DDH Software, developer of the HanDBase database application, is offering a $1,000 award to the developer of the best custom HanDBase applet. They are attempting to build up their collection of customer-developed HanDBase applets available for free on their site. You don't have to buy HanDBase to enter the contest. A full-featured 30-day trial version is available.

Brando has produced what is possibly the first flip-style case for the Palm V series. Read more about the case in our in-depth review.

Gateway is now offering two Visor bundles as part of a new line of accessories called Companion:)Ware. Their Mobile Pro Package is a Visor Deluxe and Targus case for $379 when purchased with a Gateway PC and $399 when purchased separately. The Digital Camera Package is $529 with a PC and $579 alone.

Gateway is also putting on free introductory clinics on handhelds to customers at more than 300 of its retail stores.

TRG is releasing OS 3.5.2 version A02 in the form of a public beta. Among the most noticeable improvements are shortcuts in CFPro and an approximate 10% speed increase in CF memory card operations.

They have also released a public beta of AutoCF v1.1. This TRGpro tool allows direct access to the CF card from the application menu. AutoCF now supports a public SDK that will allow other developers to control it's functionality. There have also been stability improvements.

These beta upgrades are currently only available by joining the TRGpro User Group (TUG) on eGroups. The TRGpro Web site should be updated to reflect these later in the week.

Palm, Inc. today announced that its board of directors has adopted a Shareholders' Rights Plan. Under the plan, Palm will issue a dividend of one right for each share of common stock -- par value of $0.001 per share -- of the company held by stockholders of record as of the close of business on Nov. 6, 2000. The plan is designed to assure stockholders fair value in the event of a future unsolicited business combination or similar transaction involving the company.

Palm Pilot Robot Kit
Here is a design for a cheap DIY fully autonomous robot built with off the shelf parts (ie. a Palm III). Very simple and very very cool. Now where'd my old Palm Pro go to? - Nekrataal and thatweasel

CompactFlash Adapter Springboard Module
Many have complained about the lack of a CompactFlash reader for the Visor. If you are handy with tools, you can build one for yourself, using a PCMCIA to CF adapter with only a few wiring modifications and these instructions from Kopsis. There is a downside: the driver isn't written yet and when it is, Kopsis intends to charge for it. -Ed

Handspring Inc. today announced the launch of the Visor and Visor Deluxe in Singapore, Hong Kong and Taiwan. Although the Visors have been available in the United States since the end of 1999, users in Asia who wished to purchase a Visor had no easy way to obtain one, other than to procure one from the dealers in the USA. The devices are distributed in Asia by the GrandTech Group and PacRim Technologies.

Syncplicity allows you to easily move data from your PC to your Palm. Just highlight a piece of text and drag it to the Syncplicity window then choose which of the built-in apps to store the info in. Syncplicity will automatically capture phone numbers and e-mail addresses and put them in the right fields. The data will be transfered to your Palm the next time you sync. You can download a time-limited demo and registration costs $10.

If you try Syncplicity, let us know what you think.

According to OneChannel.net, online sales of Palm-OS-based PDAs rose dramatically during the back-to-school buying season. From Aug. 13 through Sept. 16, sales increased 33.9% over the previous five-week period. During the same period, sales of PocketPC-based handhelds dropped 15.5%.

Despite reporting record sales last quarter, Palm Inc.has been severely affected by the shortages of electronic parts that have hobbled many consumer electronics companies this year. According to the Associated Press, some analysts have estimated Palm could have sold as many as 40% more handhelds if components had been available.

Beta PalmConnect USB Drivers for Win2K
Palm Inc. has released a software driver update that will allow PalmConnect USB adapter users to use the serial to USB adapter on PCs running Windows 2000. This is a pre-release version of these drivers. This software is being provided to users, 'as is', and is unsupported by Palm. -Ed

Password Retrieval and Decoding
SecuriTeam.com has an article on ways to crack the fairly simple encryption on the password used by Palm's built-in Security application. As this article says, "It is possible to obtain an encoded form of the password, determine the actual password due to a weak, reversible encoding scheme, and access a user's private data". -Athan