Re: a USB board

[heuser.marcus@freenet.de]

Tristan Mumford schrieb:
> heuser.marcus@freenet.de wrote:
> >
> > No USB-cradle and (in some aspects) worse displays.
>
> Argh! But I need my cradles etc. My m500 has both USB and
> serial cradles and cables. The serial cable makes for a great
> debugging terminal interface.

The above sentence was meant for the newer models (post-T3)!

Both the T2 and T3 should come with a cradle, AFAIK none of the
newer models has one. Not even as a separate accessory.
They give you a cable like with a mobile phone.

And yes, you have to open the case with a screwdriver to change
the battery. At least you *can* open the case...  ;-)

> Yeah. I was wondering if power-to-go modules are still floating around
> on eBay. I'm getting a 3rd party cheapie external battery pack/charger
> for if I get into trouble with battery life for now.

= best solution

> Hey, that's enough for me. I've been stuck with a 16mb card for ages.

As long as you don't put movies (the T3 isn't a movie player) 1GB
will suffice.
The size of the GPS data will vary with the product and the maps
of course but they are usually several hundred MB large.

> My partner never looks kindly on my attempts to 'acquire' her 1GB and
> 512MB cards.

Most females are satisfied with the address book and datebook.
They really don't need memory cards!  ;->

> Looking at getting a GPS module in the future. We often find ourselves
> needing to go into unfamiliar territory on a tight timeline, so it'd be
> very useful.

Get a bluetooth GPS receiver with a SIRF3-chipset.
Ask in forums which product will work with the software and the T3.
I use an European product (Tom Tom 3) so I can't give you some
recommendations.

> I thought the ARM based palms killed their CPU when not in
> use like the Dragonball units.

They do. But the apps run in full speed when they run
and get used or do screen updates.

> So I'm surprised there's such a power drain difference.

This varies a bit with different applications.
GPS - especially with a bluetooth connection - simply sucks
the battery dry in less than an hour.

Screen lighting can use enormous amounts of energy -
depending on the brightness (thank god the T3 has a
very flexible brightness adjustment).

And don't forget the "handwriting" recognition.

You will end up setting the brightness to about 50% which is
usually enough by a wide margin (except when you watch photos)
and switch bluetooth off when not in use.

Enough on the Palm - you will surely love this gadget, anyway! ;-)


> I can't quantify it. But I know whenever I need help there's always someone
> willing to help. That says that there is an active user base to me!

Retro-fans seem really nice and qualified compared to other
"online" people.
One reason may be because the age-level seems a bit higher
compared for example to video-game or movie forums.
Maybe there is a feeling of "isolation", which unifies us.
And there is seemingly less incentive to brag or to force opinions
on other people.

This doesn't mean that there isn't room for aggression, as this
newsgroup has proven several times ;-)

> > AFAIK the older PalmApple is 68k-based.
> > This is your chance for fame! Be the first! Write an ARM-Apple-emu!
>
> Well, I want to get back into palm app development. Sounds like a good
> advanced project.

Hear hear!

;o)

bye
Marcus