Palm Releases Fix for USB Time Out Problem

Posted By: Ed Saturday, July 14, 2001 5:00:18 PM

Many have had problems with the HotSync connection timing out on long-delay conduits, like AvantGo. Basically, the handheld gets tired of waiting for the conduit to access its database over the Web. These timeouts only occur when synchronizing with the USB universal cradle that comes with the m500 series and do not affect those synchronizing with a Mac. Palm Inc. has released an update that deals with this issue.

This Update is for use with the English language version of HotSync Manager v4.0 ONLY. Use of this update with any other language versions of Hotsync Manager 4.0 is unsupported. A separate solution for non-English versions of Hotsync Manager v.4.0 (French, Italian, German, Spanish and Japanese) will be available soon.

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Not needed on a mac

I.M. Anonymous @ 7/14/2001 5:12:56 PM #
Personally, I think the only reason that Palm said it wasn't needed on a Mac was because they are slow about releasing updates. I hope Apple releases it's own Palm Desktop software like in the rumors. I believe something like 25% of all handheld owners use macs, yet we have version 2.6.3 of the Palm Desktop (which was only at that level because they had to update it for the m50x series). Windows has had version 4.0 for a while. Palm has the bare minimum of handheld support for the mac. Anyway, the whole point of this is that, I sometimes get timeout problems on my mac while doing AvantGo. I believe this a palm problem, not a computer problem, and I think the mac is just being overlooked.



Palm Desktop not same on Mac
bcombee @ 7/14/2001 9:35:00 PM #
The version numbers of Palm Desktop really don't match between Mac and Windows -- they are very different code bases. The Windows one is original by Palm, while the Mac one is a revised version of Claris Organizer. I'm not arguing that the Mac one doesn't need an update, but that its unfair to compare the two products based on version numbering.

RE: Not needed on a mac
I.M. Anonymous @ 7/14/2001 11:53:21 PM #
25%? That seems awfully high. What's your source on that number?

About Time!

I.M. Anonymous @ 7/14/2001 7:32:04 PM #
This has long been a pain with AvantGo on my m505--kudos to Palm to getting this done!


RE: About Time!
I.M. Anonymous @ 7/15/2001 4:18:43 AM #
now that this problem has been addressed, how 'bout a fix/hack for the weak front light eh Palm!

Mac Fix Needed

I.M. Anonymous @ 7/14/2001 10:48:21 PM #
I have time out problems using AvantGo / Vindigo when syncing the m505 with my Mac. It doesn't seem to be a problem on my Windows machine, however, even when using IR sync (which, for me, takes 2 to 3 times longer to complete than using wired HotSyncs).

I'm concerned that Palm doesn't know / care about this, in light of their comment that a fix is not needed for the Mac.

And I agree -- the overall support for Mac is pathetic. I use both platforms, and frankly, I prefer the Mac. I'd like to see some broad-based support from Palm in this area.

RE: Mac Fix Needed
RoofusPennymore @ 7/15/2001 1:33:18 AM #
It's probably a different problem (at least with what is causing it) with Mac. I have a Prism and also have weirdness syncing. I just hope that Palm is working on a big update that will fix these problems and introuce a OSX version. I can hope can't I?

At least we don't have the same ugly version of Palm Desktop that Windows users do.

RE: Mac Fix Needed
I.M. Anonymous @ 7/15/2001 8:20:11 AM #
roofus, you need to check out the newest version of Palm for Windows. It's deeeliiicious.

To all you CrApple Mac users bitching about compatibility...
I.M. Anonymous @ 7/15/2001 9:56:46 AM #
On 10-25-01, MSFT will release Windows XP. On that day, please go to www.dell.com and go buy yourself a nice Wintel machine and you will be very happy. Of course you will be supporting the "Evil Empire", but you will give yourself a much better computer EXPERIENCE (pun intended). Don't be stubborn and cut off your nose to spite your face. BUT if you choose to stay with a CrApple, just please stop your bitching. Thanks.


RE: Mac Fix Needed
I.M. Anonymous @ 7/15/2001 10:02:42 AM #
Palm has definitely ignored the Mac market for far too long. First it was forcing Mac users with newer Macs to buy a $40 USB adapter to sync with their Macs and now they haven't updated their desktop software in years and still don't have an OS X version out yet. I hope Apple comes out with their own desktop software since Palm doesn't seem willing. I'm on my 4th Palm and would definitely switch to a Sony Clié if they supported the Mac.

RE: Mac Fix Needed
I.M. Anonymous @ 7/15/2001 10:07:36 AM #
To our wonderful Wintel friend, please keep this relevant to dealing with Palm and no more Mac bashing. Mac users are confident enough in their choice of computer and don't need to lash out like you seem to need to do so grow up just a bit before you post again. Besides, I'd buy an Gateway Athlon first before a Dell P4 anyway=)

RE: Mac Fix Needed
I.M. Anonymous @ 7/15/2001 2:12:23 PM #
WINDOWS IS FUGLY

If you are having problems with Outlook Express or Entourage syncing, simply rebuild the database by holding the Option key on startup. That should fix those HotSync issues. You may have to turn off Office Reminders in the Control Strip if you have it turned on.
...
I also use both platforms at home and work, and MUCH prefer my Mac for all its brilliance and usability. It's generally agreed, the 90s was not pretty decade for the Mac OS. But it's not the 90s is it?

Mac-bashers--have you even used Macs lately? OS X? Do you know how to use a real command-line? GREP lately? Mac-bashers have almost always revealed themselves to be mindless fools, or worse, ignoranamouses. Wanna bite?

RE: Mac Fix Needed
I.M. Anonymous @ 7/15/2001 3:52:06 PM #
Mac Bashers have problems - They always state that the Macintosh Platform will never be supported, and is insignificant. If you can get a Windows user to become so incensed about the platform, obviously he has problems. Apple is #1 in education, is in a battle with Dell to be #1 Computer Manufacturer, and gets people excited. Does anyone go to PC Expo not knowing exactly why? People go to the Macworld Expo (Starts Tuesday) to find out about innovative new products speaking of which, Palm and Handspring, Sony and Microsoft, IBM, HP, all of them have major presences at the show. In an age where PC's are dieing and being replaced by the very PDA's that sync to them, Macs are the last true personal computers I think we will see. Do people get excited about new Dell computers? Does the Dimension 8100 High Performance Pentium 4 PC make you happy? No. People get excited about iMacs, because only a select group of people need a user experience that the Dell offers. I predict that as Windows XP launches, market share will begin to see a steady decline. Apple Stores are cropping all over the country, attracting thousands to wait for hours to get in. Now that stores won't steer people to PC's, look for Apple's market share to skyrocket. Apple is an innovator. PDAs? Newton. Digital Cameras? Apple released a Digital Camera in 1994. Modern OS? Duh....Apple created it. USB? Apple Pioneered. Firewire? Apple. Flatpanel displays? Apple. PC's rip of apple's designs, and do a poor job of it. Anyway, enough with the rampling. The world is evolving, and don't look for Microsoft to be a part of that. Look out for tuesday. See what Apple does. And wait for the changes....

RE: Mac Fix Needed
I.M. Anonymous @ 7/15/2001 4:52:39 PM #
You miss the point. People get excited about the newest iMacs like you state because maybe in the next round they will have even more "fun" colors. I'm not a strawberry, tangerine, grape, blueberry, or flower power kind of guy. I build my own PCs (can you even do that with a Mac?) and at work we use Dells. The new GX400s are black and they do well. You are talking about using a real command line, yet the people I know who use Macs say that this is the first time they've had one (OS X). You can use what you want, but *I* think (no I'm not the original poster) that Apple tries to make their products look cool instead of be powerful.

RE: Mac Fix Needed
I.M. Anonymous @ 7/15/2001 4:56:28 PM #
Hey Apple guys... how many G4 "supercomputers" have you melted recently?

The fans in my computer work fine.

DELL IS #1 in Education...
I.M. Anonymous @ 7/15/2001 5:05:57 PM #
"Mr. Jobs, all I can say is I loved Toy Story 2. But the trend is clear. The Wintel platform is the clearly leader and continues to take more and more market share." - Michael Dell

http://www.dell.com/us/en/gen/corporate/press/pressoffice_us_2001-04-11-aus-001.htm


I like that Apple Cube with all the cracks in it!
I.M. Anonymous @ 7/15/2001 5:13:19 PM #
Or that colored laptop that's shaped like a toilet-seat. Is that why they call it "CrApple"???

RE: Mac Fix Needed
I.M. Anonymous @ 7/15/2001 8:34:44 PM #
Uhh.... Let me go in order. First off, most people don't build their own computers, and most people don't want to. Building your own computer is exactly the opposite of why people buy a mac, and frankly, I could care less what your work used as work machines. PC's still have the majority, and that wasn't my point. Second off, nobody's melted any G4 processers, we've just burned Pentiums. If you needed proof that Micheal Dell was on crack, you shouldn't be posting. And three, the apple iBook now looks like the titanium laptop, and many companies are taking notice because of it's $1399 price with USB/Firewire/VGA out/ DVD reader CD Burner/ Airport (I.E.1394)/1024x768 screen/128 megs of ram/10 gigs of harddrive space/ and sexy design.

Who's next?

RE: Mac Fix Needed
tychay @ 7/15/2001 10:20:15 PM #
I don't want to get into the PC-Mac wars (Since I use both as well as Linux and FreeBSD at home).

I wish to reply to the user wishing Sony offerred Mac support in the Clie. There is a company called markspace software, http://www.markspace.com/ , That offers a Mac<->Clie synchronization tool. Look into that.

The Mac Desktop is indeed badly in need of an upgrade, however the Claris Organizer software it is based on is still impressive. First it runs flawlessly in classic mode for MacOS X users (you should be able to synchronize via the Classic layer too, but I've had mixed result with it (G4 Yikes fails but the G4 Ti PB synchs flawlessly). The Applescript support offers an integration that is missing from the PC version (COM via VBScript never caught on outside of Microsoft). And things such as "themes" have been there since the beginning while only appearing in 4.0 for the PC.

Still, I hope the thing is updated for OS X. At first I thought the extra large icons and snow-white windows took up too much real estate, but I'm finding that other things (such as the dock and quartz resizing) allow one to adjust for that.

Take care,

terry

--
terry chay http://org.qixo.com/tychay/m505dis/

http://www.qixo.com- Righteous Travel Deals in Record Time

san jose, ca, usa

Dell no longer #1 in education
I.M. Anonymous @ 7/16/2001 7:09:21 PM #
http://www.businessweek.com/bwdaily/dnflash/jul2001/nf20010711_074.htm

Only English version

I.M. Anonymous @ 7/15/2001 11:07:32 AM #
That's again ridiculous by Palm: Where's the international Palm Desktop 4?? And now: Where's the international fix for the Hotsync?

I think they don't take the non-English customer enough serious.

What da heck is this?

I.M. Anonymous @ 7/15/2001 12:37:31 PM #
First, Palm released an M505 backlight "Memory" hack, now a fix for USB time out......

WHERE IS THE FIX FOR M505 BAKCLIGHT ADJUSTMENT?

RE: What da heck is this?
CarlJ @ 7/15/2001 2:05:40 PM #
On the rash assumption that you're not simply trolling: The hardware in the m505 for the backlight is not capable of varying output levels, there is nothing to adjust, it's either on or off, thus there will never be a software patch (hoaxes aside) to make the m505 brighter. Palm has released a patch to remember the state of the backlight when the device is turned off/on (so the backlight will come back on when the m505 is switched back on), and that's all that can be done; end of story.

RE: What da heck is this?
I.M. Anonymous @ 7/15/2001 2:26:52 PM #
Wake up ! They won't give you that forever.
Throw it out or enjoy ..

How about the problem with sudden USB synch failure

I.M. Anonymous @ 7/15/2001 2:54:36 PM #
That's great, Palm. How about solving the problem where the m500/505 suddenly fails to initiate synch via the USB cradle? There are sporadic reports of it on practically every forum. There hasn't been any known solution proposed by Palm tech support. Reinstalling software, OS, and replacing the cradle doesn't solve the problem. Replacing the handheld will solve the problem for a couple of weeks but users experience the problem again.

The only solution is to replace the USB cradle with a serial cradle or to use IR synch if available.

RE: How about the problem with sudden USB synch failure
I.M. Anonymous @ 7/15/2001 6:15:02 PM #
I had that problem. I found that usually restarting the computer TWICE fixed it, and when that stopped working, I reinstalled Palm Desktop and haven't had the problem since.

Of course, I hope it doesn't come back.

RE: How about the problem with sudden USB synch failure
I.M. Anonymous @ 7/16/2001 8:03:39 AM #
I've had the problem as well, but everytime I had the problem, it appered that somehow the Palm serial port was open in debug mode. So to fix the problem just required a reset of the Palm device and then I could hoysync again.

---Eric

RE: How about the problem with sudden USB synch failure
I.M. Anonymous @ 7/16/2001 10:57:05 AM #
I am onto M505 number 3 because of this problem. Palm support will replace them for free. I tried replacing the cradle, reinstalling the desktop software, and numerable soft and hard resets before Palm finally admitted they had a problem.

Palm Desk 4.0 fail

George Chi @ 7/15/2001 7:57:04 PM #
Dear sir,

My PDA is TRGpro using palm OS 3.5.2 RS232 series port and desk is Palm 4.0 with WindowsME OS. But now fails to complete hotsync after several time out, does anyone know how to solve this problem. Thanks.

For Visor?

Swagner @ 7/15/2001 10:10:16 PM #
Will this work on the Visor Deluxe?
RE: For Visor?
bcombee @ 7/16/2001 2:44:36 AM #
If you're using a Visor over USB with HotSync Manager 4.0, get this upgrade -- it fixes USB communications with both Handspring and Palm devices. I'm using it on my Visor Prism and its a welcome improvement.

RE: For Visor?
imabug @ 7/16/2001 9:03:40 AM #
I've used it on my Platinum a few times and so far I haven't had any of the chronic timeout problems I used to have with Desktop 4.0.x. Even though Palm says it's only for the M50x series, the update and Desktop 4.0.1 seem to work quite well with Visors. Definitely an update to apply if you have Desktop 4.0

-----BEGIN GEEK CODE BLOCK-----
Version: 3.12
GS d-(+) s: a C++ UX++++V++S++ P+>+++ L>+++ E+>++ W++ N++(+++) o? K? w !O !M V-- PS PE Y+ PGP++ t++ 5++ X++ R+ tv++ b++(+++) DI++++ D+ G++ e+++>++++ h--- r+++ y?
-----END GEEK CODE BLOCK-----

[ No Subject ]

I.M. Anonymous @ 7/16/2001 4:09:31 AM #
just wanted to say the apple ibookcombo is msrp in stores for $1799.99

Arrogance

Arthur @ 7/16/2001 4:02:55 PM #
I noticed the timeout problem too. Just as I noticed I had no expense application. Both times I e-mailed Palm 'support', the last about 2 wks ago. No reply. Okay Palm may be busy guys - but why not be open & e-mail the registered user base to tell us? They know who we are after all & to do so is free.

Mac being ignored

Scott @ 7/16/2001 5:26:38 PM #
I have this problem often with my Visor Prism and MacOS X, when using AvantGo 4. Palm dening that this problem exists on the mac proves that they are ignoring the platform.

[ No Subject ]

William @ 7/17/2001 7:27:00 PM #
Have encounter the problem one month back & have request support from Palm Support Group.
Their reply was to try again.
It is only yesterday that I found out the new releases.
Why don't Palm send a email to alert all Palm m505 user.

HotSync Mac Freezes

I.M. Anonymous @ 7/18/2001 12:40:39 AM #
Is there a fix to the HotSync freezes I get when a file is not found and the HotSync app advises me of this after it finishes. If I don't attend to this "notice" -which asks if I want to read the HotSync Log or not- within one or two seconds, the system freezes. I'm running Mac OS 9.0 and PalmDesktop 2.6.3. Does the problem have something to do with the serial port monitor? If so, how do I correct it so as to run my back-ups unattended and not have to worry about restarting from system freezes all the time?

Conflict AvantGo & HotSync Manager v

Val @ 7/18/2001 3:06:22 AM #
When I started using AvantGo, I noticed after synching, my deskstop manager did not synchronized the update of my To Do list, Memo, and Date book.

USB for 505 with a iMac

Jimmy @ 7/25/2001 8:38:36 PM #
Is there a upgrade for the Mac SDK?
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