the MemPlug. See where I'm going with this? Have an unflashable ROM, PalmOS 3.1, and a dearth of OS patches come home to roost and mess the nest so to speak? Will PalmOS3.1'ers turn green with envy at the sight of 3.5'ers using 128M SM cards as virtual RAM?

I'm hoping this is a case of me putting two and two together and getting five.

Registered: Mar 2001
Location: San Diego, California
Posts: 441

Huh?

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You know it's bad when your Calculus Professor uses the word "Unpossible"

"It's a long way from my thoughts to what I'll say, It's a long, long way from paradise to where I am today." -Switchfoot, Home

Registered: Nov 2000
Location:
Posts: 714

New technology comes and goes. If you had bought a IIIxe with Flash ROM then you wouldn't even have a springboard slot. I'm sure developers aren't purposely trying to exclude 3.1 users.

Deal with it.

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Matt Nichols
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Registered: Apr 2001
Location: Aiken, SC
Posts: 20

Absolutely Correct

That is why when it comes time to retire my Prism it will not be replaced with a handspring unit unless the OS can be updated. The previous times I have said this the HS acolytes have responded with nasty castigations. However, in this day and age a PDA that cannot have its OS easily updated is pretty ludicrous. IMHO.

Registered: Dec 2000
Location:
Posts: 152

quote:

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Originally posted by Matthew Nichols
Deal with it.

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This is what I get for helping you attain genius status?

http://discussion.visorcentral.com/...enius#post91419
http://discussion.visorcentral.com/...enius#post91547
http://discussion.visorcentral.com/...86408#post86408

Actually, I was trying more for an expression of frustration than one of anger. Should I assume you're a 3.5'er?

Considering that "WTF" is dominating the poll numbers, I apologize for being so oblique in my thread and poll naming. The poll should have asked:

Do the fact that PalmOS 3.1 users were excluded from the MemPlug beta software test and the subsequent "revelation" that that beta test supposedly involves AutoCF-type functionality mean that PalmOS 3.1 users will be SOL when (and if) this AutoCF-type software is released?

I was trying for something more succint and catchy for the poll title, but I apparently went astray.

Last edited by dvIceT on 05-25-2001 at 06:58 AM

Registered: Mar 2001
Location: San Diego, California
Posts: 441

Ahh! Me understand now! I agree that the 2+2=4 thing was a little weird.. you had me SO confused. Then again I only had a few hours of sleep.

BTW what does SOL mean?

I do agree with you that if 3.1 users weren't asked to beta test then probably teh new software will only work for 3.5 so they'll be left out(or whatever SOL means) This may be due to the fact that the only way they can write a program that uses the autoCF thing they would need the API calls from 3.5.

__________________
You know it's bad when your Calculus Professor uses the word "Unpossible"

"It's a long way from my thoughts to what I'll say, It's a long, long way from paradise to where I am today." -Switchfoot, Home

Registered: Dec 2000
Location:
Posts: 152

quote:

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Originally posted by ashmed
Ahh! Me understand now! I agree that the 2+2=4 thing was a little weird.. you had me SO confused. Then again I only had a few hours of sleep.

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I wish sleepiness could explain the poll results but I doubt it. I'm afraid it's an IO error.

quote:

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BTW what does SOL mean?

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For me, SOL = S**t Outta Luck. I suppose it could stand for Short Of Luck.

quote:

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I do agree with you that if 3.1 users weren't asked to beta test then probably teh new software will only work for 3.5 so they'll be left out(or whatever SOL means) This may be due to the fact that the only way they can write a program that uses the autoCF thing they would need the API calls from 3.5.

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This is just the kind of discussion I was hoping for. I had a feeling PalmOS 3.5 might be needed for VFS-type functionality. Rather than fork out for a PalmOS 3.5 Visor, I'll probably just hold my breath for PalmOS 4.0 Visors w/built-in dedicated memory slot (hopefully,SD/MMC) and Springboard slot.

Registered: Mar 2001
Location: San Diego, California
Posts: 441

MMM... visor with MMC

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You know it's bad when your Calculus Professor uses the word "Unpossible"

"It's a long way from my thoughts to what I'll say, It's a long, long way from paradise to where I am today." -Switchfoot, Home

Registered: Mar 2001
Location: Derry NH USA Earth
Posts: 154

I'm getting a Platinum today for what I paid for my delux a couple of months ago. This type of thing isn't new. I remember 8" floppy - 5.25" floppy - 3.5" etc. S100 bus TRSDOS OS/2

In 6 months I may be able to get a prism for about $200 bucks..

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Registered: Dec 2000
Location:
Posts: 152

Unfortunately, 2+2=4.

Sadly, I ended up putting two and two together and got 4. The beta tested software for the MemPlug is called PiDirect and it provides AutoCF-type capabilities. PiDeveloper has said its initial release will most likely not support PalmOS 3.1 devices. PiDeveloper has left open a slight bit of hope that they might be able to work around PalmOS 3.1 limitations but cannot promise anything.

Registered: Nov 2000
Location:
Posts: 714

I apologize for my harsh answer, I wasn't thinking all that clearly either. A lot of people are complaining about the limitations of OS 3.1 and how its not unreadable, this is something everyone should have taken into consideration though.

In my opinion PiTech should release a module with OS 3.5 in the flash. The module is supposed to be able to replace the entire system OS so why not have a more expensive module that includes this to support PiDirect? There are a few problems with program incomparability but most are both 3.1 & 3.5 compatible.

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Matt Nichols
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Registered: May 2001
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Posts: 16

As I've mentioned before on here, I'm tinkering with AutoCF software of my own. It will most certainly support OS3.1, because that's all I own (being poor). (I'll try to get it to support the higher OSes, for all y'all. *grin*)

The concept of simply abandoning what I see as a very solid market (owners of 3.1 PDAs) is beyond me. There are so few real -major- differences in the APIs between 3.1 and 3.5 that leaving 3.1 in the dust is sheer laziness.

(But then, my PC programs happily port to UNIX, Win32, and my calculator, so I'm used to supporting disparate APIs. *grin*)

Oh, as for replacing the OS in the Springboard module...how on earth would this work? (Physically?) Are OS functions called through a jump table in RAM that we could modify? Otherwise, you'll have programs jumping to fixed points in ROM, which will -not- be in the 2800 0000+ region assigned to the Springboard slot.

Registered: Nov 2000
Location:
Posts: 714

I'm by no means a programmer but it was my understanding from the start that the Springboard slot was capable of replacing the OS while inserted. When the Visor was first announced there was talk of how a Linux module could come out, and this concept was all the basis of the OS X prank. But like I said, I'm no programmer

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Matt Nichols
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Registered: Dec 2000
Location:
Posts: 175

quote:

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Originally posted by cbiffle
As I've mentioned before on here, I'm tinkering with AutoCF software of my own. It will most certainly support OS3.1, because that's all I own (being poor). (I'll try to get it to support the higher OSes, for all y'all. *grin*)

The concept of simply abandoning what I see as a very solid market (owners of 3.1 PDAs) is beyond me. There are so few real -major- differences in the APIs between 3.1 and 3.5 that leaving 3.1 in the dust is sheer laziness.

(But then, my PC programs happily port to UNIX, Win32, and my calculator, so I'm used to supporting disparate APIs. *grin*)

Oh, as for replacing the OS in the Springboard module...how on earth would this work? (Physically?) Are OS functions called through a jump table in RAM that we could modify? Otherwise, you'll have programs jumping to fixed points in ROM, which will -not- be in the 2800 0000+ region assigned to the Springboard slot.

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