Registered: Nov 2000
Location:
Posts: 714

quote:

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Originally posted by PiDeveloper


For the MemPlug SD/MMC, who knows.
If more and more users support memplug and ask for SD/MMC solution. It will the next.
With our experience in SpringBoard Memory Solution. It is absolutely possible.

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Matt Nichols
[email protected]

Registered: May 2001
Location:
Posts: 26

So Memplug IS worth getting--I'm especially happy that PiDirect is coming out. Suddenly, even users of the 2Mg visors can benefit since they will be able to run the apps from the card.

Thanks--I'm definitely buying one now!

Registered: May 2001
Location:
Posts: 26

Darn, I knew it was too good to be true.

I just read that the PiDirect program might not work with palm OS 3.1. Oh well, it's no big deal.

Registered: Sep 2000
Location: Raleigh, NC
Posts: 18

OS 3.1

quote:

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Darn, I knew it was too good to be true.

I just read that the PiDirect program might not work with palm OS 3.1. Oh well, it's no big deal.

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Matt Ridge
Upward Technologies
www.upwardtechnologies.com

Registered: Dec 2000
Location:
Posts: 152

Re: OS 3.1

quote:

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Originally posted by mridge


Where did you read this? That would definitely be a problem...

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Registered: Apr 2001
Location: Sacramento, Ca
Posts: 35

I see you can run apps from the MemPlug with PiDirect software (very cool indeed), BUT... can you save your data there too? IOW does it act just like sending your Visor off to be upgraded by tony(?) to 16 megs of motherboard ram, or, does it mean BackupBuddy will not back it up and I can't put gobs of AVI files on it? Because if that were the case I'm not seeing quite why it's so exciting.

I would spooge if I had a mem module that I didn't even know existed. I mean how cool would it be to just keep loading images onto the Visor and it puts them on the SM Card OR Motherboard ram entirely invisible to me?... I just want to use it like it has 16-128 megs just the same as the basic 8. Now THAT would just be the cat's meow.

Admittedly I'm still debating the decision to buy a card even if it doesn't allow me to save user data to it. The hard part is the fact that it's the data files that take all the space not the program files... that would be my reason for the extra memory. Mapopolis maps, Digital Cam images, AVI files, take a LOT more space that those little 45-160k apps... so it's the database files I want on the SMcard.

THis is teasing tho I do admit... I am debating the options in my head still.

James

Registered: Nov 2000
Location:
Posts: 714

From the description, the module should work just like all the other modules in that you'll only be able to store programs and non-editable databases. So yes, from what I understand, you'll be able to store all your maps, images, movies, etc...

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Matt Nichols
[email protected]

Registered: May 2001
Location: Wisconsin
Posts: 19

So PI,

When do you guys plan to go IPO? I've got some stocks in my IRA that haven't been performing like I'd like...might consider a switch to a company obviously committed to a quality product.

Xianfox (read it like Xmas)

Registered: Apr 2001
Location: Sacramento, Ca
Posts: 35

Yeah I just went to their website and saw that it had a movie player and pic viewer so that prompted me to come back here and share my excitement.

I think I'll go back and delete that last message I left now LOL.

I can see I'll be getting a MemPlug !!!!! My only concern at this point would be that I been seeing people say that Palm Gear is not getting them sent out... yet far as I can tell that is the only place to get it.

Does anyone know how much more power draw the CF cards cause over the SM cards? are we talking about 10-20% or is it like twice as much? I have a Prism which I can drain fast in a brightly lit meeting room, so if it's not much more draw that is fine. If it's a lot more I'll get the SM version

James

Registered: Feb 2000
Location:
Posts: 1571

1500 times more

according the the MemPlug review found here: http://www.visorcentral.com/page/0-6-101-4-6.htm

The CF Card consumes 1500 times the power that the Smart Media card consumes (0.2mA vs 30 mA). Matthew Nichol did a speed test for me with his SMC Memplug and it took him roughly 45 seconds to transfer a 1 MB file. I did the speed test with my Kopsis CF and it took me just under 36 seconds to move a 1 MB file from CF to Visor RAM. I assume the speed to and from the card would be the same.

Registered: Mar 2000
Location: NJ
Posts: 517

No, it is quite a bit faster transferring from the SM card to RAM than from RAM to the SM card. If the CF card consumes that much more power and is only slightly faster I think SM is the way to go unless you really need the speed.

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Registered: Jan 2000
Location:
Posts: 391

CF would be the way to go if (like me) you already have a 128M CF card and other CF-compatible equipment.

I think it's a shame Palm didn't go with SmartMedia instead of Secure Digital. SM is inherently faster and cheaper than serial devices like MMC/SD or Sony Memory Stick, and SM I/O devices should be possible as well. As for size, it's a matter of short-and-fat versus long-and-thin.

Anyway, it's great to have the options.

Question: what exactly are the problems with OS 3.1?

Question: any chance of MemPlug providing support for I/O cards?

Question: how about compatibility with Palm's new storage API?

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Rev. Peter da Silva, ULC<br>
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Registered: Feb 2000
Location:
Posts: 1571

Suspicion

I strongly suspect that that the CF Card battery drain thing will be an issue when the CF Memplug comes out. Right now the battery drain is not that noticeable because we are just transfering files to and from the CF Card. But what when we start to run programs and databases directly of the card all the time ? Wouldn't this really whack the batteries? What do you guys think?

Registered: Jan 2000
Location:
Posts: 391

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. Let me repeat that. The memory on the 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.

Question for PI: could you verify whether my speculation about cache is correct?

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Rev. Peter da Silva, ULC<br>
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Registered: Dec 2000
Location:
Posts: 152

quote:

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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. Let me repeat that. The memory on the 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.

Question for PI: could you verify whether my speculation about cache is correct?

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What you say about running programs directly from the memory card is true, in the same way that PC's do not run programs directly from the hard drive. I think we have different understandings of what AutoCF does though. My understanding is that AutoCF works similarly to PC's in that needed code is read off the external memory device on an as-needed basis, put into RAM, then accessed by the processor. The difference between PC's and the PalmOS device, is that by and large, the PC can put far greater amounts of code into live RAM, than the PalmOS device can. Even if it does turn out that whole applications need to be copied into handheld RAM, the ability to offload databases(especially large ones) to external memory will be a godsend (for the lucky ones).

Registered: Jan 2000
Location:
Posts: 391

Full-sized computers use use a variety of methods to load data from a hard drive, but the closest analogy to what AutoCF-style programs do is the segment-based demand-paged virtual memory in the Multics operating system back in the late '60s.

The point, though, is that the power consumption of the CF modules is less important than if they were executing live code out of the module. A program "running out of CF" would hit the CF once when it loaded, and then sporadically when it needed to access other records in flash memory.

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Rev. Peter da Silva, ULC<br>
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Registered: Dec 2000
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Posts: 52

quote:

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Originally posted by jeffbeerman2
I too would like to know, as mridge asked, if files can be loaded directly to the card. PI, please don't tell us we must buy some sort of usb drive thingie to load apps up straight to the card.

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Registered: Mar 2001
Location:
Posts: 159

- Deleted

Last edited by PiDeveloper on 05-28-2001 at 03:13 AM

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

The only way to do it without getting a USB card reader, would be to Hotsync to the Visor and transfer the files over.

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Registered: May 2000
Location: St. Paul, MN
Posts: 1429

Does anyone know of an INTERNAL reader? I would like it to fit in a 3.5 inch bay. I want 2 smartmedia slots, and 2 cf slots, along with MMC/SD, and a memstick slot. I would pay $150 for it

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-miradu

Last edited by miradu on 05-28-2001 at 01:40 AM