OS 4.1 Coming November 15

Posted By: Ed Wednesday, November 7, 2001 9:13:17 AM

In confirmation of last week's rumor, Palm will be offering an upgrade to OS 4.1 on November 15. Registered users have been receiving an email offering the $40 upgrade at a $10 discount if ordered before the release. It appears at this point that Palm is not intending to post the upgrade online. Instead, customers are being offered free shipping for what is probably a CD. Pre-ordered upgrades will ship on Nov. 15. There will be an upgrade for most current models, though not all.

According to a Palm spokesperson, the upgrade to OS 4.1 will be free to current users of Palm OS 4.0 though Palm hasn't officially announced this.

This upgrade program is only for Palm-branded handhelds. Other licensees are responsible for releasing their own.

The older Palm models that can be upgraded to OS 4.1 include the whole V series, the Palm III, IIIx, IIIxe, and IIIc. The IIIe and m100 series do not have flashable ROM and the Palm VII series doesn't have enough room in its ROM for OS 4.1.

On November 15, the price will go to $40 and shipping will no longer be free. Customers can also call 1-800-881-7256 to order.

The new features in OS 4.1 for OS 3.5 users include the Mobile Connectivity Kit, which allows the handheld to connect to the Internet with a mobile phone. It also includes the Note Pad app for scribbling notes directly on the screen and improved alarm controls. The on-screen keyboard has also been improved.

Many of the new functions in OS 4 are hardware-related and won't affect older models that lack the hardware involved.

The only differences between Palm OS 4.0 and 4.1 are bug fixes.

Thanks to everyone who sent in tips on this story. -Ed

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USB hotsync fix should come first

jjsoh @ 11/7/2001 9:53:20 AM #
I think Palm should focus on getting that USB hotsync problem fixed first.

Honestly, I don't have a problem (yet), but I do fear for my m505 after reading so many horror stories about suddenly not being able to hotsync via USB. What about those that DO have problems and those that may in the future?

So the people that do have the USB hotsync problem on their m505 will not be getting a "free" upgrade if they have to go out and buy a serial connector. (That's if their desktop/laptop even have legacy serial ports.)

RE: USB hotsync fix should come first
I.M. Anonymous @ 11/7/2001 10:01:39 AM #
"So the people that do have the USB hotsync problem on their m505 will not be getting a "free" upgrade if they have to go out and buy a serial connector. (That's if their desktop/laptop even have legacy serial ports.)"

Which means.. if they don't have serial ports, their stuck with a non-USB working hotsync AND a buggy OS.

Looks like Palm is trying to keep up with crappy Sony support.


USB Bluetooth Adapters
I.M. Anonymous @ 11/7/2001 10:04:48 AM #
Bluetooth USB Adaptor WIF-0402C Mitsumi Electric Co., Ltd. Computer accessory Comp- Accessory 2001-10-25

Mini Bluetooth USB Dongle B091H1 UNIWILL Computer CORP. Computer accessory PROD 2001-10-24

OneChip™ Bluetooth USB/Serial Port TR0760 Transilica, Inc. Components Comp-HW-Integrated 2001-10-20

more products will follow, check Bluetooth Qualified Product List
http://qualweb.opengroup.org/Templa...ch_SpecVersion=

3Com'S Wireless Bluetooth USB Adapter Enables Simple Connectivity for Personal Computing Devices
Company's Bluetooth Solutions Interoperate With HP's Bluetooth Printer
http://www.everythingusb.com/news/index/464.htm

Xircom Bluetooth USB Adapter
http://www.xircom.com/d-docs/pdf/datasheetsinpdf/R2BT%20data%20sheet201.pdf

Brianboxes USB Bluetooth™ Adaptor
http://www.brainboxes.com/index.html?products/bluetooth/bl-554.html~mainFrame

TDK Bluetooth USB Adapter
http://www.cellular.co.za/technologies/bluetooth/bluetooth_tdk_products.html

Where to buy?
http://www.blueunplugged.com
http://www.expansys.com/category.asp?cat=BLUETOOTH


Palm debuts with Bluetooth SDK

I.M. Anonymous @ 11/7/2001 10:00:44 AM #
Palm, Inc./ Palm debuts Bluetooth Software Developer Kit; Palm encourages developers to create a new generation of wireless applications

http://makeashorterlink.com/?E1154222


Why wireless Bluetooth could become a cable killer
David Coursey,
Executive Editor, AnchorDesk
Wednesday, November 7, 2001

http://makeashorterlink.com/?H5252422

RE: Palm debuts with Bluetooth SDK
Ed @ 11/7/2001 10:29:04 AM #
To whomever posted this comment:

I appreciate you pointing out this information but please don't post the entire text of copyrighted articles. Doing so just forces me to spend time deleting them so we aren't violating their copyright. Links are fine though I would appreciate it if you'd use MakeAShorterLink.com to reduce the size of the very long ones.

Thanks again.

p.s. We covered the Bluetooth SDK a few weeks ago:
http://www.palminfocenter.com/view_Story.asp?ID=2392

---
News Editor

RE: Palm debuts with Bluetooth SDK
I.M. Anonymous @ 11/7/2001 11:20:28 AM #
Is there a more specific link to where this beta developer kit is on Palm's developer site? I can't seem to find it.

a wee bit dear.

I.M. Anonymous @ 11/7/2001 10:02:45 AM #
40 bucks !!!

Palm Upgrades used to be free !
It encouraged all user to be up to date and current..

Now developers have to create several different flavours for various OSs. Which is a real pain...
what are you MS ! Money grab much !

Ian.


You Get What You Pay For
Bilbo @ 11/7/2001 10:38:23 AM #
It's actually $30 if you do it now. And you must be from the Internet Generation who believes everything you want should be free. Tell me why you think you should get it free. Way too many people have grown up in past 10 years getting lots of free software and now they think it is their right. The Internet Boom is over. All the companies who were giving you all that free stuff are now out of business. Making money on your work is now in fashion.

RE: At least you don't have a clie
digilaw @ 11/7/2001 11:06:33 AM #
Its $50 for us and an irritating, unguaranteed, turn around time. So there is always a silver lining.

RE: a wee bit dear.
I.M. Anonymous @ 11/7/2001 11:34:05 AM #
digilaw
So what's your grief? Here's a simple solution to all you clie users who don't want to shell out $50 for an upgrade: Don't. your childish and tiresome rants about the cost and the turn-around time has run its course. if you're that dissatisfied with the 710, then return it.

palm/clie
I.M. Anonymous @ 11/7/2001 11:46:18 AM #
yeah, at least you palmies pay $30-$40 and Palm sends you a cd. the clie 710ers pay $50 and have to send their clies to sony for some undetermined amount of time.

New group formed for everyone unhappy with Sony
I.M. Anonymous @ 11/7/2001 11:03:32 PM #
Do you

- think Sony should have provided you with a free OS upgrade?

- think Sony's Memory Stick is an evil, proprietary standard plotting to take over the world?

- think Sony "deserves" to have it's OS pirated for not releasing an upgrade fast enough for you?

- think it's not fair that Sony released the N760C so soon after the N710C?

- not care that most people here have grown weary of the petty complaints and transparent attempts to rationalize stealing software?

Please post your messages here instead:

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/CLIE_Complaining_Club

RE: New group formed for everyone unhappy with Sony
I.M. Anonymous @ 11/8/2001 4:17:10 AM #
Anonymous,
Thank you for taking the time to set up a forum for these crybabies to vent their moronic and juvenile tirades.

Now maybe the rest of us can scroll through and read some more intelligent and pertinent posts.

RE: New group formed for everyone unhappy with Sony
I.M. Anonymous @ 11/8/2001 9:51:39 AM #
Somehow, I don't think the three idiots that keep posting messages complaining about Sony are going to stop. They're so selfish, they don't give a damn that no-one wants to hear their dumb complaints.

Boo hoo hoo - Sony won't give me a free update!

Boo hoo hoo - Sony keeps putting out better handhelds!

Boo hoo hoo - Blah, blah, blah...

RE: New group formed for everyone unhappy with Sony
I.M. Anonymous @ 11/8/2001 9:58:50 AM #
Sorry, but MemoryStick is a proprietary standard, and Sony wants very desperately to gain monopolies in the computer industry like Microsoft has. A large number of people are clearly unhappy with Sony's OS upgrade plans/policy. Your apparent love of Sony does not suddenly make those important issues "petty", "juvenile" or "moronic" to the rest of the world. Certainly this is not the thread to be discussing those issues in though, since this is a thread about Palm's 4.1 upgrade, but people who are unhappy with Sony's plans/policies are not "cry babies". Since you've apparently chosen to be supporters of the electronics industry equivalent to Microsoft, you are going to have to learn how to live with the fact that many people don't like them.

RE: a wee bit dear.
I.M. Anonymous @ 11/8/2001 11:31:01 AM #
"Sony wants very desperately to gain monopolies in the computer industry like Microsoft has."
And you know this from inside information? There's a fine, yet distinct, line between market leader and monopoly, and your blatant misuse of the latter word proves that you don't understand where that line is. Memory stick is proprietary, but guess what...so is the Palm OS, and I don't see you mention that anywhere. Instead, I'll bet you throw around "palm is the market leader" every chance you get.

"A large number of people are clearly unhappy with Sony's OS upgrade plans/policy."
Here are two simple solutions: don't buy it and live with OS 3.5 or buy it and shut the hell up!

"Your apparent love of Sony does not suddenly make those important issues "petty", "juvenile" or "moronic" to the rest of the world."
No, it's your apparent hatred of Sony (and the mind-numbing frequency at which you bitch about this topic)that makes important issues "petty," "juvenile" AND "moronic."

"people who are unhappy with Sony's plans/policies are not "cry babies"."
Are you now their champion? If so, you present weak arguments to an already weak stance. Go and consult with these "people" and tell them that you failed.

"Since you've apparently chosen to be supporters of the electronics industry equivalent to Microsoft,"
Once again you throw around that comparison to Microsoft as if you have some inside information without delivering any proof. And for your information, I must be the only one who does not have ANY Sony products. My current PDA of choice is the m500. I'm just sick and tired of you Sony whiners take this forum as an opportunity to validate your otherwise meaningless existence.

"you are going to have to learn how to live with the fact that many people don't like them."
That may be true, but you are going to have to learn that the only recourse against a company one does not like is to NOT BUY THEIR PRODUCTS!!! Let your wallet do the talking because your brain is obviously holding a negative balance.

RE: a wee bit dear.
I.M. Anonymous @ 11/8/2001 12:23:02 PM #
Chill dude. I only posted the one message you responded to, and I haven't bought a Sony branded product in at least 5 years. As a Palm owner you ought to be more concerned about Sony's business tactics in the Palm OS market instead of closing your eyes to them. In case you didn't notice, they've announced/released 5-6 products plus accessories in the last few months.

A Palm owner complains about the $40 charge and a couple of Sony owner say at least it isn't the $50 send in your unit thing they have to deal with. Then the fanatics jump in and turn that into some kind of incident. If some Sony owners are not happy with with Sony's upgrade policy, they have every right to complain and not have to put up with being called names or made fun of.

RE: a wee bit dear.
I.M. Anonymous @ 11/8/2001 9:42:17 PM #
The above posts really should have been made here:

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/CLIE_Complaining_Club

Upgrade for m500/505 users not needed...

Manicorp @ 11/7/2001 10:14:04 AM #
Just called the Palm for an order for my m505...
The rep told me that for the m505, the upgrade is not needed. It is mainly for users before OS 4.0 that wants to upgrade to 4.x...

Just wanted m50x users to know...

IIIc and 16-bit color

I.M. Anonymous @ 11/7/2001 10:45:49 AM #
Does anyone know if this enables 16-bit color on the Palm IIIc?

RE: IIIc and 16-bit color
I.M. Anonymous @ 11/7/2001 10:47:17 AM #
Sorry, no. The IIIc's screen is physically incable of displaying 16-bit color.

RE: IIIc and 16-bit color
I.M. Anonymous @ 11/7/2001 11:25:59 AM #
That's not entirely true. The display can do it, but the separate graphics controller cannot.

Ahhhrrgghh!!!

I.M. Anonymous @ 11/7/2001 2:59:48 PM #
I have flashed several ROM versions before, and when I tried flashing the 4.1 ROM Full version, the update aborted in the middle stating that it had lost communications with the Palm Vx. Now, the palm's screen is frozen with the "garbage" on the screen (typical of the re-flash process) and won't respond to ANYTHING. I tried resetting it, but it just resets back to the same garbage screen. It won't communicate with the flash upgrader progam.

Looks like I effectivly trashed my Palm Vx! AAAGGGRRRHHH!!!

I guess it's time to come up with some lame excuse and check with my boss and see if I can get a replacement.

RE: Ahhhrrgghh!!!
ktran @ 11/7/2001 5:17:15 PM #
You might be able to try a soft-reset while holding the down button. This should put you into debug mode (blinking square in top left corner), and you should be able to reflash from here.

No guarantees, though.


K. Tran

RE: Ahhhrrgghh!!!
bcombee @ 11/7/2001 5:56:18 PM #
On 4.1 ROM images, you must hold down both up and down to get into debug mode. If enough of the OS transferred to allow this, this may be what you need to try again.

RE: Ahhhrrgghh!!!
ktran @ 11/7/2001 7:52:44 PM #
Thanks for the extra clarification.

One last thought: you could always download and try the OS3.3 upgrade, if all else fails. . .


K. Tran

RE: Ahhhrrgghh!!!
I.M. Anonymous @ 9/15/2002 7:53:18 PM #
Was there any resolve on this? I have a similar problem and am looking for the solution.

No e-mail...

covingto @ 11/7/2001 3:55:34 PM #
I registered two Palm m505s and never received the upgrade announcement. While I understand that the upgrade to 4.1 may not be necessary for those of us with 4.0, I'm a little concerned that I may not be properly registered for such upgrades in the future. Did Palm only send the announcement and $10-off offer to those with earlier (OS <= 3.x) models?

RE: No e-mail...
I.M. Anonymous @ 11/7/2001 4:38:30 PM #
The email was only sent out to those who have the older palms that are compatible. The OS upgrade is not going to be available for the M500 users.

RE: No e-mail...
Ed @ 11/7/2001 4:46:03 PM #
> The OS upgrade is not going to be available for the M500 users.

Unless my contact at Palm is way off base, you are incorrect. m505 owners will be given the upgrade for free. That's why these people aren't being given the opportunity to buy it.

---
News Editor

RE: No e-mail...
covingto @ 11/7/2001 4:52:41 PM #
Thanks for the clarification, Ed.

RE: No e-mail...
I.M. Anonymous @ 11/7/2001 8:45:46 PM #
I also did not receive any e-mail notice from Palm. I know I'm registered because I have that little game they "give" you for registering. I have a Palm IIIxe so obviously my Palm qualifies.

No problem though. Since I get PalmInfocenter on my Palm via Avantgo, I don't miss a thing.

Any compelling reason why I should want this upgrade?

Palm VIIx users out of luck. ROM is full.

I.M. Anonymous @ 11/7/2001 3:58:59 PM #
Palm said it was upgradeable when I bought it. Sure glad I didn't get the Palm VII.

CNET Is an Idiot :)

I.M. Anonymous @ 11/7/2001 4:03:42 PM #
Just read another stupid CNet Article:
http://news.cnet.com/news/0-1006-200-7810930.html?tag=mn_hd

""""For people running OS version 4.0, the new OS will mostly fix a number of minor bugs. The software will be most useful to those running a 3.x or older operating system. The upgrade will add security features, improve management of alarms, add support for 64-bit color and improve data entry."""

yeah... 64 bit color...rrright....

RE: CNET Is an Idiot :)
I.M. Anonymous @ 11/7/2001 4:29:53 PM #
Uh, it does. Handspring had to modify 3.5 to allow it to display 64000 colors on the Prism. They forwarded this technology to Palm. Palm then created version 4.0 that supports 64000 colors. Why do you think that the 3.5 based Sony N710C can only display 256 and the 4.1 based N760C can display 64000 when they have the same hardware. Your the idiot. Do some research.

RE: CNET Is an Idiot :)
I.M. Anonymous @ 11/7/2001 4:43:20 PM #
So you are saying my IIIx with have 16-bit color now if I put OS 4 on it? That's the point the first poster was making. Don't be so quick to flame people. It just makes you look like a jerk whether you are right or not.

RE: CNET Is an Idiot :)
rldunn @ 11/7/2001 5:21:45 PM #
Actually, the point you both missed is that the article incorrectly said 64-bit color, which doesn't exist. It should say 16-bit color.

Clarification
ktran @ 11/7/2001 5:23:16 PM #
The bit depth of the colour display refers to the number of colours it is capable of generating. This number is expressed in bits; bits are either on or off (1 or 0).

So, we have:

2-bit colour: raise 2 to the power of 2 (2 squared) = 4 colours (or grey shades, etc. . .)
4-bit colour: raise 2 to the power of 4 = 16 colours (or grey shades)

8-bit colour: raise 2 to the power of 8 = 256 colours
16-bit colour: raise 2 to the power of 16 = 65,536 colours
24-bit colour: raise 2 to the 24 = 16.78 million colours

Past 16.78 x 10^6 colours, the eye and brain have a really hard time seeing any finer gradations. But it doesn't hurt to have a finer colour resolution (bits per pixel) for more accurate colour representation.

I hope this helps. If any of this was too elementary, I didn't mean to insult anyone.

rgds,

K. Tran

RE: CNET Is an Idiot :)
I.M. Anonymous @ 11/7/2001 9:48:26 PM #
Actually, that is not entirely correct. We can certainly see more than 16.8 million colors depending on the person, and depending on the color selection. We can see more green than red or blue, but for 24-bit color, we only get 8 bits of red, blue, and green. In other words, you only get 256 shades of red, blue, green, and most important, grey.

RE: CNET Is an Idiot :)
ktran @ 11/7/2001 11:08:04 PM #
I stand corrected, then.

I guess this is much in the same way that some people say that they can hear the difference between sound encoded at 44.1 kHz and 48 Khz (CD vs. DAT).

K. Tran

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