Palm’s V-6.2 “Access” Desktop syncs with the newer Palm PIM databases (Calendar, Contacts, Memos, Tasks), but not with the traditional/legacy PIM app databases (Address, Datebook, Memo, ToDo).

It turns out though that a number of changes to the windows registry FIXES this issue and allows a traditional/legacy Palm device to sync nicely with the V-6.2 Access Desktop.

I have written a small freeware application which makes all the requisite changes to the registry and also allows you to reverse the procedure should that be necessary.

You can download this application from:
http://www.PimlicoSoftware.com/palmhotsyncsetup.exe
or as a zip file, from:
http://www.PimlicoSoftware.com/palmhotsyncsetup.zip

Just launch the application and select the appropriate database set and click the Setup button. Then hotsync and you should now see your data in the Palm Desktop application.

Unfortunately, the release of PowerSDHC marks the end of its useful life. The program is heavily flawed and does not work well with cards that are over 4GB in size. Inserting a 8GB card into a Palm OS device running PowerSDHC and running Card Info leads to borked-up display – the program displays a maximum card size of 4GB.

Even though this is completely insignificant (the handheld can use the full space), it could give some of you a start – which is why I post this here…

P.S: An updated Card Info application is available from Dmitry Grinberg!

Varying wake ups?
Create a repeat schedule for Monday to Fridays. Delete the public holidays! Never get woken up on a public holiday again. Change tomorrows wake-up without changing the entire schedule.

Accurate time
Install TimeCopy and sync once a month to set the time. My zire21 loses a second every 20 hours which is about 40s a month which is not bad. Palm also takes care of daylight saving issues.

Battery powered
A zire21 will run for weeks on a single charge if it is being used an a alarm clock. Leave it plugged in and never worry about power issues again. Use Profeo SystemAlarms to warn if the battery is getting low way before the dreaded battery warning in case it get unplugged.

Funky alarms
Install geeksounds (http://mytreo.net/downloads/geeksounds,7.html) to wake up to the Star Wars theme…..

Keeping the data safe
Use SyncAll – Backs up the entire memory including preferences. Any issues, just reset and hotsync.

Set this all up on a desktop in a couple of minutes and never worry about waking up late again.

At the first glance, VersaMail 4 is a smooth upgrade. All data is retained, the program runs smoothly and the new background send/receive facility really works a-ok.

In case you never sync your emails with your desktop, update to version 4 – you have little to loose and gain the aforementioned new feature. If you use the hotsync conduit though; DON’T DO IT. Once VersaMail 4 is on the Treo, you can kiss synchronization goodbye.

Centro owners – can you hotsync VersaMail email accounts with the PC using the software shipping on your Centro’s CD? Please let us know!

Foreward — This is just a guide containing a few hardware mods I’ve seen done over time. I’ve talked with the folks who’ve originally done these mods for more info than their original posts, so hopefully I don’t cause too much chaos

This one focuses on the modifications that can be done to the official Palm hardcase available for the T|X, T|E, T|E2 and the T|T5.

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– The Magnet Mod –

My quest for the perfect hard case started in May. I was dissatisfied with the state of my T|X’s hard case, and was looking for an alternative. My main problem was that the chintzy little clasp that held the case shut had snapped loose and would not keep my T|X safe. After a bit of discussion, we decided that replacing the clasp with magnets was a viable alternative.

The first step is to drill out the holes. Since I never really figured I’d be doing this sort of post 7 months later, I have no “in progress” shots, sorry .

Make sure you choose magnets before you drill the holes so that you don’t end up with a big gaping hole in your case. The best thing I have learned is that if you make the hole a tad bit smaller than your magnets, then slowly file it out with anything fairly sharp (Hell, a small flat-head screwdriver works) you will have a nice snug fit that will never require reglueing.

After you drill the holes (I did four, two on each half of the case) you can drop the magnets in. The best ting to do is use a pair of tweasers and coat the magnet with gorilla glue then you simply wedge the magnets in the holes and you are done!

– Anti Rattle Mod–

“So, uh, Ryan, why do you have pieces of dish towels glued to your case?”

Good question! (I’m sorry, I know that’s bad ) The case is designed just kludgingly enough so that there is a very smaller, probably less than 1mm gap between the T|X and the case lid, just enough to have it rattle around and scuff up the front of the the T|X. Jays333 originally gave me the idea to do this in the above 1src thread, however I didn’t have any of that foam lying around, so I simply cut up a dish towel.

Jays333 did a nice job on his however:

This effectively cancels out any rattling that may occur, keeping your T|X unscathed for years to come.

– Headphone Mod –

So, what else can be done to our T|X cases? Well, I have done a few other things to the case in the time I’ve owned it. When I performed the Magnet Mod I also decided to cut away a hole for the headphones so that the case would latch shut when I was listening to music, rather than mashing up my headphone jack.

The first step is to mark where you want to get the cuts. You can plug in the headphones and put the device in the case so that the headphones are where the cuts will be (at which point, you know where the cuts need to be, or you can wing it with a sharpie cap, like Chris Tengi did.

—

That’s all of the mods I could come up with in regards to the Palm Hardcase. Next time we will take a look at alternatives to the Palm Cradle: the design, construction and customisation of our own Cradle kit!

Also, if you try any of these mods please note that I cannot be held responsible if your case is permanently damaged! Perform these mods at your own risk! 

A insider source inside of Palm has provided us with a binary file called IM.prc containing the Palm Centro’s IM client. Initial tests with a Treo 680 confirm the compatibility of the application:

IM supports AIM, MSN and Yahoo! messaging services – ICQ and Skype aren’t available as of now:

The online help states that the program supports the adding of contacts and background mode – making the application a viable alternative to Mundu or Gizmo.

Meanwhile, all else I can say is that the application arrived in a 1.5MB PRC file called IM.prc. Further testing will commence as soon as I am back in Vienna!

A premium SMS is an SMS or MMS that you are charged for by the carrier – and a part of the money goes to the sender. Now, premium SMS scammers send out SMS like the one shown below(translated: have fun, you already wasted 10€):

This serves two purposes: first of all, outraged user could potentially call back, causing income for the operator. But the scammer even earns money without you calling back -the carrier charges for delivery.

In my case, the price of the SMS was 3Euros(appox 5 UsD)…a sum that many people will not notice on their bill. Given a few thousand ’sheep’, the scammer can make a nice living.

Defending yourself against scammers is easy, however:

Check your bills
in Austria, there is an old saying that goes along the lines of: vigilance is the mother of the crate full of china. Checking your bills for weird charges as they arrive will protect you from scams – if someone tries to rip you off, just call your carrier. Every somewhat cooperative carrier will then book the charge back…if he doesn’t, swapping carriers is a very good idea.

Consider a premium rate number lock
If you don’t need premium rate numbers(call proxies,…), why not block them all. Your carrier will offer this service for almost nothing – the peace of mind gained by this could well be worth the tiny fee(T-Mobile does it for free after a scam has occurred).

I am currently pursuing an interview with T-Mobile’s on the matter – stay tuned!

Ron made it to a conference in Vienna…and the publisher charges $$$ for the whitepaper. However, Ron has it available for free on his web site – enjoy!

P.s. Thanks to the palm-dev-forum posters who informed me about the existence of this document!

However, if your Windows is German but all the rest of the apps are English, an English version of the desktop probably will be more useful. But the Autostart menu doesn’t give you a choice.

The trick needed to install a language of your choice is easy. Instead of using the Autostart window, right-click on the CD-ROM drive ion My Computer. Then, navigate to H:\Language_Selector and run LanguageSelector…

You can now choose the language of choice!

MMSDCARD
MMSDCARD_enUS (or whatever language localization file you have)

You then need to replace those two files with the same files, except from a Treo 680. So install from a Treo 680

MMSDCARD
MMSDCARD_enUS (or whatever language localization file you need)

Soft reset your device, and you now should be able to save attachments to your expansion card through the PalmOne Files interface!

What do you think?

p.s. This works with Files 1.0 and 2.0!