Rumor: According to an anonymous source, Palm is going to drop the official price of the m505 to $400 today. It is already available from some webstores for less than that. -Ed

STNE has lowered prices on all of their memory upgrades. Their 8Mb upgrades now start at $69, and 16 Mb Upgrades are now $115. It also offers screen and system repairs for the Palm V/Vx or IBM C3. -Will Stillwell

According to an anonymous source, Palm is going to release an upgrade to Palm OS 4.1 on November 15. This will be a free upgrade for those who already have OS 4.0 but Palm will be charging those who would like to upgrade from OS 3.x. The price is not yet available.

A Palm spokesperson would confirm only that Palm is going to release OS 4.1 before the end of the year and that the upgrade will be free for those with Palm-branded handhelds already running OS 4.0.

What does the truly hardcore Palm fan dress as for Halloween? Why, as a Palm handheld, of course! In this case a Visor. Jerrod, who can be seen modeling his creation at left, said, "I chose the Visor because the Springboard slot in the back is where my 'customers' will put their candy."

In honor of Halloween, there are seven new tombstones in the Palm Graveyard. Read how these handhelds met their tragic fates... if you dare!

In his most recent column, tech gossip hound Spencer F. Katt is reporting a rumor that Microsoft is considering licencing the Palm OS. According to his source, Microsoft wants to do everything it can to make sure that its .NET initiative is successful, and that might include making sure it works on the number one handheld operating system, Palm's. As Mr. Katt says, "Being a licensee could allow Microsoft to build .Net services onto the Palm platform with fewer compatibility issues."

etronics.com has the m505 for $370 bucks, the m500 for $299, the m125 FOR $200, the Palm Vx for $220, the Palm IIIC for $220, and cheap accesories. They're not updated on Handspring stuff though, and have no Cliés. -aaron w

Purple Data Cables is working on a new line of cables for the Visor line which can be used to connect with add-on devices like cell phones, GPS, modems, etc. These cables have interface electronics that draw less than a tenth of the power than standard RS232 interface cables. Production will start December. -PR

Thanks to expansion cards, Palm users have the ability to store hundreds and even thousands of files and applications on their handhelds. Organizing all these is becoming an increasing priority for many. Pepper brings us a review of FilePoint 1.5, an application from Bachmann Software that tries to help bring order to files stored in both RAM and memory cards.

LUDIgames has released Siberian Strike, a game in which the player pilots a German Luftwaffe plane in an attack on a secret Russian base during WWII. Players get to choose between different planes with different capabilities. It supports both color and grayscale screens. It is available now for $16.

iSilo 3.0 is a doc reader who's new version includes an impressive array of features. It can show formated, read files off VFS expansion cards, and supports both the Clié's and the HandEra 330's hi-res screens. iSilo documents can include both tables and images. It is available now for $17.50 and is a free upgrade to previous owners.

There is also a new version of iSiloX, the Windows app needed to convert files to iSilo format.

What is probably the most delayed product in handheld history is finally shipping. The Parachute III is a PC card adapter for the Palm III series that has been held up for one reason or another for about two years. It is on sale now for $150.

There a version for the HandEra 330 planned for next month. Parachute V for the Palm V series is scheduled for late December and one for the Palm m505 is expected in the first quarter of 2002. Versions for other Palm OS handhelds are in development.

Handspring is going to charge $20 for telephone support calls that take place 90 days after the product has been registered. They are free for the first 90 days. Customers who are paying for their call will get priority service. Calls that result in warranty repair will not cost the customer anything.

Email support will continue to be free and Handspring has extensive support information available on their site.

RhinoSkin will begin offering a Molded Titanium Hardcase for the m500/m505/V on November 12 for $100. -Ed

Palm brought its Bluetooth SD card to the SyncFest in San Francisco over the weekend and someone from the Sacramento PUG snapped a couple of pictures. Palm has promised to release this card by the end of the year. -nXt