Registered: May 2000
Location: Las Vegas, NV USA
Posts: 8

I was just thinking... everybody is saying that the Palm can't do this, the Palm can't do that, etc. etc. etc. However, I was wondering if you could actually build a Springboard with one of the Palm CPUs in it - obviously it would only work in a later version of Palm OS, but if you set it up in a SMP type setup, the Palm could be faster. Special applications could be integrated with this to make them faster, i.e. a video player. Maybe that's semi-unrealistic, but think of the people who use the Visor as a black and white photo album. I could see this being useful in lab applications, where the power of a computer is needed to do mathematical operations. Somewhere I heard that the Palm chips were about $10 in bulk, but if Handspring could make a "Booster" module for the Visor, and add 4 or 8 MB of storage, they could: 1. Sell it directly to consumers, with no software. 2. Develop special software to use with the Booster. 3. Sell it to software developers who can bundle the module with more demanding software. 4. Sell the modules to large companies who can use it in other environments (again, a lab would be an example). Liberty, the Game boy emulator for Palm, heartily recommends that you use overclocking software for it to run well. If they sold the "Booster" Module with 4-8MB of Flash (and an MMC slot?), they could have a module which could play real game boy games at a game boy speed, as well as hold 10 or 12 games + saved files. Also, this might work well with a Java program, allowing you to run Java on the Visor.

What do you think?

Chris Russell

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If I were a signature, I'd go right here.

Registered: Aug 2000
Location: San Marcos, CA
Posts: 29

Wow.

Gosh, it is a real bummer that you can't change the title to this post. (I have tried with other posts of mine.)

Then, I am sure this post would be crowded with well- wishers.

I think this is a wonderful idea- it would really allow a larger market for the PDA. Companies might even think about marketing a 'Video CPU', with add- on memory to store video files- or even a IDE cable/ USB to connect to another pc to read files off a Hard Drive.

Especially for games, this would be amazing. They could also sell a CPU with add- on memory to store your games!

Registered: May 2000
Location: Las Vegas, NV USA
Posts: 8

Actually, your IDE cable might not be that hard to develop, seeing as the TRG Pro can read compact flash cards. See, a CF card is formatted as an ATA device (if I'm correct), and so is an ATA drive. However, a power source is a problem, as it would need to be plugged into a wall or a large battery. Thinking about you video cpu, and my observations about an enhanced calculator, a better idea might be to just embed a socket either on the motherboard or on a springboard for a coprocessor. The 80386, an old processor, had both video and math coprocessors available.
USB wouldn't be to hard to get, as long as it wasn't host-powered. Since USB is similar somewhat to Serial, and the Visor is wired for serial/usb, then it wouldn't be difficult to change the wiring, etc. and have a USB port. The only thing that you'd need is a driver for the port, and a driver for every device you wanted to use. I could see it now: buy your palm-enabled Zip 250 Drive! Holds 32,000,021,924 contacts, 364,424 notes, and 43,329 eyemodule pictures! However, like I said, the drivers would have to be written for this, and that would be like waiting for springboards (hmm... lets see, I've got three usb cameras, a zip drive, a raid array, a keyboard, 17 mice, and a speaker set, not to mention, a large trunk to carry it all in. But wait, I HAVE NO DRIVERS!). See, people get mad about waiting for springboards; this would be like having a Minijam, but no software, or a modem, and no e-mail!!

I think it's worth a try.

Chris Russell

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If I were a signature, I'd go right here.

Registered: May 2000
Location: Las Vegas, NV USA
Posts: 8

Here, I'm going to move this post to the Springboard section, titled as something like "Springboard Wish List." There. A new title, a new category.

Please do not post replies here, but instead post them in the Springboard Category.

Here is the link to the new message:
Springboard Wish List

Should have been there to begin with.

Sorry about the mistake,

Chris

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If I were a signature, I'd go right here.

[This message has been edited by Christopher Russell (edited 08-07-2000).]