Someone has leaked some great pictures of the m500 and m505 to Joel at Geek.com.

According to his source, "the m500 is expected to hit the streets around the end of April and sell for approximately $400 while the m505 is expected to hit the streets around May 10th and sell for around $450." He is expecting an announcement from Palm on Monday.

Palm made a slight slip today and put a graphic on its site that had a picture of a device that bears a strong resemblance to the picture of the m505 that was seen earlier. The image has since been removed but a copy appears at right. The image that was leaked earlier appears here for comparison.

This certainly seems to be a strong hint that Palm is readying its website for the release of the new device.

By now it should be well known that the security provided by the Palm OS is pretty rudimentary. ShortFix has been developed to improve the built-in "Security" application that comes on every Palm model. Running ShortFix will remove the offending shortcuts from the system, preventing anyone unwanted from entering the debug or console mode. After use, ShortFix can be removed from the device. No other shortcuts or data will be affected. It is freeware. -Daniel Seifert

For a while, people have been able to capture photographs directly on a Visor with an IDEO eyemodule Springboard camera. Now, with Electric Pocket’s BugMe! Messenger, people can write captions directly on their digital photographs and e-mail them to their friends.

Qvadis, developer of the Express Reader and Fictionwise.com, a digital publisher, have announced that they will be working more closely together.

Fictionwise novel and short story samplers will be bundled in select Qvadis ebook reader applications, and Fictionwise titles will be sold on the Qvadis website. In addition, Qvadis Express Reader becomes Fictionwise's recommended Palm ebook viewer.

Although Sony today announced the most advanced PDA running the PalmOS, there is still pessimism in the air about Sony bringing it to the U.S. Why? This article speculates on the possible beginning of the end for Sony.

HanDBase, a leading Palm database application, and MemoWare, a leading Palm content site, are moving to support the Pocket PC.

Depending on who is speaking, this is either a move towards cross-platform support or a victory for the Pocket PC platform. A spokesperson for DDH Software said, "For the first time, users of both Pocket PC and Palm handhelds will be able to beam 'databased' information to each other without the aid of a desktop or 3rd party application." But Phil Holden, director of marketing for the Mobile Device Division at Microsoft, said, "Having both the leading database HanDBase and the premier content site MemoWare supporting Pocket PC speaks volumes about the momentum for our platform."

There was a new Sony Clié released in Japan today. Sony has already posted information about it on their site, in Japanese. This makes figuring out the details very difficult for us non-Japanese speakers but with the help of Babelfish, much can be learned.

It is called the PEG-N700C and has a front lighted, reflective TFT color screen at 320x320 resolution, probably using pixel doubling in which four pixels take the place of each one in the usual resolution.

Handspring has released Palm Desktop 3.1.0Hb for Visor users.

Palm, Inc. and ESPN.com have developed a free web clipping application to play ESPN.com's Wireless Tournament Challenge, in which fans pick the winners of each game throughout the upcoming NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament to win cash and prizes. Register any time before March 15.

Here at the Palm Inforcenter, we have generally ignored the subject of games, one of the most popular uses for the Palm. We do a bit to make up for this by bringing you a review of Red Mercury's AcidSolitaire, an addictive and inexpensive game.

It isn't news to most savvy Palm users that the security built into the OS isn't very robust. The recent announcement by @Stake that anyone with developer tools can access data on Palm handhelds that have been locked with a password just brought this to the attention of a wider audience. However, IS/Complete's PDA Restrictor goes a long way towards closing the gaping holes. It is the only security program to pass Palm's Platinum testing program.

The GoType! Pro Keyboard for Palm m100 and m105 is now available. It offers a built in serial port for synching with a PC, full integration with the Palm OS, and a rugged portable design. No batteries are required. It costs $70 and comes with a word processor and thesaurus. -David Porfido

Hagiwara Sys-Com is now shipping Springboard 16MB Flash modules. It's great for Visor users who need plenty of memory. A built-in File Mover application lets users copy, move, sort, or delete applications and data files to and from the Flash Module. -PDA junkie